Best haleem and jilapi of Dhaka recognised

“The Food Talk”, a Facebook-based community of food connoisseurs and enthusiasts, hosted its first award ceremony on Wednesday to recognise the best of two iftar staples -- haleem and jilapi -- in Dhaka.

The event, held at 138 East in Gulshan, included an iftar get-together for members of the group and invited guests.

“We want to build a community of food enthusiasts in Bangladesh in order to improve the overall food scene. We have done several food talks such as one on pizza, one on tea and then we had one on steaks. In future, we want to continue holding talks on food and identify the best food items and places in Bangladesh,” said Taskin Rahman, one of the admins of the group.

After iftar, six entries for haleem and five for jilapi were placed on the table for a blind taste test by senior members of the group, restaurateurs and foodies, who scored the delicacies based on texture, colour, aroma and ingredients. The guests’ choices and judges’ scores were tallied to decide the winners.

Haleem from Decent Bakery on Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi beat out the likes of Tarka and Emmanuelle’s to be named winner, owing to its characteristic shredded meat in every spoon and delicate mix of spices.

As for jilapi, Khazana from Gulshan was voted the winner, despite stiff competition from Tarka and Kurry Accent. The jilapi, fried in ghee and garnished with saffron, is considered one of the most coveted “chikon” jilapi in the city.

The event was sponsored by food delivery service Shohoz Food.