u/dev_tulunadu

I’m a Tuluva based in Mumbai but I come back home pretty often. Went out yesterday to one of the usual famous spots around Hampankatta for some chicken ghee roast and neer dosa to hit that nostalgia, but I swear the quality has tanked so hard over the last few months. They are charging insane prices now and the masala literally tastes like they mixed ketchup and sugar in it just to cater to tourists. It feels like a massive cultural shift where the authentic fiery byadgi chili flavor is just getting commercialized into this weird sweet gravy. I feel like the actual good places are being heavily gatekept by locals now or you have to go to some random highway bar towards Udupi to get the real deal. It just sucks seeing our best local dishes get watered down like this.

tuluva based in mumbai here. came down to the coast recently and i swear the local scene is going through some weird identity crisis right now. it feels like every second classic spot in kudla is either jacking up prices by 300% to cater to the weekend blr crowd or completely changing their interior to look like a generic indiranagar pub. missing the days when good neer dosa and ghee roast were just normal everyday comfort food and not some gatekept premium aesthetic. maybe it's just nostalgia hitting hard but the sheer commercialization of our local coastal culture lately feels like a massive quality drop just to farm instagram engagement. wondering if other locals are noticing this aggressive shift or if the city is just evolving and i'm the one stuck in the past.

I’ve been moving between Mumbai and BLR lately and there’s a specific cultural shift in neighborhoods like Indiranagar and HSR that feels hollow. It’s not just about the inflation, it’s how specific regional identities are being packaged into these copy-paste "industrial chic" outlets that all use the same vendors.

You see these heritage-labeled spots popping up every week, but the supply chain feels totally disconnected from the actual roots. Everything is being optimized for high-turnover "experience" rather than the actual craft. Even the raw ingredients in these newer upscale clusters feel mass-produced compared to what the city was like even 8-12 months ago.

It feels like the city is losing its hyper-local grit and replacing it with a polished, overpriced aesthetic that doesn't actually represent the communities it claims to. Is Bangalore just becoming a giant curated food court, or is there still any pocket left that hasn't been gentrified into oblivion for the social media cycle? Genuinely curious if others living in these tech-belts feel this disconnect.

I’m a Tuluva based in Mumbai, so my nostalgia for a proper meen gassi and anjal fry is always peaking when I visit home. But this recent trip has me feeling like we desperately need to gatekeep our older spots. There is this weird cultural shift happening right now where classic thali places around the State Bank and Hampankatta stretch are doing these massive aesthetic renovations and suddenly charging literal Bandra prices for fish that tastes completely watered down. It feels like these management guys care way more about catering to the instagram reels crowd and Manipal students than actual locals now. Even a couple of the legendary joints have quietly dropped their spice levels and portion sizes over the last few months just to churn out fast tables for the weekend tourist rush. It is honestly sad seeing our authentic coastal food scene get diluted and commercialized just for aesthetics.

I’m a Kudla local who has been based in Mumbai for a while, so my nostalgia for proper coastal food is always at an all-time high when I come down. But this recent trip has me feeling like we need to aggressively gatekeep our older spots. There is this weird cultural shift happening lately where so many new aesthetic cafes are popping up around the Manipal-Udupi stretch charging literal Bandra prices for absolute cardboard-tasting goli baje and basic filter coffee. It feels like places care way more about neon signs and instagram aesthetics than the actual food now. Even a couple of the legacy joints near the Matha seem to have quietly dropped their quality over the last few months just to churn out fast tables for the tourist crowd. It is honestly depressing seeing our local food scene get diluted and commercialized like this.

I’m a Kudla local who mostly operates out of Mumbai now, but spending some time around Manipal recently gave me massive culture shock. It feels like the commercialization of native food here has officially peaked. I ordered a standard anjal tawa fry at a place that used to be fiercely gatekept near Tiger Circle, and the masala literally tasted like a watered-down pre-packaged mix. It completely lost that authentic Byadgi chili hit, plus they casually bumped the price by like 40% in the last few months just to match the new cafe crowd aesthetic. It’s wild watching this weird cultural shift where actual local spots are diluting their own heritage just to cash out on the massive student influx. The nostalgia of grabbing cheap, hardcore authentic seafood here is basically dead. Just a sad sociological observation on how fast the micro-neighborhood vibe is changing.

I’m a Kudla guy currently based in Mumbai, visiting BLR for work. I’ve been trying a few local darshinis and noticed a huge shift in how Mangalore Buns are being made here now compared to back home.

​Most places seem to have completely abandoned the traditional fermented banana recipe. Instead, they are serving what basically tastes like a thick, deep-fried sweet maida donut. It completely lacks that authentic fluffy, airy texture meant to be eaten with spicy chutney.

​It feels like the proper coastal recipe is getting replaced by a mass-produced sugary version just to cater to the fast-moving crowds. Curious if the locals here have noticed this shift in the quality too, or if the modern darshinis have just completely changed the standard recipe.

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Namma Tuluvas have an insane work ethic, but it feels like all our top talent ends up leaving Dakshina Kannada just to build a solid income in the bigger cities.

With everything going digital now, do you guys think the youth can actually build a high-income career or business while staying right here in Kudla, or is the local market still too small? Curious to hear from people working remotely or running businesses locally