The Bread Lover’s Guide to Dhaka

From King's.
From King’s.

As someone who loves good bread, I find it hard to find European-style yeasty bread in Dhaka. There is plenty of pillowy naan, stretchy rhumali, chewy paratha, and flaky dhosa. When I want European style bread, I go to the following places:

Kings Confectionary: This is where to get long baguette-like hoagie or subway rolls. Plus, the sugared doughnuts are chewy, doughy, and sugary.

German Butcher: They bake their own bread. They call it black bread but it’s more of a whole wheat blend. You can even buy a half loaf if you want to start out with that.

Do Mi Ok: The best sliced white bread in Dhaka. It’s doughy. If you squeeze it, it will hold your finger imprint. They also sell a few other types of fresh bread but it’s the white that I like.

Le Souffle. It is slightly ridiculous how expensive they are. They have a bakery and sell French baguettes and other types. The bread is hard crust sourdough style. They sell croissants and cakes as well.

Nordic Club: They do great cinnamon rolls… the black bread has too much molasses and tastes slightly off.

Antique bread tins.
Antique bread tins.

Best Vineyard Food – New Zealand

Eggplant/aubergine salad. So much better than it sounds.
Eggplant/aubergine salad. So much better than it sounds.

We were whizzing past the views of paradise on Waiheke Island off Auckland’s coast. The bus driver/guide had suggested places in his well rehearsed voice but after all the other tourists got off at the beachfront restaurant, I asked him again. Where would you eat? He mentioned a vineyard that had won some award last year. He said it was a bit of a walk at almost a kilometer.

The view from our table... vineyard to ocean...
The view from our table… vineyard to ocean…

We got lost. We asked a local for directions. He heartily endorsed Casita Miro. When we found it, we went in through the kitchen. Like everything else in New Zealand, it was both casual, elegant, and ridiculously fresh. The restaurant bakes all their own bread and their food is tapas style. They make good coffee as well so you can enjoy a latte as well (in New Zealand, they have another drink called a “flat white” which is a latte with no foam hence flat. The best one we had was made by an Italian guy down at the harbor in Auckland).

Tagine style lamb shank.
Tagine style lamb shank.

Casita Miro is only open for lunch so plan for it. Enjoy some of the vineyard’s wines… make this a destination.

Deep-fried mozzarella.
Deep-fried mozzarella.
The large windows of the restaurant.
The large windows of the restaurant.

Bucket List Foods – Fresh Hazelnuts in Denmark

Some people have places they must see before they die on their bucket list. To me, certain interesting people and certain foods are the destination. Fresh hazelnuts in Denmark is a destination.

Hazelnuts in shell and two ready to eat (one I have started…). These are not completely fresh.

Fresh hazelnuts are juicy and crisp. Try them. Make it a part of your trip if you are in Denmark in September.

One Year of Madventures.me – Still Mad for Food and Adventure

Madventures.me is one year old. One year ago, I started this blog in preparation for new adventures in food and travel. One year of great food and travel in Amman, Copenhagen, Dhaka, Doha, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Krabi, Luang Prabang, Mumbai, New Delhi, New England, Singapore, and many more.

I started this blog to share some of my adventures with family and friends. As I’ve blogged, my blog has evolved into a source for providing information on restaurants in Dhaka, shopping, and how much one can do in Bangladesh. As a blogger, I’ve been enormously happy when readers from all over the world visit my blog. Thank you for stopping by… from almost the entire world:

Map of visitors to madventures.me in the first 11 months.

As my readership expands beyond people I know, I’m curious about what leads readers to my blog. So here are the top search terms people have searched for in the past year:

Top search terms on madventures.me.

Thank You for Loving Bacon

Danish bacon frying up in a pan.

I was wrong. In recalling Danish bacon, I simply remembered that it was my favorite kind of bacon. When I got to Denmark this time around, I set out to fry some up. When I cooked the pack of bacon, all 250 grams of it,  and realized that no fat came sputtering out of it because the bacon is much more  akin to pancetta, thin and not woodsy in smell… (the Danes have their own breed of pigs called the Antonius). When I ate the first crinkly mahogany strip, I realized that I had been utterly wrong. The Danish bacon was much better than the bacon of my memory.

The sticker says “thank you for loving bacon”.

 

Bangladeshi Home Cooking

Eggplant, fish, squash, potato, taro root mash, gourd, peas, red spinach, beans, taro leaf…

A secret was revealed to me… plain home cooking Bangladeshi style. Every time I’ve been to a Bangladeshi home, I’ve been served beef, chicken, biryani, and other bounty of the table. The food in Bangladeshi restaurants is fancy as well. I just want home cooking. Apparently, home cooking involves lots of “mash” made from different vegetables. Like in most cultures, this is not considered good enough for guests.

Veggies, shrimp curry, eggplant dip, pomelo and apple salad…

Finally, a Bangladeshi friend of mine understood me and my out of town guests (it makes me really happy when this level of cultural understanding happens) and he invited us to dinner. He made us “ordinary” food of vegetables. And more vegetables. I loved it. We had taro root in three different ways, tamarind sauce, squash, peas, eggplant, potatoes, fresh chapati, rice, beans, shrimp, and so much more. My favorite was the white taro mash with chiles. My guests were thrilled to be invited to a Bangladeshi home on the very night of their arrival from the other side of the world. I’m glad to have been given a friend who so comprehends me. He explained to me that even he likes to drop in on friends so that he can get real home cooking.

Taro mash. These mashes are typical, apparently.

So now I’ve got to learn this skill. More taro root for me please!

A List of Lists of Restaurants in Dhaka

Chicken satay at Urban Spice.

“Where do you hear about the restaurants?” is a often asked of me when I find new restaurants to try in Dhaka. Delightfully, often I hear about a “new” place from one of my friends, jute sandals slap-slapping down the hallway. Otherwise, I let it be known that new (for me) restaurants are “my thing” and that I am a collector. Plus, whenever I am out and about, I am always on the lookout for new restaurants or advertising (yes, it does work!) about new eateries.

However, I also search online. Until Yelp arrives in Dhaka, I must make do with the following social media sites:

Dhaka Snob: Local to Dhaka and quite static. Needs to be updated. Lots of dead links.

HottDhaka: Also needs to be updated.

Trip Advisor: They are the leading international site BUT it is hard to add new places and hard to communicate with headquarters. To their credit, they wish to verify a location… but that makes it hard to for me to check back and see when I will be allowed to post a review. Boo. Yelp allows easy posting and THEN verifies. Does Trip Advisor have someone go to each location? How does one get that job?

Lonely Planet: THE BOOK for many travelers and bucket lists.

Google: Start there.

Facebook: Many restaurants don’t bother with a formal website and go for a Facebook page.

FourSquare: Never underestimate the desire to “check in” and conquer a location!

Read about the 50 restaurants I’ve already been to in my previous posts: Restaurants in Dhaka – Part Three, Restaurants in Dhaka – Part Two, and Restaurants in Dhaka – Part One.

Still have 47 restaurants to go!

Famous Falafel at Hashim’s in Jordan

Up close and personal with the roasted eggplant dip.

Quite by accident, we made it to the world famous Hashim’s. All that it’s cracked up to be. Cheap, atmospheric (in an alley between buildings and mysterious characters), and delicious! The total meal of falafel, hummus, baba ganoush, fries, fresh pita, and labneh (yogurt dip) for four people cost $10… so we made one person treat us all. She insisted! Thanks!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Land of Milk and Honey

Hummus with lamb and pine nuts. Warm flatbread.

The food in Jordan made me weak at the knees. Never has lemon juice with mint been so seductive or ground chick peas (garbanzo) been so smooth. El-Sufra on Al-Rainbow Street combines a sunken roman outdoor dining area replete with fountain and palm trees with indoor cafe and upper level with views of the lights of Amman. The nights in August were cool and perfect for sitting outside, chatting with friends, smoking a hubbly-bubbly or playing cards. Something for everyone.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A game of cards.
Fattoush salad. Pita bread croutons and purslane…

Turkish Bazaar in Dhaka

You never know what will happen at the bazaar.

Unexpected hand exfoliation and massage.

Sometimes something will happen and it will be hilariously unexpected. When I had finished my meal and Turkish coffee at the new Turkish Bazaar restaurant and shop, I did not expect the owner to say, “give me your hand” and then pour my warm coffee grounds on my palms before proceeding to massage and exfoliate my hands. Made me laugh out loud.

The front of the restaurant.

Dhaka becomes more cosmopolitan day by day. In June 2012, Turkish Bazaar opened up in Banani, on Road 10. They serve healthy food and it’s probably the best Turkish food in Dhaka. I will be back for the food but also for another Turkish coffee.

Spicy sweet red pepper salad.

A Turkish Village Breakfast

Pastry filled with spinach.

Near the famous Galeta Tower in Istanbul, you can go down a winding side street and find a village style breakfast feast. Sadly, I only have one photo of the food from that meal of fresh eggs fried with spices and unctious olive oil, fresh cheese, doughy breads, colorful chunky fruit compotes, sausages galore, honey, and so many other dishes that my food coma prevented me from recalling the dreams that I ate.

The backside of the cafe hides the quaintness inside.

Istanbul On My Mind

Still remembering the food, cafes, and views of Istanbul. How I long for the chewy sesame delight that is simit…

Simit is a bagel like bread… and yes, that is honey on the clotted cream…
Golden, crunchy, healthy, and one of 20 breakfast dishes…

Some day, I’ll be back in the city of Istanbulli hearts.

Down at the harbor, get a famous stuffed potato the size of your head!
Atmospheric anyone?
View from the Galeta tower.

Veggies to live for!