HYDERABAD: Food bloggers are typically known to try out the latest restaurants and eateries in town and review them for their followers. But, apart from doing just this and rating food places in the city, some of them have been discovering, trying and promoting places as old as five decades in the city. All this for no cost but for the genuine love of exploring and letting people know of good food when they find it.
Food blogger Srushty Ladegaam (@hydfoodtrip on Instagram) grew up visiting not just the fancy places in the city, but even the austere and unelaborate hotels and messes to dine at. That has, today, helped her put together her latest series called the Hidden Gems.
“For a long time now there has been this growing realisation that certain places with great food didn’t get the recognition they deserve. Despite serving Hyderabad the best food for years, they remain where they were when they started out. Some of these places are as old as decades. This pushed me to do something about it and that’s how the series to rediscover and popularise old yet gold kind of food started,” Srushty tells CE.
As part of her series, she has covered places like the Fish Canteen at Shantinagar Colony in Masab Tank, Andal Mixture & Tiffins in Malkajgiri, Chattu Ram’s at Chudi Bazaar and Megha City in Basheerbagh, among many others.
All these places probably ring a bell in a Hyderabadi’s head, making them wonder why, despite serving lip-smacking food, these remain underrated.
“These places are not some new discoveries I’ve made. They’re places I have visited as a child or suggestions made by my friends or followers. This is just to bring back the kind of name and fame they deserve,” she adds.
The idea to start this series stemmed out of Srushty’s pure passion and love for the F&B industry.
“I remember a time when I visited Shaalimaar Tiffins in Ranigunj after very long and the owner telling me how a picture I posted of his food got him good customers. He said a man came to him with a screenshot from my profile asking to be served that item. That’s when I knew I wanted to do more of this.”
Mohd Zubair Ali, another popular food blogger (hyderabad.food.diaries) in town, has been working towards rediscovering new places for seven years now.
“I’d mostly put out reviews of such places on Facebook and Zomato, back then, because there was no Instagram. The emergence of social media platforms and the new generation of bloggers have made the job easier. I did such a series as part of a category about places where students could get good local food at affordable prices. Passing on the information about such places has been very rewarding, emotionally,” he shares.
Vasanthi Singampalli, who runs the popular food blog, @tastydrips on Instagram, says, “Hyderabad’s street food is quite an experience. It comprises dishes that encapsulate the cosmopolitan and heritage-laced identity of the city. There are tonnes of not-so-popular places in Hyderabad, that serve great food and are known only to people in that particular neighbourhood. It’s nice to see so many bloggers discovering these unexplored places and getting them into the limelight.
These are the little-known places of the city that have served mind-blowing food for more than two decades now, yet couldn’t make it to the famous restaurants’ list. Many good restaurants in a particular city go unnoticed mostly because they are either small or don’t look appealing enough to attract good customers. Their food might be great, but the place has no good marketing. That’s where food bloggers are being of great help.”