Dhaka doesn’t wear its diversity out loud. But its stories ring out in the colourful, weathered lanes of Puran Dhaka (Old Dhaka) – of lives shaped by the dreams that arrived with every chapter of change the city has endured. And food is the most honest narrator of them all.
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I’ve seen the oldest parts of Dhaka through the anecdotal lens of my dad’s childhood. Having grown up next to Lalbagh Fort, he’s witnessed food establishments come and go. But many have remained defiant to the vicissitudes of time – like Haji Biryani, nestled in a small, unassuming nook of Kazi Alauddin Road.
Anyone who grew up in Dhaka knows the name. The eponymous business was a streetside stall, founded by Haji Mohammad Hossain in 1939. It’s said to be among the first to serve the beloved rice dish in East Bengal before Partition.
Their Dhakaiya-style biryani is wrapped in dried jackfruit leaves, with barely-there spices that let the flavours of the tender goat meat shine.
But the delicate kalijeera rice is what gives the biryani its characteristic aroma, and embeds it in the memories of all who have tried it.
The shop, no bigger than most living rooms in Dhaka, serves just three things: biryani, a spiced, salty yoghurt drink called borhani, and chilled soft drinks. Yet on any given day, there’s a long queue in front of the small wooden counter at the entrance, where the day’s collection is still tucked into an old desk-drawer till.
Lead photo: Asif Uddin. Above photos: Abrar Faiyaz Niloy, Kalyan Karmakar, Indrajit Lahiri
A stone’s throw from the biryani’s lingering aroma – and the perfect pit stop for a palate cleanser – is Beauty Lacchi, famous for its sweet and salty lassi, but even better known for its tangy lemonade made with gondhoraj lime, a treat on a scorching summer afternoon.
Like its neighbour, the narrow store has served old Dhaka’s working communities since the colonial era, and turns 103 this year. My dad recalls commuting hours from the northernmost parts of the city to get a drink there in his university days.
Enduring favourites
Some things never change. Even now, students on the hunt for good, cheap eats find their way to the decades-old Nirob Hotel, a Dhaka University favourite.
Just a few kilometres away from the institution's sprawling campus, this eatery on Nazimuddin Road serves authentic East Bengal, or ‘Bangal’ food. My mum tells me stories of the mad rush she and her friends braved to grab a spot. Her favourite dish? A sharply spiced cow brain fry – probably an acquired taste for many, but for Bengali food connoisseurs, a culinary delicacy.
Bhortas are a staple here, too. These mashes, usually made with roasted vegetables or fish, pungent mustard oil, onions, and chillies, are enjoyed with steaming white rice as a side dish. Their Tibeto-Burmese influence is especially pronounced in Nirob’s dried fermented fish version, brought to Dhaka by migrants from the East.
In lean times, these plates offer struggling students a tasty, affordable alternative to meat.
Another pocket-friendly favourite among students is the flaky, biscuit-like bakarkhani, sold in almost every other shop along Nazimuddin Road. Born in the Mughal era, supposedly as a love letter to a pair of star-crossed sweethearts, the tandoor-baked bread is now a Dhaka comfort classic, especially when dunked into a hot, milky chai.
Many of the tiny, hole-in-the-wall shops selling bakarkhani don’t even have names, yet everyone has their own go-to spot.
Photos: Abrar Faiyaz Niloy
Food rooted in culture
Of course, no snack crawl in Puran Dhaka ends without something sweet. Just off Nazimuddin Road, Ananda Bakery carries the essence of its founder Chan Mia’s recipes, who learnt to master the art of baking from a British baker over a century ago. It lives up to the meaning of its name – “joy” – bridging young and old generations with its fruit cakes and signature Ovaltine cake, a timeless teatime classic.
On the same sweet trail lies Alauddin Sweets, a confectionery that traces its roots back to Lucknow in 1864. It’s easy to become a child lost in a candy store when navigating the colours of the sandesh (curdled milk solids), golap jam (rosewater and cardamom sweets), and roshogollas (sugar syrup dumplings) here, along with other treats on display behind the glass shelves.
The chain now has branches overseas, but for the families of Puran Dhaka, the Nazimuddin Road shoplot feels like the heart of the community.
It’s where families have gone for generations, placing big orders to celebrate new births or send boxes of sweets for funeral prayers. This is a community that marks every turn of life with a touch of sweetness.
A little further along the Buriganga River is Beauty Boarding (no relation to Beauty Lacchi), another place that brings people from all walks of life together, but this time just as much for the stories etched onto its stone walls as for the food on its tables.
Photos: Abrar Faiyaz Niloy, Asif Uddin, Indrajit Lahiri
Nalini Mohon Saha opened the modest eatery in 1951, and its small dining room across an open courtyard soon became a den for Bengal’s brightest minds. Authors, poets, activists, and politicians shared conversations mingled with the aroma of fresh Bengali fare. The establishment has not only fed Dhaka’s hunger for both food and ideas, but also sheltered activists during the 1971 Bangladesh genocide, when one of the owners was tragically killed.
In this food haven, history and literature enthusiasts return for the simple, mostly vegetarian cooking. A house speciality from their array of homestyle dishes is choshir payesh, a jaggery-sweetened milk pudding with rice-flour dumplings.
But what’s really special about the food at Beauty Boarding – still served today by the surviving members of the Saha family – is that it draws flavours from both East and West Bengal, almost as if Partition never carved them apart.
Like every long-lived kitchen in Puran Dhaka, it’s a stronghold of stories – of families who stayed back, and of those who arrived with recipes only in their memories, passing them down between generations with love.
In this part of town, each dish is a living map of the communities that built this city, and each bite is a step towards keeping that soul alive.
