Celebrate food with Biye Bari

Are you single and do not have any plans to get married in the near feature? Are your relatives and friends more concerned about your future plans than you are? Are you afraid of socialising with nosy people at the wedding and it is making you skip almost every wedding invitation? Finally, are you missing all the wedding fun and food? 

If your answer is yes, then there is a perfect solution for all of your problems: "Biye Bari". It is the perfect restaurant for those who are craving wedding food. So, as I will be nodding yes with every question asked above, I grabbed the opportunity to make peace with my cravings of kacchi biriyani and jarda. 

The location of Biye Bari is in Satmaszid Road, Dhanmondi. On a nice weekday afternoon, I went there with two of my colleagues to have lunch. 

The experience of entering the restaurant was quite amusing. We felt like we were actually entering a wedding ceremony but we forgot to dress up in suitable attire. Starting from the front door, the whole interior was decorated with flowers, lights, chandeliers, poufy wedding couch for the groom and bride, wedding pagri and orna to play dress up and whatnot. Truly, it did not miss a single element of wedding ceremony decoration. \

In another separate section, there was a Gaye Holud setting with colourful decorations. This section is organised in a completely different manner from the rest of the area. The sitting arrangement is done on the floor with vibrantly coloured cushions. There were ready dala and other elements to which can be seen in a regular Gaye Holud ceremony. 

The interior was so mesmerizing that we didn't even realise at first that there were two brides all dressed up and posing for pictures with a professional photographer (Well! At least he looked like one.). For a second we though an actual wedding was being held in this place but soon understood it was a photo shoot only. The decoration and environment were certainly perfect for any wedding photo shoot. 

Now let us come to the most important factor: food. Even if the waiter offers you a menu, they will answer with "No, not available right now sir" for everything you ask for except two of their package deal. One is the kacchi package and the other is morog polao package. Initially, we ordered one of both. 

The kacchi package comes in three different price ranges. Kacchi biriyani package for one person will cost Tk640, for two people Tk1180 and four-person Tk2280. The package includes kacchi biriyani made of basmati rice, chicken roast, kabab, salad, firni/jarda (sweet rice), borhani/cold drink. 

The morog polao package costs Tk600 for one person, Tk1,120 for two persons and Tk2180 for four persons. This package includes morog polao, beef rezala, kabab, salad, firni/jarda (sweet rice), borhani/cold drink. 

Interestingly, the cutleries in which the food was served were exactly the same as the ones you will find in any wedding ceremony, plain and white. The food had a very appetizing aroma and was piping hot. 

The kacchi biriyani was good; not marvellous, but good. It was not at all oily, contained the perfect amount of spice and cooked to perfection. The mutton was juicy and spicy and most importantly there were some large potato pieces. 

The morog polao with the chicken roast was okay, there is still space to improve but frankly, it was just like any wedding ceremony food. Nothing special, but that is what the restaurant is about, right? At a typical wedding the food is usually just this side of mediocre, while one or two items stand out with their extraordinary taste.

The main attraction for me was the beef rezala. I cannot remember if I ever had such a good beef rezala in my life before. From the moment I smelt it, the rezala took my heart. The soft and juicy beef just melted inside my mouth in every bite. The beef rezala was so good, it compensated for the okay chicken roast. 

Whenever I go to a wedding ceremony, I eagerly anticipate the dessert, especially jarda. I have never found a restaurant that can make jarda quite like the jarda from a wedding feast. 

But Biye Bari restaurant's jarda was simply amazing. It was so good that we went for a second round and ordered some to go separately. Each bowl of jarda costs Tk85. 

Last but not the least, the borhani was good too. It was spicy and minty. Each glass of borhani costs Tk65. But the most important gesture I must mention is, despite the price of onions being Tk300 per kg at that time, the waiter served us two large onions with the salad. With this, the restaurant instantly won our hearts. 

The platter for one person contains more than enough food for two people so by the time we polished off the borhani, all of us were fit to burst with food. Eventually, we were in too much of a food coma to try out the firni. 

Altogether, Biye Bari was a great experience. With good food and fun environment and amazing photo opportunities, I found this restaurant to be a blessing for unsocial people or the people who do not get invited to weddings much. It is like going to a wedding with a way less effort. You do not have to dress up or spend thousands on the wedding gift, (not to mention the lack of condescending conversations with nosy relatives). 

Jokes apart, the restaurant is not only a very innovative initiative, but it also will own your heart for their food. So if you did not get an invitation in this wedding season. Not to worry! Enjoy the wedding feast in Biye Bari.