Your dining out habitude can be divided into two — before and after GST. Chilling out with friends and dinner dates has suddenly become a costly affair, and as paradoxical as the GST implementation itself. Recently, the GST council decided to slash rates from 18 per cent to 5 per cent and the improvisation has allowed leg-room for hotel owners to raise the rates on their menus. With little or no respite in hotel bills, looks like the chaos over GST is yet to subside and customers are flummoxed as they walk out of eateries.
While GST started taking its toll on hotel bills, we spoke to a few bachelors in the city who contribute to the huge and invariable clientele of these restaurants. Youngsters who usually don’t cherish spending time in the kitchen are now sporting quick bachelor recipes, prep meals and YouTube cooking channel dishes as they take a tryst with innovative cooking experiences.
“I generally do not fancy cooking and I still remember when I called up my mother to take down some basic cooking recipes from her, she was so astounded. But these days, eating out will cost me at least Rs 4,000 a week and it is not a feasible option anymore. Though GST has made life really difficult for me, now I love trying out my mother’s recipes,’’ said Aditya Sasidharan who works as a financial analyst in an IT firm.
For Sharat Daev, prepared meals is the healthy shortcut for cooking and it is more of a smarter option and healthier alternative to hotel food. “I don’t think one should really pay money and extra tax to eat unhealthy food from outside. I make my own prepared meals as I cook rice and cut vegetables and keep them in separate boxes for the entire week. And each day, I use a different salad dressing on the veggies and customise my lunch,” said Sharath, a senior process executive. Business analyst Neelesh Kumar thinks that improvisation is the best way to answer GST woes, and making cooking fun. “I still don’t know the names of the curry powders they use for cooking. I simply add some chilly and Maggi masala to my rice and vegetables and there goes my special vegetable fried rice. I love cooking after I started inventing such quick recipes,’’ he said.
Sebin Christo, a seller- support associate feels that it was YouTube which came to his rescue once he decided to take refuge in cooking after the GST implementation. “I had no clue about what I was doing when I started cooking, and the end result was hilarious. Later, I found good YouTube channels and now I manage to cook like a pro,’’ said Sebin
