Foodee: Food, Flavours and Friends

A little over a month ago, Dhaka saw the debut of a brand new restaurant, Foodee. In a span of a few weeks only, this little eatery has already carved a flattering reputation for itself, more because of their ingenious marketing than much else. Foode was the brain-child of 6 friends who had always aspired to open a restaurant for the people and when a space opened up in the city's premier Banani 11 road, THE food scene in Dhaka, it was an opportunity hard to let pass by. Once the partner's looked over the area and gave their approval, Foodee's was finally born.

Foodee's décor is the first thing that tells you what this restaurant hopes to offer; the spacious eatery offers large sitting areas and also a private room that can be hired during corporate parties, birthday parties and other intimate family affairs. The large sitting areas tell us that Foodee wishes to cater to a large group of people, with cricket matches seeing discounts to draw even larger clouds. In fact, it is evident that the Foodee's team is most happy when their restaurant is brimming with life, full of people. And there is a reason behind this.

“We always saw a restaurant as an area for friends to gather. There isn't much to do in Dhaka so friends go out to eat and we wanted to offer them the best place to come and chill out,” Shariful Islam Tuhin, one of the partners stated. “To ensure we have something for everyone, our menu offers three different cuisines; Indian, Thai-Chinese and Continental,” he added. The presence of three different cuisines is usually a red herring; on most occasions so many options would be a repeat lesson of jack of all and master of none. However, to avoid this misstep, Foodee's has hired three different specialised chefs for each cusine, including an Executive Chef who ensures each cuisine retains their own distinctive flavours.

The best part about Foodee's is their pricing strategy. The menu, which consists of Nasi Goreng, Nachos, Salad, Kashmiri Polau and a lot more are priced in such a way so that two people can easily enjoy a filling meal for a little over 500 taka. For a restaurant located in Banani 11, this is indeed a huge achievement in and of itself. A four item set item sets one back only 250 taka, which is value for money defined. There are also steaks which start from around 600 taka and contrary to what the price may suggest, these steaks are quite popular. There are also a variety of drinks present and there are future plans for making designated sections for subs, burgers and even a juice and coffee counter.

During our visit, we were treated to a Nasi Goreng, one of the favourites of the restaurant, along with a refreshing glass of Iced Lime. The Nasi Goreng was served on a hot plate, the dish maintaining its warmth throughout the entire meal. The quantity provided was also quite plenty. It was a happy moment indeed when the rice ran out but there were still pieces of beef left. The flavour was quite consistent for my unrefined palate and it was a meal I thoroughly enjoyed.

Foodee's main clientele are corporates and students, both of whom readily benefit from the value for money and of course the undeniable taste of the servings. Foodee is the brainchild of Shariful Islam Tuhin, Sabbir Mohammad Rumi, Tamzid Ronny, Umme Salma, AKM FariddumZaman and Asif Ahmed Shafi. Foodee is located at House 100, Block C, 3rd Floor, Banani, Dhaka, just opposite to Platinum Suites.

Photo courtesy: Foodee