Staying up late has given way to late-night snacking and the availability of food delivery services and increasing number of QSRs open all day just makes in easy to beat hunger pangs even in the wee hours of the morning, suggests a report, titled 'How India Eats', by Swiggy and Bain & Company
Pulling late-night shifts, whether for work or studies and even binge watching, calls for late-night binge eating too. This in turn, has given rise to ‘4am food order’. “Most of my friends and I work have really long working hours and it is only at night that we really get the time for ourselves. So, usually when on Fridays or Saturdays, we stay up late and either go to 24×7 outlet, or a restaurant in Delhi early morning or order food online. We have a plate of chhole bhature, a kathi roll or a bun maska and then go to sleep, only to wake up in the afternoon,” says Madhur Soni, a Noida-based professional, while Pratishtha Gupta, a manager for Strategy & Special Operations for a conglomerate, from Delhi, says, “For our 1:30 am hunger pangs, we order pizza, paranthas or North Indian food.”
For Priyanshu, a CAT aspirant staying in a PG in Ghaziabad, cooking is not an option to beat hunger pangs while pulling an all-nighter. He says, "I study at night and I mostly prefer to order paranthas from a food delivery platform between 3-5am because I live in PG. I don't really have the privilege to cook or have the energy to cook for myself."
Rohit Kapoor, CEO, food marketplace, Swiggy, says, "There is a wide variety of dishes being consumed as the late-night binging has extended to eating early- morning bingeing."
What is Delhi eating between 4am - 6am?
One may think that people are ordering light, easy-to-digest food right before going off to sleep early morning, but many dishes featured in the most-ordered meals between 4am-6am in NCR fall in the indulgent category
Burger
Rolls
Pizzas
Dry starters such as kebabs, tikkas, 65s
Parathas
Curry items such as butter paneer,etc
Momos
Sandwich
Fries
Noodles
A nutritionist's take: Anytime bingeing impacts sleep and gut health
"While our changing lifestyle has led to changing eating patterns, anytime binge-eating can be problematic. Eating unhealthy food during mid-meal occations lead to all the metabolic disorders that come in play with lifestyle imbalance such as PCOD in women, insulin resistance, thyroid and diabetes. Cravings often lead to the consumption of junk food which are high on fat, sugar and sodium, affecting overall nutrition, sleep quality and poor gut health. It may also lead to digestive issues, as metabolism is already slow at night, says Sakshi Salwan, a diet consultant and nutritionist.
'Most people eat chhole bhature, dosas and patties, some order idli or appe'
During the 4-6am slot, close to 1,000 outlets are live in Delhi, making it one of the cities with the highest number of active outlets across India. Bittu, staff member at a resto in Barakhamba Road that opens at 4am says, "Every morning, the restaurant has about 50% occupancy. While some people prefer to eat light and opt for idli or appe, there are many who order chhole puri, chhole bhature, patties or podi dosas too. Travellers, people seeking early morning darshan at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, and some food adventurers visit the resto early morning. There are many people who come from Gurgaon after a night-long party too."
As per NRAI's India Food Services Report 2024, there is a 32% increase in dining out frequency for Delhiites, where 3% like to eat after 10.30pm and 5% before 10 am. The report also mentioned that Quick Service Restaurant operators suggested the 24-hour operations should be piloted in Tier-1 cities and then to smaller cities. "As India moves to a more developed economy, new job roles would open up which will have people working in non-traditional hours. Such operations will allow them more variety (of food/restaurants) to choose from," mentioned the report.
Pulling late-night shifts, whether for work or studies and even binge watching, calls for late-night binge eating too. This in turn, has given rise to ‘4am food order’. “Most of my friends and I work have really long working hours and it is only at night that we really get the time for ourselves. So, usually when on Fridays or Saturdays, we stay up late and either go to 24×7 outlet, or a restaurant in Delhi early morning or order food online. We have a plate of chhole bhature, a kathi roll or a bun maska and then go to sleep, only to wake up in the afternoon,” says Madhur Soni, a Noida-based professional, while Pratishtha Gupta, a manager for Strategy & Special Operations for a conglomerate, from Delhi, says, “For our 1:30 am hunger pangs, we order pizza, paranthas or North Indian food.”
For Priyanshu, a CAT aspirant staying in a PG in Ghaziabad, cooking is not an option to beat hunger pangs while pulling an all-nighter. He says, "I study at night and I mostly prefer to order paranthas from a food delivery platform between 3-5am because I live in PG. I don't really have the privilege to cook or have the energy to cook for myself."
Rohit Kapoor, CEO, food marketplace, Swiggy, says, "There is a wide variety of dishes being consumed as the late-night binging has extended to eating early- morning bingeing."
What is Delhi eating between 4am - 6am?
One may think that people are ordering light, easy-to-digest food right before going off to sleep early morning, but many dishes featured in the most-ordered meals between 4am-6am in NCR fall in the indulgent category
Burger
Rolls
Pizzas
Dry starters such as kebabs, tikkas, 65s
Parathas
Curry items such as butter paneer,etc
Momos
Sandwich
Fries
Noodles
A nutritionist's take: Anytime bingeing impacts sleep and gut health
"While our changing lifestyle has led to changing eating patterns, anytime binge-eating can be problematic. Eating unhealthy food during mid-meal occations lead to all the metabolic disorders that come in play with lifestyle imbalance such as PCOD in women, insulin resistance, thyroid and diabetes. Cravings often lead to the consumption of junk food which are high on fat, sugar and sodium, affecting overall nutrition, sleep quality and poor gut health. It may also lead to digestive issues, as metabolism is already slow at night, says Sakshi Salwan, a diet consultant and nutritionist.
'Most people eat chhole bhature, dosas and patties, some order idli or appe'
During the 4-6am slot, close to 1,000 outlets are live in Delhi, making it one of the cities with the highest number of active outlets across India. Bittu, staff member at a resto in Barakhamba Road that opens at 4am says, "Every morning, the restaurant has about 50% occupancy. While some people prefer to eat light and opt for idli or appe, there are many who order chhole puri, chhole bhature, patties or podi dosas too. Travellers, people seeking early morning darshan at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, and some food adventurers visit the resto early morning. There are many people who come from Gurgaon after a night-long party too."
As per NRAI's India Food Services Report 2024, there is a 32% increase in dining out frequency for Delhiites, where 3% like to eat after 10.30pm and 5% before 10 am. The report also mentioned that Quick Service Restaurant operators suggested the 24-hour operations should be piloted in Tier-1 cities and then to smaller cities. "As India moves to a more developed economy, new job roles would open up which will have people working in non-traditional hours. Such operations will allow them more variety (of food/restaurants) to choose from," mentioned the report.
