Dining habits in Bangladesh

For a number of years the 'Goodmorning Bed & Breakfast', located in Bonani, has been a safe haven for visitors from many different countries. The guesthouse was suppose to be a training facility for young underprivilegde youth in Dhaka, and run by the Vialisa Foundation. However due to sickness of the founder of the foundation, the guesthouse had to close it's doors. An honest attempt to keep the guesthouse alive on a different location, with a legal status and a different management, turned out to be an idealistic, but impossible task.

So I decided to use this website for all you people who are planning to visit Bangladesh and can use some real life information about this city. I hope you find it usefull and if you do, please share and spread the word! We thank the people who have supported us and trusted us to be their host during their stay in crazy Dhaka.

Eating habits

Eating habits If you are invited to a meal, it is considered very rude to just turn it down. Better to reply with ‘Let’s see if I can make it’ or ‘I will try’. These kind of answers will be accepted without any further questioning and not considered rude.

Guests eat first
If you are going, don’t be surprised when you find yourself eating alone. It is good practice that guests eat first, then the older people. It is common for men and woman to eat separately. However if you’re not eating alone, please wait until the oldest person at the table starts eating.

Eating with your hands?
Make sure to wash your hands before eating. Also don’t use your left hand to eat, pass plates or drink. The left hand is considered to be a ‘dirty hand’, used for dirty work. I am not used to eat with my hands, but Bangladeshis are. Not only poor people, but also the rich people (in non-formal situations) use their hands when they eat. Don’t hesitate to ask for utensils, it is not seen as offensive or rude.

Eat more!
You will be asked repeatedly to eat more. For this reason I always eat slow and I don’t put too much on my plate, so I am prepared for a second meal. Be aware that food in Bangladesh is very spicy. If that’s a problem for you, make sure you have some bottled water at hand.

Where is the guesthouse?