Bhubaneswar, Sept. 30: Festivals are the perfect excuse to gorge on all that the heart desires. This Durga Puja, delicacies from across the world were served at a number of food trucks and hangout joints run by youngsters in the city.

Food Kitchen, a popular food truck based near Ram Mandir in the city, offered Hyderabadi Dum Biryani and an array of kebabs.

'The festive season is the time for people to indulge into good food, so we served biryani with a twist which is quite popular here. We also had a special offer for people coming to savour the dishes. We served mixed raita and mint salad to customers to add zing to their meals,' said Ashish Jha, who runs the food truck.

'We had a crowd of around 500 per day this week,' said Jha. On the other hand, one could try pasta and tacos at the hangout joint, Go Italy, based at Ravi Talkies Square. 'Very few restaurants in the city serve tacos, so this festive season we wanted to serve something new to the youngsters in the city,' says Ankita Pattanayak from the restaurant.

One could try both vegetarian and non-vegetarian lasagne in chicken and paneer.

A number of star hotels in the city also offered traditional delicacies and international cuisines. A sizzler food festival was held at the Bollywood restaurant of Hotel Crown.

'We have invited expert chefs to retain the authenticity of the menu,' said Aditya K. Sahu from the restaurant, AGM (operation) of the hotel.

Mayfair assured its customers of the best possible taste in oriental and continental at their restaurant, Tea Pot, where a sumptuous banquet will cost you Rs 850.

But it was not just international cuisine that revellers dug into. 'Durga Puja is another name for good food. So, we had put up chairs near our stalls and focused on serving Odia dishes,' said Jagat Jena, a street-food vendor.