1) Rafsan the ‘ChotoBhai’
Instagram: @thechotobhai
Facebook: Rafsan the ‘ChotoBhai’
Youtube: Rafsan TheChotobhai
Instagram followers: 11,800
Facebook likes: 62,115
Youtube subscribers: 53,946
Favorite restaurant: Ginza
Being the introverted kid back in school, Iftekhar Rafsan used to watch a lot of Youtube videos, especially while having food. That is how he became interested in food-blogging. However, Rafsan thought of himself more as an Entertainer than a Blogger, which led him to take up the pseudo name ‘Rafsan the Chotobhai’ and start documenting his love for food. Very recently, Rafsan covered Takeout 2.0 and his review blew up on the internet (and very rightly so). When asked about his favorite food, Rafsan spoke of Ginza and its Chicken Teriyaki, which is moist and succulent and melts in his mouth. For food photography, Rafsan uses an iPhone X paired with a DJI Osmo 2, but remarks that the real magic occurs during editing.
2) Petuk Couple
Instagram: @petukcouple
Facebook Page: Petuk Couple
Youtube: Petuk Couple
Instagram followers: 4094
Facebook likes: 22,132
Youtube subscribers: 33,244
Favorite Restaurant: Nando’s
‘Will you ever stop eating?’ is a question that the Petuk Couple grew up hearing. Having often faced taunts and hurtful remarks about their inability to pace themselves when it came to food, The Petuk Couple decided to take an initiative to try to change the way people think. They opened a Youtube channel and started critiquing food. The Petuk Couple was astonished to find how well-received their work was. Soon, the questions changed – “When is your next video coming?” they started asking. In the couple’s view, this was quite a transformation in terms of the general Bangladeshi thought system. Even after trying all sort of foods and restaurants in Dhaka, Nando’s remain one of their favorites – especially its tender and spicy peri-peri chicken. In regards to their vlogging gears, The Petuk Couple use Sonya6300, but they always keep a GoPro 7 with them for travel videography. For better audio quality, they use Rode Videomicro and for sharp editing, they utilize Final Cut Pro X. In the couple’s opinion, you don’t really need a fancy camera – what matters most is the story behind the photos.
3) Provaeats
Instagram: @provaeats
Instagram followers: 24,800 followers
Favorite Restaurant: The Grove Bistro
The main reason why Nowshin Khan Prova became inspired to start food-blogging in the first place is because she has always been passionate about food and food photography. Everything about food excites her – the taste, the flavors, the presentation, everything. Discovering new restaurants, dishes and cuisines is what drives her. Upon being asked about her favorite restaurant, she remarked how this was the hardest question you could ever pose to a food-blogger. Recently, she has been loving The Grove Bistro for its beautiful atmosphere and of course, its incredible food. In her opinion, its Seafood Chowder is the best in town. However, the Rib-eye pasta, Calamari Fries and Slow-cooked Beef Short Ribs are also good contenders for the best items on The Grove Bistro’s menu. As far as eqipment is concerned, Prova uses her iPhone X to get the perfect shot.
4) foodieshe
Instagram: @foodieshe
Facebook: Foodie She
Youtube : Foodie She
Instagram followers: 5147
Favorite restaurant: UMAI
One of Tanha Islam’s friends from NSU inspired her to start reviewing food. She has always been passionate about food and has a long list of favorite restaurants in Dhaka, but UMAI is at the top of her list, not only for its ambiance but also for its cuisine. Ebi Mayo is her favorite item on UMAI’s menu. While Tanha does own a DSLR, she does not carry it out much because of the hassle it creates. All the photos that are show-cased on her Instagram account were taken with her trusty One Plus 3T. Even though she does use a mobile camera, Tanha always tries to ensure the highest level of quality in her photography.
5) khudalagse
Instagram: @khudalagse
Facebook: Khudalagse
Instagram followers: 8025
Facebook likes: 6394 likes
Favorite restaurant: 138 EAST
Fahrin Zannat Faiza started her journey as a food-blogger when she realized that people in Dhaka were being deprived of honest and unbiased reviews. Since starting her Facebook page, she has received unbelievable support from people around her and is astonished at how other foodies such as herself value her opinion and make decisions based on her opinion. Going forward, Faiza hopes to make better content for her followers. Even though it was very difficult for Faiza to narrow down her choices for her favorite restaurant, she singled out 138 EAST, saying that it has yet to disappoint her. The Mushroom Soup and Alfredo Pasta on their menu is what she orders every time she visits 138 EAST. Initially, Faiza had started food photography with her mobile phone, but as more and more people joined her page, she decided to upgrade to a camera. Now she uses a Sony a6000 for her work.
6) Lit Eat
Facebook: Lit Eat
Instagram: lit.eat
Instagram followers: 4234
Favorite Restaurant: Yum Cha Dictrict
When asked about how the creators of Lit Eat found themselves in the food-blogging arena, they claimed that they didn’t think of themselves as food-bloggers – they simply do what they do in order to give the consumers real feedback on restaurants and their food, based on their own experiences. The creators of Lit Eat love the way in which words can paint pictures in people’s minds – like when we add words such as ‘tender’ and ‘juicy’ before the word ‘steak’, people can immediately imagine how the said steak would taste. Yum Cha District has recently been one of their go-to places, but Cheez, North End, Wood House Grill, Tabaq, The Monarchy Coffee, Hui Legacy, Butlers Chocolate Café, Johnny Rockets BD are also places that they frequently revisit. The list, however, does not stop there. According to Lit Eat, the list will never stop. For clicking the mouth-watering photos of food, they use their Huawei mate 10 pro and Canon 7D.
7) iffybiffys
Instagram: @iffybiffys
Instagram followers: 4114
Favorite restaurant: Holey Artisan Bakery
Ifreet Taheea says that she has always been fascinated about food – from the way it is made to how it is presented. And it goes without saying that she loves eating it too. She has gained exposure to multiple food cultures and cuisines and this has ultimately led her to food-blogging. Ifreet is currently obsessed with Holey Artisan Bakery, which she says is her go-to brunch spot. She also highly recommends the Shakshuka, Holey Burger, Choux and Iced Latte from its menu. Ifreet uses her Samsung Galaxy S7 to take photographs of food and uses minimal editing to ensure that the photos appear as real as possible.
8) Dhaka Slurps
Instagram: @dhakaslurps
Facebook: Dh∆k∆ Slṳrps
Instagram followers : 4060
Favorite Restaurant: El Toro
According to Dhaka Slurps, the wish to explore new foods and restaurants, and to expand their knowledge about food and cuisines, is what pushed its creator to start blogging. In a world full of biased reviews, Dhaka Slurps is dedicated to honesty when it comes to food-reviewing. Also, in the good faith of raising awareness, they use their platform to relay a very serious message – ‘love food, don’t waste it’. Dhaka Slurps believes that one does not necessarily need to use high-tech gears to deliver messages through photography. Most of its photos are captured with an iPhone 7. For the Dhaka Slurps, the following restaurants are the top of their personal favorites chart: El Toro, Kiyoshi, Thai Emerald, Raffinato Ristorante, Bhoj Company, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Bistro E, Chows, Woodhouse Grill and Favola.
If you can’t figure out where to eat and what to eat, log onto a social media platform and search for the individuals mentioned above. We promise you that you will find one restaurant or another that will suit your needs. Bon Appétit!
N.B – All names are subject to the amount of followers, likes and subscribers.