This preparatory case study provides an overview of the issue of the street food vending system in the South Indian emerging megacity of Hyderabad. It analyses the organisational structure and changing institutional arrangements of the urban roadside food vending system, looks at important livelihood aspects of the street vendors and examines the role street food plays in the urban food provisioning system. Primary research was carried out to collect empirical data on these issues. Embedded in a literature review, major problems and challenges of the street food vending system of Hyderabad are discussed. The findings point to the necessity for further action-research.