Food prepared on the streets is nothing new in Dhaka. Darul Kabab of yester-Dhaka saw various kebabs on skewers, or seekh as it is called in Bangla, being grilled over an open fire or coal embers.

At least for me, this 1975 classic eatery, situated on top of a dabba or sink pond, introduced the experience of live cooking stations, and had awed me as a child.

And now, again in 2025 Dhaka, I was awestruck when I saw Tanim, a lanky lad in a black apron, rolling out pizza dough in front of Lalbagh Fort. His custom-made cart was unique in having a type of wood-fire deck oven, with personalised pizza sliders. But what got my attention was his confidence in his trade of making pizzas in a live station by the street.

Reserved in showing off his pizza-flipping skill, he had sausages, mozzarella balls, tomato puree, and his special pizza sauce along with a box full of mushrooms, black olives, and capsicums. Even shakers of oregano were all conveniently stored in his neat cart.

"My best-seller is the 12-inch Cheese Blast pizza, which is Tk 599," Tanim says, without taking his eyes off the BBQ pizza order he was preparing.

Photo: Star, Collected

He sells 30 pizzas from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. I could see regulars placing orders for their favourite take-out boxes.  Youngsters jumped-off their rickshaws, giving high-fives and going through his menu card, while others waited patiently on the stools near the cart for their orders to arrive.

"I have such carts in the Paribagh and Bangla Motor area as well. I have been in this business for the last seven years or so. And all my carts are running successfully," says Tanim.

"What I like is his focused attention in making the pizza in front of you and flipping it inside the oven," says Emdad, a bystander attracted by the fancy act of live cooking.

A few yards from Tanim's cart, was another pop-up stall offering pizza toasts, grilled on big iron fry-pans. This toast is a slice of a pizza but cut in squares like toast.

The street-food businesses are all the rage now, with venturers going for dishes and menus that are not exactly street food per se.

Photo: Star, Collected

Julekha, an expert of Bangladeshi cuisine, sits in Lamatia from 6:00pm to almost 10:00pm with her mouth-watering vegetable labra, which is a slow-cooked seasonal vegetable dish. She adds her personal touch by throwing in some raw brown peanuts and a dollop of clarified butter. Her off the cuff menu offers Nolen-gur-er-payesh, a rice pudding made with jaggery, and Alu-r-Dal, a potato stew that is a famous recipe from Rangpur. She serves these with freshly rolled out and deep-fried luchi, a sort of fried flatbread.

Puffed up and piping hot luchi and labra is a quintessential Bengali dish.  What is remarkable is that this weekend Bengali breakfast is easily available on a roadside cart, called Bistro on the Go.

Cooking in front of a crowd in an al fresco arrangement has its share of gimmicks and perks, and Dhaka streets are full of such live stations right after the sun sets, adding a sort of animated joy to the street food genre.