When it comes to food trucks, the first thing that strikes most Dilliwallahs is the iconic yellow-coloured ‘Chinese van’ (as we fondly call them) in our localities, serving lip-smacking Chinjabi food. But of late even the traditional food trucks have seen a makeover, where they now serve a variety of on-the-go food items.
In an attempt to bring together this new generation of food trucks to South Delhi, So Delhi and GoBuzzinga have organised a food truck festival called “Horn Ok Please” at Ansal Plaza.
“Around five years ago, a lot of new food trucks had started coming in Sector 29, Gurgaon. While most of the traditional food trucks were serving only Chinjabi food, these food trucks experimented much more and served many specialised cuisines. With experienced chefs, they even focused a lot on branding. This created a buzz around food trucks,” says Digant Sharma, founder, So Delhi.
He adds that there are no such food trucks in South Delhi and that’s why the festival has been organised in Ansal Plaza.
The two-day festival will see over 20 food trucks from Delhi and National Capital Region, serving cuisines ranging from Japanese and Chinese to Thai and Italian. The list of participants includes Something Saucy, Burnout, The Lalit Food Truck Company, Street Foods By Punjab Grill, Waffle Chowk and Doggy Style amongst many others.
Digant mentions that the dishes served by these food trucks are not going to be priced higher than Rs 300. Some food trucks have even created special menus for the festival, including dishes ranging between Rs 100 and Rs 200. “This is done as part of experimentation by the food trucks. If the new menus do well, they will incorporate all the dishes in their original menus,” he adds.
Speaking of food festivals, many visitors feel that the participating restaurants serve food at a higher price than their original prices. “Restaurants invest a lot in infrastructure and getting the staff together while putting up a stall at food festivals. But food trucks just have to park at a suitable place, switch on the ignition and start working. Since the investment is much lesser here, the prices of food items are going to be the same or lesser than their original prices,” says Digant.
Adding to the entertainment at the festival is the acoustic stage, where bands like The CopyCats, Chizai, Kamakshi Khanna, Jordan Johnson, Shadow and Light and Sivana will be performing.
Today and tomorrow at Ansal Plaza, from 12 pm to 9 pm
