Mangalore, May 1: The Aahar Food Festival, a tourism development programme, was organized by the DK Hotel and Restaurant Association in Mangalore. MLA Mr. N Yogish Bhat, a member of the state tourism development committee, inaugurated the food festival.
Mr. Yogish Bhat said that cuisine forms an important aspect of tourism. Citing the examples of innumerable hoteliers and restaurateurs who have set up hotels and restaurants in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and other cities, he said that the local people of Mangalore were not really getting the benefits of Mangalorean cuisine because only a talented few can really create the Mangalorean taste.
Mr. Santhosh Kumar Bhandari, the president of the Zilla Panchayat; Mr. Kudpi Jagadish Shenoy, the president of the association, were also present. Almost all the hotels and restaurants of Mangalore had set up a stall. The Royal Darbar, known for its mouth-watering biryanis, was drawing crowds of non vegetarians. Hotel Gold Finch had prepared local delicacies such as denji sukka, yetti chutney, marwai sukka, kori rotti, bangude puli munchi, pundi kori gasi, moode kori sukka, and hot ganji.
Other restaurants that formed part of this memorable food event were Gateway, Pallki, Maharaja, Bombay Lucky, Janata Deluxe, Utsav, Shreya Sweets, Komal Sweets, Hanuman Sweets, Sasural, Gajalee, Moti Mahal, Chefs, Hao Ming, Shivsagar, and Dinky Dine.
A huge line of chaat counters served delicacies such as Paani puri to Kanpuri to Maharashtrian chaats.