Mostakim Kebab, Dhaka’s ‘kebab king’

A business that was started in a van on the street 39 years ago by borrowing Tk 100 has now become one of the most popular kebab restaurants in the capital.

Popularly known as Mostakim Varieties Kebab and Soup, the two-storey restaurant is located at the Bihari Camp in Mohammadpur.

During the 1947 partition of India, many Urdu-speaking people migrated to Bangladesh, then East Pakistan. The majority of them started living at a specific place in Mohammadpur and built a colony known as the Bihari Camp.

After settling down, it was very difficult for them to get jobs or start businesses to survive in a new country. Some of them then came up with a brilliant idea.

They figured out that they have mastery in making kebab, and it can be a source of income for them. They then started selling kebab on the street.

There are six kebab shops in the same row where Mostakim Kebab is located. But Mostakim Kebab has gained widespread popularity because of the exclusive taste and quality of its food.

Its owner Alhaj Mamun told The Business Post his father Alhaj Sayeed Muhammad Mostakim had started the business by borrowing Tk 100 to bear family expenses.

“The food court was named Mostakim Kebab after my father,” he said.

His father had no plan to expand the business or settle down here because of the humiliation and ill-treatment by locals.

Sayeed died when Mamun was only 12 years old. There was no one in the family to take over the business. For many years, Mamun’s maternal uncle helped them run it.

Mamun was a very brilliant student since his childhood. He studied at Millennium International School and also completed ‘O’ level and ‘A’ level.

He speaks fluent English. He had no plan to run the kebab business after completing his studies but later changed his mind to keep the legacy of his father alive.

In 2012, he took over the business and then took it to the peak of success over the years by executing some brilliant plans.

Mostakim Kebab has no outlet outside Dhaka. But people in 21 districts got the taste of its food during a food carnival organised by Rupchanda, the flagship brand of Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited, in 2015.

Mamun proudly claimed that Mostakim Kebab was not only known as a restaurant but was also becoming a brand.

“It is the only authentic and traditional kebab restaurant in Bangladesh serving customers since 1982. People in Dhaka and outside are familiar with it,” he said.

It sells a variety of kebabs, including chicken kebab, chicken boti kebab, chicken corn soup, beef chap, mutton chap, beef boti kebab, mutton boti kebab, beef khiri kebab, mutton khiri kebab, beef gurda kebab, and mutton gurda kebab. The prices range from Tk 100 to Tk 200. Kebab is served with luchi, which is only Tk 2 per piece.

Mostakim Kebab is already selling its products online by associating with Foodpanda. It is also going to be associated with Hungrynaki soon.

The restaurant gets overcrowded in the afternoon and remains abuzz with customers till 11pm. People of all ages come to enjoy the food with their friends and families.

A customer named Piyal Ahmed said, “I come here more than twice a week with friends because the original taste of kebab cannot be found anywhere else.”

Showing the restaurant’s kitchen, Mamun said his family used to live in a single room in the Bihari Camp, and its size was less than half the kitchen. Now he owns a flat in Mohammadpur.

The restaurant has been transformed from a street business to an enterprise operating in a two-storey building. It has more than 40 employees.

Mamun attributed the success of the business to his mother, saying she had been contributing to it from day one.

“The reason for the special taste of our kebab is the marinated spices made by my mother. Only she knows the secret recipe. Our popularity is the outcome of her hard work, patience, and support,” he said.

“Though I am a Bangladeshi by birth, it hurts when some people address me as a mawra [refugee]. I have been living here for more than three decades and serving the best food to the people. Yet, they still treat me as an outsider,” he added.

Speaking about the future plan, he said he wants to spread the taste of kebab everywhere among the Dhaka people by setting up branches.

“Even if I join other professions in the future, I will continue this business in the memory of my father,” he added.