Camps Edibles

Pizza, in its Bangladeshi flair.

The Royal Wrappings

Syed Sajid Ahmed
Photos: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

If you ask someone (most preferably a student) in the streets of Dhaka about a place to hangout with friends and family and have a bite of shawarma as well, he or she at the first instance would refer you to Shawarma House. With its numerous outlets around the city, Shawarma House has become a hub for young people, especially students to hang out with their FnF. Shawarma, as the name of the place suggests, is its main dish and the one for which it is famous.

Nahid, an ex-student of BUET, when asked about Shawarma House, used the word 'awesome' to describe it. “It's a great place, not only because of its delicious dishes, but also because of its reasonable prices.”

The delicate and delicious shawarma ready to be munched on.	Keeping some beverage by the side will not be a bad idea.

"Yes, definitely, it's one of the places where you can give your taste buds a treat without thinning your wallet much!” added Aliza, who is also an ex-student of BUET and is now a young architect. These are the people who keep Shawarma House buzzing with activities. During the weekdays, almost all of the outlets are flooded with young people and the food servers hardly get time to breathe! During weekends however, there isn't as much of a 'pressure', says the Dhanmondi outlet's food server Zakir Hossain who has been working there for the past three years.

Shawarma House serves a great variety of shawarmas ranging from tandoori chicken, beef to fish shawarmas. Basically, a shawarma is made by putting mashed/ chunks of chicken/beef (dipped in curry) on a fairly large piece of bread (known as khoobz in Arabic). Along with the chicken/beef, mayonnaise, tomato, lettuce and cucumber, sometimes a fine blend of spices is also added. Finally, a little bit of salt is added and everything is delicately wrapped to fit in your mouth. There is also a special shawarma in which capcicum, mushrooms, mustard sauce and slight garlic oil is added. “The special shawarma is a must try,” says Md Ripon, another food server. Amazingly, it all takes a maximum of 4-5 minutes and it is a treat to watch the whole process. If you do not want to miss it then you must take a seat close to the kitchen window. And, if you are a hygiene freak, you probably will give yourself the best chance to closely monitor all the happenings in the kitchen through the glass partition!

Students always keep this place lively and charming.

Pasta and pizza are some of the dishes apart from shawarma which the eatery serves. There are a total of 24 different variations of pasta and pizza. The main ingredients of pizza are chicken/beef, cheese, tomato, capsicum, black olive and, of course, bread! Approximately, it takes a total of 10-12 minutes to serve a pizza. The pasta however is made in quite a different way and takes no less than 15 minutes. The price of a pizza ranges from Tk 309 to Tk 560 depending on the size and type. The price of pasta is similar to that of a pizza, but however, it varies depending on what and how you need to satisfy yourself. And yes, not to forget, these prices are exclusive of the VAT, so do not forget to carry an extra bit of cash!

The most interesting part of this restaurant is that most of its dishes including shawarma are served in baskets made of bamboo, which creates a unique ambience. Shawarma House remains open from 10 in the morning till 10 at night. So, if you are planning to hangout somewhere for food and also a bit of gossip then you must have Shawarma House in your mind as one of your choices!