Choi (or Chui) is a traditional spice that is popular in Khulna and its proximity area. This spice mainly adds extra heat to the curry. Botanical name of the Choi is Piper chaba that grows mostly in South and Southeast Asia. A popular restaurant named Abbas Hotel from the Chuknogor of Khulna is famous for its mutton curry that is cooked with this traditional spice Choi. I can not remember the separate bills, but possibly a piece of mutton from that curry was having a cost of 70 Taka (as of 2013). I had two pieces of mutton during my lunch.
I couldn’t have my breakfast as my bus was around 5 hours late to arrive at Jessore. So the lunch at 2:00 pm in Abbas Hotel was the first meal for me of the day. I probably ate like a monster and was sweating after finishing my lunch. So asking about the taste from me is meaningless. The thing that impressed me most was the serving from the restaurant waiters. It made me feel like I was having lunch at my relative’s house. If I get another chance to visit this place I’d surely taste this Choi Mutton curry again. Personally I don’t like meat that much, but enjoyed my lunch that day. Another thing to mention, the curry was slightly hot in taste.
This is a very busy restaurant during lunch time. It was very hard to find a space here at that time. A lot of people come here for lunch from nearby areas. People also come here from long distances everyday. Basically the accidental death of Our former National Cricket Player Manjarul Islam Rana made this restaurant famous within a day. He was returning home after having lunch with his friends here and had a tragic motorbike accident on the road that took his life.
How to go
Chuknogor is accessible from both Khulna and Jessore district. We went there from Jessore town, and it was a part of our Jessore expedition. But It is slightly nearer from the Khulna town compared to the road distance. It was around 55 Taka per person from Jessore town by bus. This restaurant is located exactly beside the main road. GPS Coordinate of the Abbas Hotel is (22°50’26.19″N, 89°17’45.15″E). It shouldn’t be hard for you to locate this, I believe.
If you are outside from Bangladesh and dare to have some challenge for Mr or Mrs hot. Then please try to see where you fit into the scale. For the local tourists, if you are a food lover then why not to have a try here.
Chuknogor Abbas Hotel,
Chuknogor Bazaar,
Khulna District,
Bangladesh
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog alonelytraveler.com
Friday, 21 June 2013
Bhalo Ranna