BASAVANGUDI:While people wait endlessly outside restaurants in Gandhi Bazaar for a bite of the dosa, Hungerez, a three-month-old trendy outlet at the Tagore Circle-end of the road, has been drawing customers with its North Indian, Chinese and chaat offerings.
“Basavangudi is a Brahmin nook with many Marwaris too settling down here. They look for fresh vegetarian fare that’s healthy and hygienic. We serve North Indian fare that tastes like it’s home cooked,” says Rahul Jain, who’s lived in Visveswarapuram during his Jain College days. Like his partner Uday Sethi, Jain quit his corporate career to launch this restaurant that radiates a rustic and youthful ambience.
“As a deputy manager with HDFC Bank, I used to order my lunch from caterers. The food either came in steel containers which weren’t hygienic or in food trays that were neither food grade nor microwave ready,” says Jain, an MBA from Christ University, who, then decided, with his partner, to begin this venture to eliminate this problem.
So the restaurant also offers the “tiffin at your doorstep” concept where the order is served in food grade containers that are also microwave safe.
“Rice, dal and curries are packed in reheatable, microwave-safe containers, raitas and salads in vacuum sealed covers and phulkas packed in food grade material,” says Jain, who offers the 20-day and 15-day packages for corporate clients, where there’s no repeat of the curry during this period.
There are a variety of items on a colourful menu card that speaks the college goers' language like "Rice Wise", "Chaat Waat", Roti Woti", and "Chai Wai".
Hungerez may not be a place for dosa freaks but offers a varied fare in cozy interiors with seating that includes chairs or a long log bench and high stools, where customers loll around, biting into a variety of dishes like rotis, parathas, rice, chaat and noodles.
The chaat range includes the usual items like the bhel puri or papdi chaat, besides what they call the Hungerez jhalmudi. “I’m from the Northeast and familiar with Kolkata street food. Bengaluru is not new to bhel puri, but the jhalmudi is more dry and spicy and relatively new to the city,” says Jain, who adds that the dish already has repeat customers who have it like it’s had in Kolkata — with tea.
After a titillating round of rice, rotis, curries and chaat, there are a host of desserts like the Hungerez halwa, choco cake, jamoon and the fizzy masala sodas to settle the excited palate. Hungerez also offers takeaways and undertakes party orders.