At Charcoal Steak House

It was nearly 10:30p.m., time for them to close and I stood right there in front of the gate knowing little about their closing hour. However, they greeted me in and I was happily seated for my first ever experience of the steak there.
I didn’t like the dark interior. A fine dine restaurant should have little more light than that and I should be able to see my food clearly. The photos tell you how dark it was there.
I was suggested the T-bone steak, but I always enjoyed a good sirloin and went for the Surf and Turf so that I could check the chef’s skills in cooking fish too. My steak always has to be medium or medium rare. This time I asked for medium rare.
The wait was ten minutes long. I can’t say they made a picture on the plate and the presentation leaves much to be desired. Steak seemed to be cooked unevenly. Till the middle half from my side, it seemed overdone, with a pinkish centre, but then at the farthest edge it was just seared and raw inside, which in a chef’s term is called bleu.
That reminds me, I forgot to take a snap of that. I was too busy eating. 
The steak had a hint of pineapple. Pineapple juice must have been added to tenderize the meat. Sirloin, if done right, needs no tenderizer.
The cream and pepper sauce on top of the steak was grainy and felt like sand in the mouth. It was a plain simple sauce, probably made with roux, caramelized meat bits in the pan and the juice extracted from the steak. 
Shrimps were cooked to perfection. 
Fish fillet was overdone and dry. I didn't enjoy that.
Blanched vegetable was bland. Mashed potato was a bit too sweet for me and the texture was slightly lumpy and too gluey for my preference. I like the mash to be thick, smooth and creamy.
It was an average meal and I was looking for more flavours. The whole point of dining in a restaurant is not to feel like at home. I was looking for the smoky flavour, which wasn't there. My guess would be, they didn't allow the charcoal grill to heat up properly in every corner and prepared the meal in a rush.
Front of the house, however, was excellent. 
The meal seemed reasonably charged if I go for the size but certainly did not meet my expectations in terms of taste of a pricy meal like that.
I am not sure if my meal was like that because they were preparing to leave, or do they serve like that always. I might have to try again in a month to find out.

The Cart Company

No, you are not drunk! It is just the photographic effect there in my photo. And you can find the "Drunken Noodles" at TCC (not TLC).
The newly opened "The Cart Company" is an interesting addition to the food industry. It gives a village kind of feel to you offering food from different cuisines.
However, I didn't find the food that great.
I was there with a friend and we shared the "Drunken Noodles". It was a bit too garlicky and there was noting Thai about it. The noodles didn't even have the sunny side egg on top as promised.
The whole preparation gave me the idea that the chef is not well trained, probably has been washing dishes previously and learnt to cook the see-and-do way ( I admit those are harsh words, but I certainly hate it when there is a bad service). Honestly it was much like a dish prepared at home charged with a price of that in a restaurant. I wish I could say something in their favour.

At Live Kitchen!

At Live Kitchen!

The photo above looks quite tempting, right! This is what tempted me to go and try

Live Kitchen in Banani is away from the busy main street, close to the Dish and Dessert, and you must have observation skills to notice the place.
I thought the concept was to give an American experience in Dhaka, but the place seemed more like a service for refuges in a ghetto. The whole restaurant was like in a garage with a kitchen beside it, and there were umbrellas hanging from the tin shade roof. Sitting arrangement s was congested and the tables looked old while chairs had glass slabs on the wooden frame to sit on. That is certainly not American for me.
It was time to order and I had to wait for some time before I could find someone to take my orders.
I remember him mentioning that the meal would come in 10 minutes. I wish it did.
We had to wait for a long time and so I was expecting something spectacular.
Cheesy delight burgers with fries and coke!
Fries failed! They were in between chips and fries, and though crispy on the outside with a soft potato core inside, had only salt and nothing more.
The first bite of the burger was disappointing because the edge of the bun was charred. The next few bites promised a lot. It has a nice buttery taste with a nicely cooked patty that was meaty enough to make me happy, but then I had to struggle later. The burger was a bit on the drier side and it ends up being a boring burger in the end. The only thing that was right here was the patty.
Service is awfully slow.
Ambiance is not right for burgers.
Burgers are big and on offer, but can’t say they are reasonably priced.
I certainly didn’t enjoy it there.

Marisa's Vegetable Sandwich

Marisa's Vegetable Sandwich!
Vegetable Sandwich from the Signature,Multi-cuisine Food Club’s cafe, Coffee Republic!
A vegetable sandwich with a fancy name is still going to be a vegetable sandwich! Isn’t that right!
Why should I post a review on a vegetable sandwich which is so boring and is like salad in between two slices of bread?
That is because a Singaporean with 50% ownership of a cafe called Coffee Republic served me a vegetable sandwich for review.
The man got to know I am a food critic and was excited. He had formal training on coffee in Australia and is a skilful barista, so you would expect himto ask me to highlight his coffee for review, and he characteristically did so. And then he hurriedly went to ask his chef to make a vegetable sandwich for me.
That totally surprised me!
Sir, you just got to know I am a food critic and I expect you to serve me your best. Why a vegetable sandwich then? Have you become so nervous that your brain has stopped working?
That’s what I thought first but then I doubt he was because his he looked totally calm and seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing.
The coffee had a good aroma, nice taste, but not the silky texture I was hoping for in a latte. But I was waiting for the sandwich eagerly.
The sandwich came soon. It was made with brown bread slices, and served just the way you could possibly serve a sandwich-layer one on the other and fries on the sides.
I could see bell peppers, tomatoes and onions and after my first bite, I could taste fresh basil, aubergine, bell pepper, tomato, pumpkin, onion slices and sharply sour feta cheese.
What do you think they should taste like?
To me the whole thing came together to make a fabulous sandwich!
Pesto paste gives a very refreshing feel in the mouth, aubergines make a creamy filling and covers for mayonnaise that is used in most sandwiches made in Dhaka, grilled bell peppers, tomatoes and onion slices work well here and peppers give that smoky flavour, and pumpkin has that pleasant sweetness slightly countering the sharpness of feta cheese. It is much like a ratatouille with pesto dressing. So you have a refreshing minty, sour, slightly sweet, smoky flavour with a creamy gooey texture sandwiched between two slices of fluffy soft brown bread which is easy to bite on and chew.

A Successful Restaurant Manager-Mr. Kamal Hossain

One of my favourite chefs in Dhaka

One of my favourite chefs in Dhaka-Mr. Sayem Manna
I mentioned in one of my posts before about three chefs in Dhaka who have impressed me so far. This man is one of them.
Chef Sayem Manna was the second chef to impress me, and the first to do so with different dishes from the Italian cuisine. The first dish I tasted was Penne Meatball and that very dish seemed so perfect, I doubt even an Italian could get the flavours so right like that. It was that day that I knew this man had the talent I was looking for.
He is from Maulvi Bazar, went to IUB but completed his BBA in Australia. There must have been something in the Australian air that made him work on his passion. That passion was culinary arts. Sayem Manna did Commercial Cookery Level 3 at Australian Institute of Trade and worked at La Camera in Melbourne and Ceasar in Sydney as a proud Bangladeshi.
Chef Sayem has been in this field for the last 14 years and worked in Dhaka for the last 8 years or so. He was a chef at Westin for a short period of time before becoming the Head of the Faculty of Culinary Arts at Tommy Miah's Hospitality Management Institute. Now he is an Executive Chef at Gloria Jean's Coffees Bangladesh, but will be leaving soon for Australia.
The man was much inspired by his mentors Joel Brendan and Sam Xavier, and himself has been a good leader in his kitchen. The chefs he trained are now serving excellent food and many of them have moved to some of the popular restaurants in Dhaka.
What I find best in him is his "never compromise" attitude with food. He sticks to the basics and goes for no cheap substitutes. This ensures texture and authenticity in flavour in his Italian dishes. But that's not his real strength. His real strength has to be appreciation of flavours. He understands flavours well, and can grasp a quick idea about the kind of taste his customers would be demanding and comes up with something exceptional every time. The man can literally play with ingredients to create something new and exceptional.
His best moment in life came when the Vice Chairman of the Company he works at currently complemented him saying Chef Sayem would have been his personal chef, had he been the President. I must say I find no exaggeration in that!
Some of the best dishes I have tasted so far are Lamb Cutlet ( medium rare for me), Spaghetti Bolognese ( I find his version the best in the city), Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Penne Meatball, my all time favourite.
Two dishes I have not tasted yet, but heard people calling them amazing are Sea Bass with Hollandaise Sauce and Bell Pepper Rice with Chicken Coconut Curry.
I wish him to excel and make us proud in Australia. He is the type of chef I have been looking for, someone who has the knowledge and is original, not a copy chef.

One thing I never understood is why people keep going to Abacus restaurant! Do they serve good? Do they serve tasty food? My answer would be 'NO'. I have never eaten good there and I feel they are cheating their guests and still they are there because we are letting them.