Bottola Restaurant - Lakemba

I was excited to dine at Bottola Restaurant, located at the end of Haldon Street in Lakemba, as there aren't many Bangladeshi restaurants in Sydney. The restaurant offers home-cooked meals that appeal to Bengali people, with simple furnishings and television screens showcasing Bangladesh. We tried the Haleem, a thick lentil soup spiced with ginger, cardamom, chilli, cumin, garlic, and turmeric, served with coriander, fried onions, lime wedges, and green chillies on the side. We enjoyed it with Paratha bread and ended our meal with Firni, a Bengali rice pudding with dried fruit and nuts. This introduction to authentic Bengali cuisine has left me eager to try dishes like Lamb Brains Marsala in the future.

I love coming to this restaurant every time. I always enjoy the Bengali flavor and the friendly atmosphere. My favorite dish is the fish curry with vegetables.

A Stomach's Trip for Bengali CuisineWelcome to Bottola, the quintessential Bengali breakfasty menu is here - gorgeous chheka porota (pastry bread), labra (mixed vegetable) and egg. Be it surviving a hangover or a marathon movie night on Friday or Saturday nights...starting at 12 noon on weekends and 4pm on weekdays, previously what was Fuska House of Lakemba is NOW Bottola. It's a shrine of good Bangla food with home made authenticity, serving this amazing breakfast menu at 12 bucks then plus plus. Every other place serves porota-shobji combo breakfast but no one does it like Bottola.If their lovely décor doesn't welcome you then this will – and every Bengali knows how emotional it get's to enjoy good deshi food while watching a good deshi drama/tele-film. Bottola caters to this rightly as you can enjoy these programmes on TV all the time.The main reason for the fantastic taste of their food is their head chef Zia, who steers, lures and finally serves mouthwatering recipes. Zia is not just stuck with the brekky menu but pours his heart's content while preparing equally delectable Haleem, beef tripe, brain masala, chicken liver and giblet, boti kabab, rice-bhorta (mashed vegetables)-fish curry and exceptional hari kabab...'mouthwatering' is the last term I want to use for hari kabab...the taste is beyond amazing. Don't forget to sip on their hot cuppa milk tea, it is devilishly delicious.Their warm customer service stands out and their dishes are essentially Foodgasmic! And this has been proverbial for the trio – Ahsanul Fakhru Shourav, Arifa Ferdous Lina and Emamul Hossain Meelan – these three named and co-own this restaurant Bottola (under the shades of Benian tree), inspired by similar place names in Jahangir Nagar University and East West University campuses in Bangladesh. And as the name has a spiritual appeal with plenty of Bengali emotions fused, they do not want to compromise with the taste, so beware! Don't miss their Chaa [tea]. They have home delivery if you like in and around Lakemba, City of Canterbury. So if you are hungry just dial 0449-791-334...this is the 000 when Hunger Strikes!

I have only visited a few restaurants in Rockdale and the trendy Bang Street Food in Surry Hills, but I have not seen many Bangladeshi restaurants.