BENGALURU: The city has a taste for spicy food -- two surveys placed biriyani and Andhra cuisine as favourites. But, in summer, Bengaluru’s tastes have changed to salads and light rotis.
The vegetarian restaurants have become an evolving summer trend. “People have started preferring more of vegetarian food which is lighter and less oily. They like to pair it with mocktails. Our ‘rabdi kulfi’ is everyone’s favourite and is on high demand. Eight out of 10 customers never fail to order it. Our sales have gone up by 20 per cent,” says Kapil Singhi, the young Managing Director of 1947. Summer is when they see the most number of families.
Business at health and diet-food restaurants is also brisk. Shailendra Yadav, the manager at Health Lovers, says, “Low-fat fresh fruit juices and shakes are on high demand. Our most popular shakes are the ‘Neuro-booster’ and the ‘Immune Strengthener’. Our clientele usually consists of people between the ages of 20-45. Salads are also very popular this season. 70 per cent of our customers go in for the Greek Salad.”
The corporate sector ties people to their desks and leaves little time for exercise. “The executives order less of buttery, oily or heavy food. They like something easy to digest like salads. They try to avoid any food which may trigger increased perspiration. They also like food with low calories. Lassis are a huge hit with them,” says Chef Subod, who runs Maa Ka Dhaba, which provides catering for many corporate offices.
Bengaluru has an ice-cream culture, says Shah, co-owner of Richie Rich snacks and ice cream parlour. This season Kiwi-based desserts are a favourite with their 40 and above customer base. “Our special summer customers are children. Their favourites are the fries and pizzas paired with chocolate or strawberry ice creams,” he says. They are open till 1 am.
Anshu Maheshwari, a student says, “I cannot live without ice cream during the summers. I try to go out and eat ice cream as many times as I can.”
That said, burgers, pastas and pizzas are evergreen. They are the favourites no matter what season, but they have a new companion in summer. At Smallys they offer a variety of steaks, burgers and pastas. “But we have noticed that almost 80 per cent of the people like to pair it with a cold milkshake”, says the staff at Smallys. Harsh S says, “As much as I love my pastas and pizzas, I have to have something cold.”