Bhubaneswar Food Guide – What and Where to Eat ??
Bhubaneswar – the capital city of Odisha, India is a place that I frequently visit and being a food explorer that I am, it was all but obvious that I went hunting for some local food as well as checking out the food scene this wonderful city had to offer. These are my top picks and not in any particular order and I am sure I missed a few gems along the way so probably next time, but here is my experience
Appetite
Been to this place quite a few times during my visit to the city ! Mostly go for rolls, not really a fan of main course items here. Rolls and chowmein are great. They do have their down moment at times but overall taste and quality of the rolls are consistent. Stuffed with loads of meat , masala and onions – one bite is all it needs to start craving for more. It’s an open road side kind of a fast food joint in the Shahid nagar area. Service is quick enough and give the ambiance a miss as its food that speaks here. Pricing is satisfactory. Good for a evening snack. Here is the location
Traditional Odia Delicacies
I did not have to go far looking for some local traditional food and when you have family members who are local to the region, it’s the comfort of the home that one gets to taste the best and so Enduri Pitha and Chitau Pitha it was ! I had to detail the experience in a separate article to do justice to these dishes and click here for all that you need to know ! Your best bet to try these is to connect with the locals or in-fact reach out to any odia family you know in your city and ask them about this !!
Dahi Bara Aloo Dum
It’s a sin if you don’t have one of these in Bhubaneswar. That being said, you will get this in every small eatery be it in the city or on the highway. Just grab it while you are on the streets or better get a takeaway and soak in the moment at home like I did. It’s essentially a chaat item but no holds bar , folks have it for breakfast or snacks or dinner – all goes. The Dahi Vada ( Curd vada) topped with delicious Aloo Dum ( Potato based curry or sauce) garnished with sev, onion and coriander mostly is just heaven !
One Market Area
They say markets are the best places to find some good food and so the hunting began in the One Market area whilst shopping of-course. First for some chaat – GupChup ( or Pani Puri or Gol Gappa) and some Papdi chaat ! While GupChup was nice , papdi chat was an avoid !
Chicken Kebab stick for 20 bucks was a steal and delish too ! Can keep repeating !
And finally the awesome Chicken Roll !
Dosa Plaza
Well being from Bangalore, cravings for Dosa led me to look for the same and came across this restaurant called Dosa Plaza which was an exclusive dosa variety place and good at it too. All details here
Khau Galli (Street Food Lane)
As in any city , there is no dearth of Khau Galli’s in Bhubaneswar too. Though there are many, the one I headed out to was the street near the Ram Mandir Square. Food trucks were lined up dishing out everything from Mexican, Indian, Italian, Kebabs, Beverages and what not ! Go empty stomach here and be prepared to try loads of stuff. Here’s a sneak peek
Pahala
And finally, something that is not to be missed – the famous Rasgulla’s , Chenna Poda and Chenna Gaja at Pahala ! It’s a tryst with honey bees while you are here and rest assured they are not there to bite you but enjoy the desserts along with you. Freshly prepared and mouth-watering sweets are the order of the day here. Here is all about my experience – Pahala
And its a wrap ! It’s been an amazing experience so far and every time I visit the city , there is something new to try ! More to come ! If you know of some eateries that I should be trying out – comment away and I will get it added to my To-Do list
