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.
Fresh hazelnuts are juicy and crisp. Try them. Make it a part of your trip if you are in Denmark in September.
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:
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:
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.
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.
So now I’ve got to learn this skill. More taro root for me please!
“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!
100 restaurants in Dhaka was my goal… I’ve now tried almost 50 restaurants (read about them in part one and two of my round ups). Many people were concerned about eating out during Ramadan (Ramzan here in Bangladesh) because most restaurants offer an Iftar (breaking the fast) menu and buffet. There were many restaurants that did not offer Iftar so we had many places to try.
The Village (8/13): Pakistani. Kebabs. Much talked about place. Food okay. Large space is good for business and clients. Noisy. Humid interior has a roof but no airconditioning in the main area. Note: Quirky interior.
Mainland China (8/13): Cantonese. The restaurant revolves at about one rotation in 70 minutes. The food is okay although everything seems covered in “chili sauce” which is fairly common in Bangladesh. Its a sweet red ketchupy sauce. Mainland China is to the north of the airport so almost impossible to get to for dinner during non-Ramzan traffic. Note: the place has a good view.
California Fried Chicken (2/13): Fast food. The service is slow, the marketing looks promising, and the food is awful. Weird rubbery dark meat with bone in the “burger” and the strawberry shake was like bubble gum. Note: also sells cakes and snacks from a separate counter.
Shing Heong (5/13): Cantonese. Average to not good southern Chinese food. Note: they plan on serving dim sum soon.
Club Gelato (3/13): Gelato and cakes. Seems promising but then the flavors are all fake and faker. Disgusting really with a chemical aftertaste. Note: serves coffee and looks like a good place to go.
Urban Spice (8/13): Indonesian. Food is acceptable. Tom Yum soup was good, though not Indonesian. Note: Decor is modern and chic.
Hotel Al-Razzaque (5/13): Local Bangladeshi. Very local place downtown Dhaka. Note: So authentic that expats are “protected” from using the bathroom.
Coopers (6/13): Bakery. Dry cakes. Note: popular with locals.
Nandos (7/13): Chicken South African style. Yup, just like in South Africa. Note: Yes, it’s the chain from South Africa.
Time Out Cafe (9/13): Indian-Bangladeshi-Asian. Note: Dhosa, wings, and noodles can all be had in their courtyard. It’s in the hip area of Banani. Young Bangladeshis like it.
BBQ at the Ascot (3/13): Continental. Note: Strange small pieces of meat. Some things okay. Some not.
Boomers (4/13): Bangladeshi Chinese fast food. Very popular with locals. Note: The pizza with sweet canned milk on top is too sweet for most expats.
@Corner (6/13): Thai. Considered by many to be the top Thai restaurant in town. Note: It is located on the top floor of a shopping mall walking past the open latrines can scare newbie expats.
The 8 (7/13): Pan Asian. Great variety. Pepper steak will make you choke from the fumes. Note: looks nice and elegant inside but the food is only okay.
Izumi (8/13): Japanese. Elegant interior. Large. Good for business clients. Note: Interior is dark. Black walls.
Kasturi (7/13): Bangladeshi. They claim to be the best Bangladeshi restaurant in the world… Note: They have an outdoor patio dining area. It is truly local food if you avoid the Indian and Chinese items on the menu.
I do try to not let my opinions be influenced by how much fun I had going out to these places. Clearly, I’m enjoying myself.
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!
In the early morning light of the cavern called “the Siq” in Petra, we three friends were alone in our walk round the twists and turns of the 30 minute walk to that classic view of Petra — the view of the Treasury through the slim gap of the Siq.
We did actually have company in the form of three other tourists who outpaced us and a local dog. Plus a few of the local Bedouin guides trying to sell us donkey rides. But mostly, we were alone, skipping along the well kept path between the rose pink sandstone. The evening before, we had traipsed in the dark to the same spot with 300 other tourists for “Petra by Night” and I’d recommend it. The night walk costs 12 Dinars ($17) and the day pass costs 50 Dinar ($71) but it was worth it. I avoided the donkey and camel rides but the 20 Dinar ($28) horse cart gallop up the walk is also worth it. The two hour up the 800 steps to the “high place” did not seem worth it to me but you can take a donkey up and then, for those who enjoy vertiginous thrills, it might be worth it. But then you could also walk up in stilettos.
Although Petra is touristy, it is much less so than many places on anyone’s list of places to see. I recommend getting up and going at 6 a.m. when the park opens. And bring friends.To paraphrase food and travel god Tony Bourdain: where the French have been, there is good food. In Luang Prabang, Laos, there is a French bakery that delivers.
Enjoy.
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.
Durian. It has to be experienced so you can decide for yourself if you get what all the hype is about.
An easy flight from Dhaka and you are suddenly in Singapore (so clean that I was smitten but not bitten). The soup dish called “laksa” is delicious cheap food (around $4)… and not just because Tony Bourdain said so! Take the number 14 bus to check another thing off the bucket list.
