It's not just the first name that the food blogger from Vijayawada Seema Gurnani and I have in common. We both are vegetarians and love Pandas! Which is what Seema named her blog after, Panda Reviewz. And unlike me, Seema has over 23,100 followers on Instagram, has received various awards including the recent Social Media Star award given by Jignasa and KL University and is Vijayawada's leading food blogger.       

She was working in Hyderabad, but quit the job in seven to eight months when she realised she did not get enough leaves to travel  

Food blogging might be the in thing now, but back in 2016 in Vijayawada, a time when neither Zomato nor Swiggy had set its foot in this city situated on the banks of Krishna river, it was tough. It was then that Seema started blogging. "There was just no reliable recommendation platform here," says the 24-year-old. It took a while to convince restaurants there about food blogging and what's in it for them. She started with brands like Pista House, TFL, Brew Buzz and others and when local brands also started seeing more footfalls due to her reviews, they came on board and Panda Reviewz was on a roll. She recently came back from her first international trip to Malaysia, where she was officially invited by Tourism Malaysia and she realised that she wants to travel to many more countries to do similar work. "I essentially want to be a guide for fellow vegetarians who like to travel abroad but are reluctant to deal with the limited choices that vegetarians have," says Sema who pursued her bachelor's from Maharaja Agrasen College in New Delhi. 

At work: Seema conducting a review at an eatery | (Pic: Seema Gurani)

Seema's plan for the future is to continue focusing on her blog, which has always been her priority and comes even before Instagram. "When it comes to blogging, you need to ensure a flow of organic traffic, make sure your posts turn up in searches, the focus is also on Search Engine Optimisation and so much more. Blogging is a whole league altogether," explains Seema and looks like she is in a league of her own.

Must eats
Here are the three things which you need to eat when in Vijayawada

- Idlis: Pop in at the famous Babai Hotel in Vijayawada to savour the best idlis ever! Try their Mysore baji while you are at it...
- Punugulu: This deep-fried snack is a popular street food in Vijayawada and the best ones are found in Moghalrajpuram
- Ulavacharu biryani: This delectable rice dish is a must-have in the city and so is pulihora

Some photos from her Malaysia trip:

For more on her, check out pandareviewz.com