Snacking on the streets of this city is nothing short of a culinary treat, and if you add the streets of Old Dhaka to the list, then it is an epicurean ball.

However, lets skip over the bakhakhanis, local cheese, beauty lassi, chicken chaaps, and mutton chops of downtown, where the city was originally founded. I want to introduce the variety of street snacks found in the uptown area, which is the newer part with more residences than businesses.

It is hard to distinguish between uptown and downtown per se, because you are bound to find offices tucked inside the belly of residential areas and houses on top of markets. If I were to describe Dhaka, I would say the city is one big, friendly, open market.

Now that winter is approaching, almost every nook and cranny is occupied with the brisk business of selling warm clothes, socks, mufflers, knit caps, and beanies. So, snacking is a supplementary part of such pop-up street businesses.

Having said so, I wonder how many of you will venture out of your car to enjoy these by-the-street snacks. I say this because only the other day, I was stuck in traffic for hours at a stretch and after a certain point, I could hear my grumbling tummy, having skipped lunch that day. I was figuring out ways to pacify my stomach; sandwiches from Sausly's, quiche, or croissant from Holey, but these would have required a detour that I was not willing to take. My relief came in the form of a peppery jammy chicken egg, and a cup of steaming milk tea from a tong. I dunked an entire packet of energy plus biscuits in my tea and for dessert, I went for Igloo's Almond Split bar.

That traffic deadlock made me realise that the toiling Dhaka is spoilt for choices when it comes to the assortment of everyday snacks.

Duck eggs reign supreme on the winter favourite snack list. The vintage-styled wire basket is full of eggs of all kinds of fowl — white, pale grey, and blue duck eggs, tiny free-range chicken eggs, quail eggs, and large farm-fed chicken eggs. Vendors sit in front of bazaars, markets, and pavements with their steaming assortment. The deep orange duck yolks are spiced up with black salt, and chilli flakes, and the jammy yolks, or 'creamy,' as the seller calls it, are served with green chilli and black pepper. Boiled eggs make for a rich, nutritious snack on the go, and trust me, you can never have just one of these.

 Another sought-after winter snack is tripe bhuna — fried at a high temperature until the spices form a paste in oil and bring out the flavours. It is to be had with puffed-up chapati or flatbreads. These are sold in front of offices and marketplaces and are a hot favourite substitute for brunch or late lunch. These carts also offer duck curry too.

Haleem carts are the ones with the most customers, especially on chilly evenings, a bowl of this lentil mix with soft tender meat is a satisfying snack on your way back home after work.

My favourite winter snack is tender roasted corn. The addition of a smoky flavour from the coals, and seasoned with lime and chilli glaze, corns are the best snacks of winter.

I am giving you the option to try these snacks besides our regular banana with biscuits or bread, spicy chanachur makha, jhalmuri, and the street favourite chola, which is a spicy chickpea dish cooked in chaat masala, onions, tomatoes, and herbs. Of course, we cannot forget the daal puris and Mughlai parathas.