Lunch at Peyala

Peyala is known well for its 'rastar cha', salad bowls and wraps, and customizing my wrap seemed like the most comforting thing to do before the bill showed up.

Overcooked chicken with raw vegetable and mushroom, pleasantly spicy tofu and balsamic vinaigrette, wrapped with thin flat grilled tortilla managed to just stay together. The bites were satisfying to a hungry stomach and I had to bite once on the right and once on the left to get the flavours from all of them. Capsicum gave the crunch while the salsa brought in the subtle acidity. Mushrooms helped to make it umami, and the spicy heat from the tofu covered for the boring chicken in the wrap. The vinaigrette could have complemented well had there been a more generous drizzle in a large fat wrap like that.

Six layered chocolate cake at PEYALA

Looks can be deceiving and this one was just hiding behind a very tempting impression.
In a nutshell, this cake did just enough to ruin the dining experience.
The cake had dry fudge. The frosting was too dense and sweet. The grease coated the tongue and palate leaving an obnoxious taste. This certainly was a horrible dessert to follow a good wrap.

Totally disappointed! Tk300 for this slice is just not worth it. In fact, I would not like to pay any money for this. I would not eat it as a complement either! 

Coupled with a six layered chocolate cake that comes for Tk300, and a small bottle of water, the meal cost me Tk800+.

What actually baffles me is the demand for 'rastar cha' or the roadside tea!
I find it hard to understand why would anyone ask for it at 6 times the price in that establishment? Peyala actually gives me the idea of a refined tea shop. Asking for 'rastar cha' and to be served like that is like asking for the rikshaw experience in your Mercedes Benz, at a price higher than the actual one.
The real experience of 'rastar cha' from the 'tong' cannot simply be replaced with the tea in an air conditioned room, just how real football game cannot be replaced with FIFA.

While sitting is comfortable and there is a good cold interior, getting up to get tissue papers every now and then could be annoying and the loud crowd makes it difficult to spend some quiet time. The music needs to get louder here.