Lost Money and Bad Memories: My Review of Hirajheel Hotel

 In 2017, while going to my SSC exam every day, I always saw the Hirajheel Hotel(In Bangladesh, people call standalone restaurants "hotels," even if there are no lodging facilities). They were always grilling seekh kabab, and it looked delicious. So, when my last SSC exam was finally over, I took a bus to Motijheel and walked to the restaurant. Upon arrival, I went to the counter and ordered tandoori chicken, two pieces of naan roti, and mutton bhuna khichuri. One of the three counter staff (let's call them 1, 2, and 3, from left to right) asked my name and whether I wanted to dine in or take out. I said take out. I gave the money to 1, but 3 gave me the change. Then, 1 told me it would take 20 to 25 minutes for my food. I said it was okay, I would wait, and asked for a receipt, which he gave me. I put the receipt in my wallet.

In front of the counter, many people were waiting. There was a lot of smoke from the grilling seekh kabab. I saw someone order 6,000 taka worth of food, which he took out with the help of some people. I also saw three transgender women asking the counter staff for money. The staff gave each of them 50 taka, a total of 150 taka, and they left. In Bangladesh, some transgender women tend to be aggressive and demand money. If the staff hadn't given them money, they might have caused a scene.

I waited 30 minutes and then went to the counter to ask how much longer it would take. 1 said 15 more minutes. I waited, and after another 15 minutes, I asked again. 1 said the tandoori chicken chef had gone somewhere and it would take time for him to return. He returned after an hour and 37 minutes. They called me to the counter, and 1 told me my food would be ready soon and that I needed to pay for the mutton bhuna khichuri. I told him I had already paid, but he said no. I put my file bag on the counter and showed him the receipt from my wallet. He shredded it and threw the pieces in the trash. He insisted that even though it was written on the receipt, I hadn't paid for the bhuna khichuri. I insisted that I had and that the receipt was accurate. Then, 3 quickly took my wallet and charged me again for the mutton bhuna khichuri. When I checked my wallet, I saw he had charged me twice for the bhuna khichuri and was 40 taka short. I told 3 he had already charged me for it and asked why he had done so again and why he had taken 40 taka extra. He told me to stop talking so much and pushed me away. He picked up my file bag, saw my SSC exam questions, and said I couldn't even remember simple things and would definitely fail the exam. Then, he threw my file bag at me and told me to sit down and wait for my food. 1 started singing and repeating, "Tui aga bolis nie kan?" (Why didn't you say earlier?) I think he has some mental issues.

A waiter who saw this asked me why he had pushed me. I told him everything, and the waiter said it sounded like the owner's fault. I wondered whether 1 or 3 was the owner. I thought the waiter might be mistaken about who the owner was, and that someone like them couldn't possibly be the owner. I didn't like how 3 behaved; he was a thief who bullied me and stole my money. 3 was wearing a punjabi and seemed old, perhaps with Alzheimer's. 1 didn't seem to have it, though.

I finally got my food after 53 minutes and left the restaurant immediately. I would give it one out of five stars, or -5 if possible, but it probably deserves even less because they stole my money. I'm sharing this now, even though it happened in 2017, because I only had a button phone then, without internet access. I remembered this restaurant after all these years because a food blogger I watch on YouTube made several videos about it, and I kept getting recommendations for them. Maybe they paid him to write good reviews. My advice is: if you ever go to this restaurant, be careful, or they might steal your money. And if you're short on time, don't go there; they take too long to serve the food.