I Started My Instagram Page Because I Wanted to Share Why Surat Is Called the Food City - Raji Bardoliya


The food in Surat is extremely tasty. From street food to high profile restaurants, Surat has it all. If you are ever in this beautiful city, then you should try Ponk, Undhyu, Ghaari, Locho, and unique street food.

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I was born in Mumbai & raised in Surat, Gujarat. I have completed my Masters & M.Phil in statistics, Now preparing for a PhD. Surat is a foodie city and you can find all kind of food and I was a foodie since my childhood.

I started my Instagram page @foodie.rjb because I wanted to share why my city Surat is called a food city. I want to show what kind of foods you can find in Surat and which places, so people can go & enjoy the food and I think I did it.

2. What led you to do food blogging?

The food in Surat is extremely tasty. From street food to high profile restaurants, Surat has it all. If you are ever in this beautiful city, then you should try Ponk, Undhyu, Ghaari, Locho, and unique street food. Surat also has hotels that offer an unlimited buffet for lunch and dinner.

There are a variety of other dishes that you can only try in Surat. These things attract me a lot. So I have started my food blogging from here. I started visiting all the famous street food stalls & restaurants & started to capture all the food items from my mobile.

I have even started uploading on Instagram & I have received a good response from the users & my journey become started in the food blogging industry.

3. What does your typical day look like?

By profession, I'm a lecturer in the college. I walk up before the sun every day. Alarms blare at 5:10 am goes off at 5:20 am, I roll out of bed quite literally & it will take 45 mins to ready, I eat breakfast at 6:15 am.

Then I leave at 6:30 am or so. After college time, I go to the gym. After the gym, I do food blogging and I create content & video for my post then study & my day is over and the same things repeat every day.

4. When did you first decide that you wanted to create and write content about food i.e. for blogging?

It's like nearly 2 years ago.

5. Is there a dish you particularly associate yourself with?

Yes, its ROLL GOL. This authentic dessert of Burma is made on special occasions by randeri people. Chocolates, cream, dry fruits, candies rolled in an egg sponge and milk cream poured in vanilla custard.

It a Royal Kind of dessert dish which is only cooked on special occasions. This dessert is unique like me!

6. Which is your favourite book and why?

I love to read Indian epics a lot like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Shree Krishna, etc. these stories are a source of energy. Apart from the Indian epics, I like the Lord of the Rings book.

I have read a lot of books I’ve loved and I love to read in general but this was the first book I was almost rationing because all I wanted was to read it. The true saving graces of this book are the astounding imagination of the author and, by his wonderful writing ability, the realization of that imagination.

I would have it on my desk while studying and I’d say to myself ‘when you’re done you can read some more’. I’d spend all night reading it and most of the day.

Interview By - Suhani Mangleek