Baan Busaba is the newest East-Asian restaurant in town, focusing on serving authentic East Asian flavours.
They aim to serve Thai, Chinese, and Korean dishes without mangling the flavours or turning them into yet another fusion version. Let us tell you, during our recent visit, we definitely thought they succeeded.
“It’s not a fusion, it's not Pan-Asian. It is East-Asian, and we have a specialized chefs for each of our Thai, Korean, and Chinese sections. We have not intertwined the ingredients or the flavours,” said Managing Director Saadman Hossain.
Be it their bulgogi, steamed fish with lime sauce, or their matcha mango and milo brulee, we would go back for each one of these dishes.
Baan Busaaba is committed to bringing the most authentic specialized dishes for all three cuisines.
Food
We began our scrumptious meal with namtok chicken salad, and it has been a while since we have had this good of a namtok salad.
The combination of the toasted rice, ground dried chillies, moist chicken strips, and the spicy, tart dressing of the salad was superb.
It was well-balanced between being tangy and savoury, the chicken was moist, and the spice cut right through just mildly. To say this authentic version of the salad hit the spot would be an understatement.
Then, we had the steamed whole fish with lime sauce. The masterstroke here was how well-cooked the fish was.
It was moist, falling off the bones, minimally yet mindfully seasoned for us to truly be able to appreciate the fish, and drenched in a deliciously light lime sauce to bring in a memorable tang.
We paired the warm, fresh steamed fish with lime sauce with white rice, and the bites were simply soul-satisfying.
We then had their chicken bulgogi, typically made with beef. We loved the chicken version even more; we thoroughly relished the familiar sweetened umami taste, and paired the chicken bulgogi too, with white rice and thoroughly enjoyed the morsels.
We were also served a mixed fried rice, which was also a comforting carb-fix, but genuinely, we realized that the white rice paired well, maybe better with all the other dishes.
For dessert, we had the milo brulee, which was a unique twist on the classic crème brulee. Yet, the essence remained incredibly authentic. The dominant taste of cocoa and Milo took over our palate, while the smooth, creamy texture of the brulee made us swoon.
If you were a fan of Milo growing up, this “adult” take on it will also become your favourite.
For drinks too, we had three favourites: the milk Thai iced tea, the peach iced tea, and the matcha mango.
The matcha mango was a unique drink. The bitterness of the matcha was balanced well with the raw mango, but only after a good stir.
It was a thoroughly interesting and intriguing drink, and that it was a combination of two fan-favourite ingredients made us love it even more.
The price range for a meal at Baan Busaba is Tk400 to Tk800, excluding VAT.
Ambience
Located on the Hamid Tower in Gulshan 2, Baan Busaba is perfect for a date night. Artfully lit, it sets a wonderful ambiance. The dining areas are skillfully separated so the entire experience feels somewhat private. They have mahogany chairs with a different lighting than the other parts of the restaurant.
The space is dimly lit and adorned with a grand chandelier and two yellow murals highlighted by the dark neon lights illuminating the entire room.
Another dining room boasted a larger-than-life peacock portrait set against warm wooden walls, while the yellow surrounding the vibrant blue peacock complemented the bright colours.
Challenges
Opened in early August 2025, Baan Busaba’s biggest change is to maintain authenticity for three different cuisines, and to manage the staff from different cultures as well.
“When you’re maintaining authenticity for three different cuisines in a single restaurant, it gets challenging,” said Hossain.
Most of their dishes are 1:1, and that is to ensure that customers are able to try a variety of dishes.
“We want our customers to be able to try everything. If they have more than just the one dish, they won't be able to taste the variety of our dishes,” he added.
Verdict
From their bulgogi to their namtok, curries, and milo brulee, all their dishes are must-haves.
You need to experience true East-Asian authenticity at least once at Baan Busaba, we know for sure that we will go back too.
