By Ashadeep Mohanty
Bhubaneswar: If you are planning for a dine out and want to discover some of the best places in town before that, just log on to www.bellthebelly.com, a food review website developed by three food enthusiasts, who happen to be childhood friends.
The website is a perfect tool that helps both travelers and locals find the whole range of restaurants in the town and the kind of cuisines they offer. Through the website, the users can see photos and reviews of the food items tasted by the three foodies as well as the ratings given by them.
Separated though in their professions, the trio of Arupa Ray Joshi, Rudra Samantray and Arindam Choudhury is united in its love for travel and eating out at different restaurants. And it's their love for food that brought them together to develop this venture. Sparing time from their busy schedule, the trio visits restaurants in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri, mostly on weekends and eat what is best offered there. While coming back they put up a sticker of Bell the Belly on the door or the billing counter. The sticker signifies that the hotel is visited and reviewed by Bell the Belly. Later, the three post an overall review taking account of the taste, ambience and food for value. They later link and share it on the Facebook page of Bell the Belly. Created around six months back, the page has over 6000 likes so far.
[caption id="attachment_181827" align="alignleft" width="244"]
Till date, the team has covered 40-50 restaurants, mostly in Bhubaneswar. Joshi said, “There are a lot to be covered. So far, we have visited around 40-50 restaurants, including two in Cuttack and one in Puri.
Bell the Belly Co-founder Arupa said people, especially youngsters want to go out for meals or dinner on weekends and chill out after a stressful week. This website helps them find the best places to grab a bite. It can be a guide to all foodies wanting to go to different restaurants in different areas, she added.
Asked on how people responded towards them during the initial time, Arupa said, “We have always been welcomed everywhere. We have not faced any kind of scepticism. We meet the owners and chefs of the restaurants, give them feedbacks and write reviews after coming back. They have always been open to criticism too.”
Asked about the future plans, Arupa said, "We will upgrade the website and come up with a mobile app very soon. The app will help foodies discover good foods served at different restaurants. We have decided to spread our presence to other parts of the state gradually."