Bandarban Food Guide

Young bamboo shoots slow-cooked with chilli, turmeric and dried fish. One of the most distinctive tastes in Bangladesh — you cannot find this anywhere in the flatlands. Best eaten with rice.

A full meal served on a fresh banana leaf. Rice, bamboo shoots, grilled vegetables, dried fish chutney and jungle herbs. Eating on banana leaf is the authentic hill tribe experience.

Pork slow-smoked over wood fire with local spices. A staple protein for the Marma community. Very different from Bengali cooking — no oil-heavy curry here. Dry, smoked and deeply flavoured.

Fermented dried shrimp paste used as a condiment or cooking base. Smells very strong but adds incredible depth of flavour to any dish. The backbone of hill tribe cooking — similar to fish sauce in Southeast Asia.

Fish caught from the Sangu River, grilled whole over charcoal with minimal seasoning. The river fish here are fresh, small and full of flavour. Best eaten with nappi and bamboo shoot side dishes.

Plain rice cooked with wild herbs collected from the jungle. Simple but extraordinary. Eaten at guesthouses near Boga Lake where it is cooked fresh each morning. The herbs change by season.

The Chak community near Thanchi serves meals with fermented vegetable sides, jungle leafy greens and dried meat. One of the rarest food experiences in Bangladesh — very few tourists reach these areas.

Hill-grown pineapple is genuinely extraordinary — much sweeter and more aromatic than anything grown in the plains. Also look for jackfruit, papaya, guava and seasonal jungle fruits sold by tribal women at roadside stalls.