It is 9.30pm at Anna Nagar’s Fifth Avenue and a serpentine line of at least 80 gourmands has been shoo-ing mosquitoes while waiting patiently with buckets and hot packs. A security personnel has been trying to control the crowds, and redirect potential customers parking cars and bikes. Anytime now, the owner of Kabali’s Thai Ilai Biryani, will take the lids off two deep, fragrant cauldrons full of biryani. A bubbling wok of oil will fry their freshly-prepared chicken 65. People will either go home with parcels, or stand along the edge of the road and delve into a hot plate of biryani after the long wait. . 

“It is common for us to have as many people waiting in line everyday. The cart begins serving food around 9pm and goes on till about midnight. When we began one and a half years ago, we made smaller quantities. Now , we make 90 kilograms of biryani over the weekend. Sometimes, fights have broken out here [for the biryani],” says Aravindan, a member of the team manning this tempo traveller-turned-food cart. 

Thai Ilai Biryani is one of Anna Nagar’s many success stories.

Kabali’s Thai Ilai biriyani at Anna Nagar in Chennai on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

This year, Anna Nagar’s personality has shifted from that of a residential haven to a culinary destination, and more recently, a favoured weekend rendezvous spot for the city’s youth. From IT professionals in Thoraipakkam to young residents from Ashok Nagar, the locality sees a steady inflow of city dwellers who gravitate towards a nightlife, sans alcohol and parties, populated with a large variety of food. 

The night is young 

Take a metro ride to Anna Nagar Tower station over the weekend, and find yourself flanked by two bustling streets: Fifth Avenue, and 10th Main Road, Second Avenue. These streets house many among Chennai’s aspiring restaurateurs and their entrepreneurial dreams atop food carts, and car bonnets. .

While Fifth Avenue is dotted by carts that sell biryani, freshly-made chicken 65 and even the unique chicken semiya and Nanjil payasam, broken occasionally by smaller carts that sell various kinds of buns, the parallel street is dominated by desserts. 10th Main Road is a colourful strip of stalls that whip up everything from a kulukki sarbath to cheesecakes, popsicles and even fresh pineapple slices doused in a barbeque sauce.   

This proliferation can be largely attributed to Kora Food Street’s establishment as a culinary destination accessible to West Chennai. In late 2023, smaller vendors started setting up shop around Kora and after multiple incidents that resulted in their displacement, they have now taken over these parallel streets, sometimes to the disdain of long-time residents. 

On this Friday, taking inspiration from the omnipresent Instagram food Reels, 22-year-old Juhi dropped a message in her friends’ WhatsApp group. “Will see you all at the post office outside Anna Nagar Tower metro station at 8pm.” The professional who lives in Thoraipakkam and hails from Dindigul, with a keen passion for affordable street food, decided that these cart-lined residential streets would be their weekend hangout. 

The making of a hot chocolate. | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

“I don’t go to clubs or pubs, so this is a great spot for us and I can be here till late night. Whether we like all the food we try or not, is secondary. The idea is to experiment,” she says, adding the disclaimer that the stalls always range between “hit or miss”. An ex-resident of the locality, Yokesh who is now settled in Erode, adds, “Two years back, these streets were empty. Before Anna Nagar became a hub, Besant Nagar was the go-to place for many.” 

Boss babies

An interesting trend to note is that youth are on either side of the carts and are willing to put down the initial investment. Young entrepreneurs like 20-year-old Krishnaeshwar R and 21-year-old Mohammed Arif met at a neighbourhood gym and became friends. “I studied in Singapore. It’s where I tried good-quality hot chocolate and a drink made of sago pearls and fruit compote. I realised that not many people here have tried this, and made it for my friends. They really liked it. We decided to set up a cart called Cioccolalato and try our luck. We had a kiosk at the Fresh 2Day store on Fifth Avenue, and we are now planning to set up a standalone shop in this area soon,” he says.

Not too far away is freshly made ghee rice paired with pepper chicken that has been a family favourite at IT professional Joshua M and teacher Catherine G’s household for long. Along with three other family members, the duo sells out of the bonnet of their car, only on weekends. They are only three weeks old.  

Crowds waiting for their popsicles at Nakku. | Photo Credit: S Shiva Raj

While a lot of players come and go, only few manage to stay. Sustainability here is completely dependent on consistency in quality. “That’s why we are still okay!” believes Surya G of Nakku Popsicles, one of the first dessert carts, set up in September 2023. “We use only imported chocolate and stock only 150 to 200 popsicles a day, even if the demand is high,” says Surya who believes that at the end of the day, taste and quality reign supreme.  

Staples like biryani, momos, french fries and brownies which tend to do well across the city, are also Anna Nagar’s crowd pullers. The biggest advantage here is that they provide variety at an affordable price point. In other parts of the city, the triple chocolate cake — a decadent, moist chocolate sponge soaked with three kinds of chocolate ganache (milk, white and dark) — is surely priced over ₹300. At Anna Nagar, a hearty slice at Traffic Jam is ₹200. The momos here are not just limited to steamed and fried. Most places offer a Korean and Shanghai variety —  usually an amalgamation of momos and a variety of sauces, mayonnaise and cheese. 

Eashwar from Cioccolalato says that most carts aim to cap their products at this rate. “While our margins may not be high, we make up by selling quantity,” he says.

Sago drinks at Anna Nagar, offering a variety | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

While the city’s non-alcoholic nightlife has expanded beyond Besant Nagar, to include food streets in Kathipara Urban Square and even Anna Salai recently, this year belongs to Anna Nagar. The reasons are many. Shakith S who runs Peppino that stations a cart in Besant Nagar too, says, “Since access to the beach closes at 10pm, we have to shut early. Here, that is not the case.” Accessibility to the rest of West Chennai, including Mogappair, Thirumangalam, and Ambattur is also a win.

“It’s simple. For shopping, we have T Nagar. And for food, we have Anna Nagar!” Juhi declares between mouthfuls of hot and saucy ‘Korean’ momos. She nods teary-eyed, in approval.