BBQ Bangladesh: A chicken lovers’ utopia
For connoisseurs of expertly cooked chicken dishes, BBQ Bangladesh offers a flavoursome experience
If you are a fan of chicken-based cuisine, chances are you are already familiar with BBQ Bangladesh. But for the uninitiated, it is part of Genesis BBQ, a global restaurant franchise from Seoul, Korea.
Founded in September 1995, the franchise specialises in premium chicken food items, with their official vision being to 'always provide the most delicious and healthiest premium chicken.'
The franchise started its journey in Bangladesh on January 27, 2013. Currently, they operate on three separate outlets in Dhaka located in Uttara, Banani and Dhanmondi.
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To ensure the best quality, the franchise maintains a strict QCS, short for Quality, Cleanness, Service. Their in-house chicken procurement process is strictly controlled and uses all-natural ingredients throughout the process.
On the preparing side, the chefs working at their kitchens are sent to Korea to take a one month course.
Being connoisseurs of expertly cooked chicken dishes ourselves, we went to the BBQ Dhanmondi branch to savour what they had to offer.
We arrive at the place at 11 in the morning to avoid the crowd. The restaurant was well lit and was decorated with all wood furniture. After grabbing a table in front of a giant glass window, we busied ourselves with the menu and made our choices.
We started with a healthy serving of 10 pieces of Gangjeong chicken (Tk899). Upon service, we realised we may have bitten off more than we could chew, literally and figuratively.
The dish was a small mountain of whole chicken meat covered in a honey-based sweet sauce and a peanut garnish. The "whole chicken" part of the description sure did not exaggerate, as there was enough meat on that plate to feed a small family.
The pieces had a soft crunchy texture and were really juicy inside. The initial bite was sweet, followed by savoury taste with a bit of spice, courtesy of the chopped chilli.
Our second dish was a plate of what the menu described as 'Original Barbecue Chicken' (Tk699). The meal consisted of two pieces of chicken thigh with bread and gravy. To add a bit more colour, the plate was also decorated with a side of grilled garlic, tomato and capsicum.
The thigh was soft and moist; came apart with minimal effort. The skin was a bit chewy, but the meat practically melted in the mouth, with the bread and gravy helping to compliment it quite nicely.
Our final course was a plate of Gochujang Chicken (Tk799), which was special. It was a big plate of salad, spicy Gochujang Chicken and shrimp fried rice wrapped in an egg omelette.
The chicken had a muted BBQ taste with a hint of spicy aftertaste. The thickness of the omelette complemented the already delicious fried rice greatly and was good enough to enjoy on its own. The only disappointment was the Shrimp, which while chewy, did not add much to the dish.
We finished it off with a healthy serving of Blue curacao (Tk369). The blue syrup mixed with copious amounts of clear soft drinks proved to be the ideal beverage after the (admittingly excessive) brunch.
Overall, the dining experience at BBQ Bangladesh is delicious for the taste buds, if a bit painful for the wallet. But the food, combined with excellent service, makes the escapade well worth it for anyone who loves to consume chicken cooked in new and flavoursome ways.
