Mermeid Gallery Cafe

Seafood seafood seafood......
I needed some pictures of seafood from Cox's Bazar.
So, I visited famous seafood restaurant where seafood is brought from Cox's Bazar everyday.

The name is "Mermeid Gallery Cafe".
They have Eco-resort in Cox's Bazar as well.
This restaurant was in Gulshan 2, but moved close to Notun Bazar.

The first floor is café, and restaurant is 6th floor. 

There is open terrace, too.You can see..........road and building??

Since I needed seafood picture, ordered fish!!
Baked Pomfret 350tk(per 100gm)

I thought "not expensive as I expected!!"....but it was per 100g.
The one in picture is 300g.

Then, Baked Mussels(450tk).

Both tasted very good.
After a while, I have really seafood.
Mussels were baked with garlic and butter....I could eat 20 of them.

However.....one of my purpose was taking picture.
I wanted white plate with seafood.
So, I ordered "white plate"!
(by the way, free of charge)

Moved Mussels.....

Um.....not exactly looks nice......what to do.....

But anyway, enjoyed seafood.
Then, dessert with coffee.

Apple pie for 100tk, coffee for 175tk.
Coffee was very good, I was satisfied.

All the prices excludes 10% Service Charge and 15% VAT.

Taste is good, and atmosphere is also good.
I went for lunch, but it would be nice to go for dinner, too.
If you want to enjoy seafood and relax......visit there.
* High speed wifi is available.

＜Mermaid Gallery Café＞
Address: 32, Progoti sharani, Baridhara, Block J, Gulshan2, Dhaka
Tel: 018-4141-6470
Web: http://www.mermaidgallerycafe.com/

YoBerries & Bon Cafe

Banani Road#11 is one of the fanciest places in Dhaka.
I needed a picture of Banani road for my work (to introduce the place as fashionable street).... so walked and walked and walked, but I wasn't sure where to take a picture.
I walked all the way to airport road, at the end of the street.

.....could this picture be "fashionable street"?
Either my skill is not enough or road itself doesn't look fashionable.....

"OK, anyway I need to take a rest"
Found a frozen yogurt place.

Looks ice cream shop?
Wifi is available. Quite good wifi.

 At first, choose cup or corn(extra 150tk for corn).

Then, take frozen yogurt as you want.(1onz for 50tk. You have to buy minimum 4 onz.)

Flavor is
- Apple & Orange citrus sorbet(you can only choose apple, or mix with orange)
- Litchi & Plain tart
- Strawberry & Blueberry tart
- Geneva Chocolate & French vanilla
- New York Cheese Cake & Taro
- Double Cookies Cream & Pistachio

Then, add toppings if you want.

I got Blueberry Tart and New York Cheese cake.

 



Since it is frozen yogurt, it's not so sweet and fresh taste.
This one cup costs 276tk(including 15%tax).

Enjoy frozen yogurt in hot weather (though it is winter now)!
YoBerries & Bon Cafe
Address: House #48, Road #11, Block-C, Banani, Dhaka
Tel: +880-17666-81453

Public Holidays in Bangladesh (2015)

A Happy New Year!
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day were Hartal(Strike), but anyway 2015 has started.
I will be leaving Bangladesh in 3 months, but will update till my the end of my stay.
 
Here is holidays for 2015.
Some irregulars can happen, so please check again if you plan the trip. 
In addition, be careful that some of holidays depend on phases of the moon.
 

<Holidays in 2015>

Jan.4  Eid Milad un-Nabi
Celebration for The Birth Day of Prophet Muhammad.

Feb.21  Shahid Dibash(Language Martyrs' Day)
The day is for the remembrance of the martyrs' of Language Movement of 1952.
The Shahid Minar in Dhaka is the symbol of the sacrifice for the mother tongue.

Mar.17 Bangabandhu Birthday
The birthday of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman(Bangabandhu) who is founder of the country and the first president.

Mar.26 Independence Day
On this day in 1971 was the beginning of a 9 month long war for liberation that resulted into the independence of Bangladesh.

Apr.14 Bangla New Year's Day
The day also called Poyela Boishakh, is the first day of the Bengali calendar. People celebrates the day wearing red and white color of traditional dresses.

May.1 May Day
This day celebrated to establish the rights of workers.Worker organisations are hosting various programmes.

May.13 Buddha Purnima*
It is a celebration that commemorates the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death, and his passing into nirvana.

Jun.3  Shab-e-barat*
It is the special night of seeking forgiveness and repenting to Allah.
Usually 15 days after of the day Ramadan starts.

Jul.15  Shab-e-Qadar*
27th days of Ramadan. The night is highly virtuous since the Holy Quran was transferred on the holy heart of the Holy Prophet in this night.

Jul.17  Jumatul Wida*
The last Friday of Ramadan. Muslims gather at the mosque and pray.

Jul.17-19  Eid Ul Fitr (Rojar Eid)*
The day marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. People wear the new dresses and greet "Eid Mubulak".

Aug.15  National Mourning Day
It is the day for rememberance that Bangabandhu and most of his family members at his house were assassinated.

Sep.5  Krishna Janmashtami
It is an annual commemoration of the birth of the Hindu deity Krishna.

Oct.23 Durga Puja
It is an annual festival that celebrates worship of Hindu goddess Durga. Thousands of Puja Mandaps are set up across the country. Festival at Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka is one of the biggest.

Oct.24-26  Eid Ul Azha (Korbani Eid)*
"Feast of Sacrifice" is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims as a commemoration of the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah. Following the story, people buy cow(or goat) to sacrifice n the day and share the meat with themselves, their relatives, and the poors.

Nov.24  Muharram(Ashura)*
Also called 'sacred month' is the first month of the Islamic or Hijri calendar. The tenth day of Muharram is called Ashura. Imam Husain, the grandson of the Holy Prophet was killed on this day at the hands of the troops of Yazid.

Dec.16  Victory Day(Bijoy Dibosh)
In the year 1971, the 9 month-long Bangladesh liberation war had ended.  The national flag is hosted in all important offices, buildings, institutions and shops.

Dec.25  Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas ceremony can be seen in northern area like Mymensingh where Garo tribe lives. 

*The day can be changed due to phases of the moon.

Joy! Restaurant (in Savar)

Have you ever been to National Memorial in Savar?
Joy Restaurant which Parjatan Corporation operates is opposite side of the road of National Memorial.
One of my best co-workers was transferred to Joy Restaurant, and he kept telling me to visit there.
2 hours journey from Dhaka........I was too lazy to spend 4 hours on the bus in weekend.
However December 16th, on the Victory day, I finally visited there.

Inside.
It was crowded, especially people who visited National memorial on Victory day.

My co-worker Mr. Parvez is very confident of all the improvement he has done such as quality of food and decorations....

 

One thing I was impressed is that he created special set menu for the Victory day.
We foreigner often don't have idea what to order.
Set menu makes us to decide easier.
For example Bengal New Year, they will serve special menu, too.

Here is regular menu.
Biriyani.(Bangladeshi chicken-250tk)

Mixed vegetable curry.(50tk)

Beef Curry.(230tk+rice 60tk)

Chicken.(220tk/Bangladeshi chicken)

I don't have picture, but daar of Partajan's restaurant is one of my favarite menus.
Please try if you go there.

Here is my co-worker, Mr. Parvez.

If you have any opinion, please talk to him!

 

Joy! Restaurant

Address : Joy! Restaurant, Savar(just opposite to National Memorial)

Tel : 880-2-7791971

Charcoal Steak House

Steak, BBQ.....
You may sometimes feel like to eat meat.
Then, visit Stake House.
 
It moved from Gulshan 2 to Gulshan 1.
From Gulshan 1 circle, walk to south(to Niketon) and turn left at the second street.

Fancy interior.

Bread is served complementary at first.

Main menu is steak, of course.
Decide fish/meat, and choose 2 side dishes from following choices.

- Fried rice
- Vegetable
- Mashed Potato
- Fried potato- Jacket Potato (baked potato with sour cream)
- Lyonnais Potato (baked potato with fried onion)

Potato and potato and potato!!

This is Teriyaki Chicken(1310tk+Service Charge 10%+VAT15%).

Sirloin Steak(1500tk+Tax).

 

Meat was so soft that I even didn't have to cut by knife.

We also ordered appetizer.
Tomato and mozzarella cheese salad(480tk+Tax).

It was also good though I wanted more amount!
There is some more space for cheese and tomato on the dish.....isn't it?

 

Service wasn't the best as a restaurant which charges service charge, but food and atmosphere was nice.
If your mood is steak and potato, let's try.

＜Charcoal Steak House＞
Address: House#3/B, Road136, Gulshan1, Dhaka
Tel: 02-984-0033
E-mail: charcoalbd@gmail.com
 

Caspian

Iranian restaurant in Bangladesh....
I wanted to visit the restaurant for a long time (and didn't get chance) since my friend recommended.

The restaurant's name is 'Caspian'.
It is located between Gulshan 1 and Gulshan 2, 4th floor of the building whose first floor has Agora(supermarket).

Entrance.

Inside.

There was no one when we entered.
I said...
"No one??"
Staff said
"It is still 6pm, people will come after 8pm".
But we only found one couple by 9pm.
Good for us, but can they run......????

Anyway.
The main dish in this restaurant is Kabab.
There are many kinds of kabab......but we weren't sure what was what.

So, we opened the page of "Caspian special", and ordered "Caspian kabab for 2 people".
You can choose 3 items from chicken, mutton, beef and fish.

Our choice was chicken, beef and fish.
(Most of Japanese don't choose mutton.....including us)
3 types of rice and 2 types of sauce were served together.
Saffron rice, butter rice, and....butter rice with raisins and nut.
Rice was Basmati rice which is quite different from Bangladeshi rice.
Basmati comes from the word in Sanskrit which means "fragrant".

One sauce is tomato based, and another is yogurt based.

Beef with tomato and fish with yogurt sauce was good!
I liked fish the most, but chicken was incredibly soft!
I also liked baked tomato put besides meat.
1,800tk+VAT(5%)+Service Charge for 2 people.

It was actually too much amount for 2 girls, so if you don't eat much, it may be better to order kabab for 1 person and some side dishes.
I found hummus in menu, so would like to try it next....(I love hummus!!)

If your mood is not curry, Chinese, or Korean....why don't you try Iranian?

Caspian
Address：RM Centre(4th floor), 101 Gulshan Ave. Dhaka
TEL：01748776655
WEB:http://www.caspian-bd.com/

Poplar

Weekend.......
I was spending lazy day......then, came up with going to cafe with my laptop.
Let's do some work with a piece of cake & a cup of coffee.

Poplar is in Gulshan 2, opposite of Westin hotel.
Entrance.

At first, it seemed like bakery.
There were many kinds of bread. Quite similar with Japanese bakery.
One piece is around 100tk.

Lovely cakes!

I haven't seen these kinds of cakes for a while. (I used to in Japan!)
Then, inside is cafe.

I ordered baked cheese cake and coffee.

It wasn't too sweet and tart was crispy.
Coffee is ok.......but I was impressed they served hot milk with coffee.

 

Each of cake & coffee was 200tk(+VAT15%+Service Charge2%).

Wifi is available.
You can have relax time or work with your PC.
(I didn't work much as a result, but at least finished this blog!)

PoplarAddress：#203(2nd floor), 138 Gulshan Ave. Gulshan-2, Dhaka
TEL：01678013636