Well, after a "heavily tiresome" few days of being on the run, here I am, back on my chair, facing my computer with a sore back and sore glutes and legs. It's nothing serious, nothing too weighty; thanks to my days and experience of heavy lifting at the gym. I also do heal up quite fast, so the tenderness should be gone within a day or two.
As many of you know, I've spent the last few months hunting for a suitable house for my family, and now we have finally moved into our new home. It has been two days since we've moved, and we're still getting used to the place. A lot of maintenance and assembly work is still left, but all of it should be taken care of within a week or so.
Of all the things that I thought would be easy and seamless throughout this house hunting and moving session, I really didn't think that finding a suitable house would be the toughest of them all. Maybe it wasn't the toughest part, but it was the lengthiest for sure.
The amount of buildings that go up in Dhaka every day, you'd think that finding a proper house should be a piece of cake, but MAN was I wrong. Finding a 4 bed apartment in this city is one hell of a task, especially if you're on a tight budget.
Fast forward by 2 days, and here I am at Arabika coffee after moving to our new house and a totally new neighborhood. The neighborhood me and my family were in before, we were there for over two decades, I grew up there, and so did my younger brothers. That area surely holds a special place in our hearts, but it was time to move on, we really had no choice but to move on. Yet, this current area of ours isn't that far away from our previous area, it's probably a 3 kilometer straight, and double of that if you're on a car, thanks to all the detours.
I was at Arabika that day just to sit by myself, to have some coffee and enjoy my "unusually timed" lunch at around 7/8PM. It's been a few months since I've last dined alone; I find such "lonely" dining sessions to be quite therapeutic, like some sort of a remedy, one that has no substitute.
After 2 to 3 days full of some over the top mental and physical activity that went behind all this moving/shifting process, I decided to head out in search of a good coffee spot. Thanks to Google Maps, Arabika Coffee here popped up ASAP.
There were quite a few options though, of all types and price ranges, but Arabika has been on my list for quite a while now. This little branch seemed to be the closest and best option around, so it was almost a no brainer at that point. I know you folks are used to seeing my Tabaq "reviews" and posts, but sadly this time Tabaq wasn't close by. Yet, it does feel good to change things up every now and then.
Tabaq will still be numero uno, the other competitors don't even come close, they're just not as versatile and don't really stand out.
I started off with a Double Chocolate Cookie, which was alright, but it tasted more like a Single Chocolate Cookie instead of a double haha. Even though the cookie doesn't have much of a chocolate filling, I say it still is capable of satisfying your sweet tooth.
The "main course" here was the Beef Bagel Sandwich, which was just shoddy; it was quite a subpar experience while eating this one, I surely was expecting better. The beef filling was bland and had absolutely no seasoning or addons, just a salty taste. And if you threw the bagel at a glass panel then it would probably leave a dent or a crack, if it was a tad bit harder then it'd be perfect for a small bank robbery in some rural areas haha.
The bagel was the worst of the bunch here. So if you wanna save your teeth and your jaw, then I'd suggest you go for a different type of sandwich.
Thanks to this "hardened" bagel sandwich from Arabika, I now know how good and consistent Tabaq's food really is, Tabaq costs a lot less as well, a true blessing they are.
Fortunately, the coffee here didn't disappoint, and it's probably the biggest and heaviest cup of coffee I've ever had. So if you're just looking for a good cup of coffee, then Arabika shouldn't disappoint. I also tried to be a bit daring this time, I'm used to seeing my friends and the ones around me always order a Hazelnut Latte, so I decided to give it a try. You folks know how much I love a good ole cappuccino, but it really was time to change things up.
However, I think I should've gone with the cappuccino, just so that I could compare Arbaika's cappuccino to Tabaq's. Next time I guess, next time.
The decor here is actually quite nice, quite classy, but it's not as minimalistic as Tabaq. It did have its unique hints here and there, characteristics that will probably help you distinguish Arabika from the its competitors. Yet, most of the theme was just like any other fancy café in town.
They tried to stand apart from the others by adding some extra fancy and unique food items, ones that you rarely see at other cafes, but I really don't know how most of them will taste, not a lot of positive vibes. After trying the bagel sandwich I can surely say that I'm not a fan of these fancy food items, I'd rather have a plain and simple sandwich that actually tastes good.
So, after finishing quite a "solid" meal, I slowly sipped on my coffee and actually enjoyed it this time, instead of guzzling it down my throat, like I usually do. It has been quite a hectic week, and it's going to be this way for about 2 weeks or more I guess; that is why this little break, some me time, a "treat yo self" moment, was much needed.
That's about it for my little post here, a nice little evening coffee experience.
Be singing off from here then, I'll see you people on the next one. You folks take cake now. 🖤
Cheers ☕️