Guest Interview · City & Culture
“Every lane has a legend — you just have to explore it.” Food creator Hiteshi Jalan joins the NEXIS “City Stories” podcast to trace how Siliguri eats, grows, and finds its own identity.
Some people capture a city’s heart through its food. Hiteshi Jalan is one of them. The creator behind The Food Story — one of Siliguri’s most-loved food-discovery pages — and founder of 2 & Half Mile Cafe, she has spent years documenting local eateries, hidden gems and the culture that flavours the city. On the first episode of the NEXIS student podcast “City Stories and Filter,” she took students down every legendary lane.
From an Instagram page to a food brand
Hiteshi started in 2019 without knowing what “blogging” or “content creation” even meant. “For me it was just documenting the places I was going, clicking pictures and writing a story.” She never imagined where it would lead. Then COVID arrived — and became a turning point, as her videos and recipes went viral. What began as a personal hobby grew into a food brand and, eventually, a cafe.
Bidhan Market and an underrated bakery
Ask her what makes Bidhan Market a legend, and the answer is personal: childhood birthdays and custom cakes from a bakery she and her mother visited every year. Her underrated pick? Kavita Bakery — for its Kolkata-style toast and khari biscuits. Her worry, though, is one every growing city shares: “As Siliguri grows so much, people are forgetting local bakeries — but that local taste is something nothing else can replace.”
“Every lane has a legend. You just have to explore it.”
— Hiteshi Jalan, The Food Story
Sevoke Road, Khalpara and street-food soul
Siliguri’s food map has clear landmarks. Sevoke Road’s transformation, Hiteshi notes, “started with food” — eateries, restaurants and pubs led the area’s rise into a highlight of the city, shaping a new youth culture along the way. But for pure street food, her heart belongs to Khalpara and SF Road: “When you see so many options, that’s very attractive.” And it’s the local vendors — the momo aunty in Punjabi Para Chowk she’s eaten with for years — who “remind you of your roots.” Sometimes you don’t want a glass plate in a restaurant; you want the momo on a plastic plate from the street.
▶ Watch the full story on the NEXIS YouTube channel.
The lesson that outlasts the likes
The biggest thing food creation taught her wasn’t a growth hack — it was patience. “For the first one-and-a-half years I didn’t care how many likes or comments I got. I just did it because I liked it.” Even now, a piece she pours 100% into might not go viral, while something small takes off. “It will always teach you patience — be consistent, don’t expect results, and slowly success will come to you.” She sees Siliguri’s food scene not as competition but community: more creators simply mean more of a growing city gets captured.
Siliguri’s own identity — and a potato
For years, Siliguri was “the place near Darjeeling.” Hiteshi sees that changing fast. “Siliguri is going to get a very good identity of its own.” And if the city were a dish? “A potato — because it can be moulded into so many ways but always has that comfort. Seeing Siliguri’s location, I feel it can be moulded in so many ways too. Its potential is just being used.” It’s a fitting metaphor for a city — and a generation of NEXIS students — still discovering what they can become.
- The Food Story began as a 2019 hobby and grew into a brand and a cafe, boosted by COVID-era virality.
- Bidhan Market’s local bakeries hold a taste that growth shouldn’t erase.
- Sevoke Road’s rise “started with food”; Khalpara and SF Road are the street-food heart.
- Patience and consistency matter more than chasing likes.
- Siliguri is building an identity of its own — full of untapped potential.
Why a business school tells food storiesBranding, community, consistency, customer loyalty — a food creator’s journey is a masterclass in business. NEXIS students learn it by interviewing the people building it. Explore life at NEXIS.
Turn curiosity into a career
Study business in a city that’s discovering its own identity — one story at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Hiteshi Jalan?
Hiteshi Jalan is the creator behind The Food Story, a popular Siliguri food-discovery page, and the founder of 2 & Half Mile Cafe.
Where is the best street food in Siliguri?
Hiteshi points to Khalpara and SF Road for the widest variety of street food, and highlights local vendors — like the momo stalls — as the soul of the city’s food culture.
How did Sevoke Road become a food hub?
Its transformation “started with food” — eateries, restaurants and pubs led the area’s development into a highlight of Siliguri and a hub for youth culture.
Based on “City Stories and Filter,” a NEXIS student podcast, featuring Hiteshi Jalan of The Food Story and 2 & Half Mile Cafe.
