This food-truck in Bengaluru’s Vidyaranyapura dishes out some of the best barbecues and momos

This foodtruck in Bengaluru’s Vidyaranyapura dishes out some of the best barbecues and momos

Vidyaranyapura is a mishmash of culture and food. If the main road, from the last bus stop, is dotted with bakeries and meat shops on one side, it is lined with sweet and idli shops and burger joints on the other. Walk towards the first block, and you will see the street come alive with a number of food trucks in the evenings between 5pm and 11pm.

Post sunset, it is also a sight to behold. Various food trucks and carts line up a little away from one another, seach forming its own human island.

It is here the attention of your olfactory nerves are captured with a distinct aroma of grilled food. The orange truck, called Hunger Chase, is owned and run by Gudipati Venkata Ramudu. He is assisted by three boys and the food truck is open on three sides that gives you a clear view of the action in their mobile kitchen.

It is a little after 7pm and a small group of people have already thronged the place as they await their order. Two cooks are busy inside the van. One is steaming the momos, while the other deftly tempers the grilled kebabs with curry leaves, coriander and green chilies. He then picks a bottle and pours a sauce and instantly the flames leap out of the pan and do a little dance before dying down to tiny sparks.

The warmth from the fire and the aromas make for the perfect comfort food on a chilly or rainy night. Right next to the van is an iron grill on a metal stand, where fresh chicken and fish barbecues are grilled on burning coal.

Venkat says that he started the food truck in 2016 in Sahakarnagar and shifted base to Vidyaranyapura in 2017. He says that he started his career in a business and had nothing to do with food. “But that field did not work out and I decided why not give cooking a chance and I started the food truck,” says Venkat as he hands out a parcel to one of his customers, while deftly plating with momos with the other for a client who takes it and walks to the plastic stool behind the truck, all the while looking at the steam coming off the plate.

Venkat says he started with Chinese food. “But I realised that you get noodles everywhere. From darshinis and five star places to food trucks and roadside stalls. Momos, too are not uncommon, but they not a usual sight here. That is when I decided to serve momos and barbecues. We do serve noodles, but our focus is on momos and barbecues, grills and kebabs.”