Food trucks may not be new to Chennai’s streets, but these lunch wagons — as they were formerly known — seem to be getting increasingly popular, on the streets as well as on social media. We line up in front of the three most recently launched trucks to find out what all the fuss is about
Nei Idly Sambar
Mylapore is having withdrawal symptoms. Some locals wait patiently for the jolly yellow and green food truck to make its way back to the vicinity. Others, however, tracked the truck down to Kilpauk.
Adithya Shivpink, who along with his partner Ashwin Kumar, launched Nei Idly Sambar barely a month back laughs, “I first took my truck for a test run to Mylapore, Saidapet, Nungambakkam and to Taramani (near Ascendas). I wanted to gauge client reaction. We sold out in two hours in Mylapore. And when I was pulling out of there, a few people actually asked me what they were supposed to do when they wanted our idlis.”
Nei Idly Sambar is named after its speciality dish — big white fluffy idlis, doused in fragrant ghee and soaked in spicy, flavourful sambar. In addition, it also offers four varieties of podi idli (spicy, karvepillai, ellu and poondu) fiery and gleaming with a vibrant orange coat, idli with vadakari, filter kaapi and goli soda. “Since this is a Chennai-based food truck, we wanted the dishes to be quintessentially Chennai. Idli is comfort food. Doctors advice idlis and it’s easy to digest too,” grins Shivpink, adding, the truck was actually his father’s idea. “He was convinced that having different types of idlis would work. I, on the hand, was thinking of something totally different,” says the 27-year-old.
The ghee used is made by Aditya’s aunt. “It’s organic and smells great,” he says. The batter for the idli too is made by her. It must be a painstaking process considering the unit easily uses up 100 kilograms of batter in a week (40 kilograms over the weekend alone).
Delivery personnel from Swiggy make their way in and out, carting neatly packaged packs of this traditional steamed cake. Aditya points to an apartment complex next door and says, “The guy on the third floor is a regular customer.” He, along with his cook and cleaner also participate in pop-ups and food markets.
With plans to add one new dish every month, recipes are being tested out. Uthappam and a few varieties of dosa (ghee, chilli cheese and podi) are in the offing. Among their ambitious plans is something called lava idli. “It’s stuffed with stir-fried vegetables and has cheese oozing out. We are trying to perfect it, but it is time consuming; we need to find a way to do it quickly,” he says. Given that there is only one cook handling the kitchen, they don’t have the luxury of time. “I assist him by parcelling all the takeaways,” says Shivpink. Soon, they will also be open for breakfast.
Nei Idly Sambar is open from 6 pm to 11 pm at Drive ‘n’ Eats, Vasu Street, behind Ega Theatre, Kilpauk. For details call: 9840561061
Alien Stone
Flashes of electric pink light radiate from a hulking black object at Palavakkam Beach. Fear not, it’s just Alien Stone, a food truck that’s been a regular at this spot since October 2018.
Started by Tharun Shyam and Senthil Kumar, both 23-year-old students of Architecture, this truck has all the fast food favourites: golden fries (in seven varieties including mushroom, lime and cheese), burgers, fish fingers and milk shakes. They even make steaks.
On most evenings, their solid assorted burgers, no bun burgers and prawn frizzles draw crowds who surround the food truck, like fans around a rockstar. While customers wait, they can play a game of Speed of Light — an arcade game — that’s built into the side of the vehicle.
The kitchen has three people whipping up the dishes, with Tharun occasionally trying his hand at this skill he’s recently picked up. “We make sure to clear out the stock for the day with some special offers at night, so we get fresh products daily,” he says.
Alien Stone is parked at Karunanidhi Beach Road, Palkalai Nagar, Palavakkam. It is open between 5.30 pm and 11 pm. For details, call: 8939866899
Char
“Have you met the chef? He’s a knife person”, “We’re grilled to see you” — the body of the truck at Char is covered in meaty puns such as these.
“A food truck is flexible, so we are not locked in a place and have the option of stationing it at events,” says Abbas Bharmal, who co-owns Char along with Surojit Babudas. Both are self-confessed food enthusiasts and wanted to offer the city specific dishes, including their popular mutton chops. Now there are three varieties to choose from: tandoori, Lebanese and Irani. The pre and post marinades are different for each, says Abbas. The tandoori chops are a tad spicy, the Lebanese is creamy with an olive-based sauce, while the Irani comes with a mustard-based sauce.
“Eighty per cent of our dishes are grilled,” says Bharmal. The menu of the six-month-old truck also features crispy chicken, paneer, gobi and chicken tikka.
“We also suggest combining some of them with a Malabar parotta,” he says. To end the meal there’s kulfi and for a taste of yore, good old goli soda.
Char is open from noon to 3 pm and 6 pm to 11 pm on Chamiers Road. For details, call: 9840174786