Tucked away in a corner of Banani is one of Dhaka’s better restaurants. Royal Park Residences is a boutique-style hotel catering to business guests; but the restaurant, with its range of Asian and Western cuisine, is open for lunch and dinner daily.

Royal Park is managed by a Sri Lankan company so its specialty is food from Sri Lanka. The new chef, Mohan de Silva, worked in a top resort hotel there before taking up his job in Dhaka.

Royal Park has a Sri Lankan buffet on Friday nights with many authentic dishes including string hoppers, hoppers, pittu, fish and meat curries, vegetables, salads, sambols and pickles, all made in true Sri Lankan style. Spice-lovers can have it hot but delicate diners can also feast on more subtle dishes. The food is served in traditional clay pots just like those used by villagers in rural Sri Lanka.

Royal Park has started an Italian dinner buffet with dishes varying from Spaghetti Bolognese to mushroom and prawn rice and everything in between – pasta and meat terrine, red cabbage salad, ratatouille, fritto missto, mutton lasagne, chocolate mousse, cake, lemon rice pudding and nutty brown sugar meringue. At the action station, pasta is made as soon as you order it.

There are also new a la carte and snack menus. The a la carte menu, which will be changed every four months, concentrates on Asian specialties while offering western dishes. It includes broiled spring chicken with red wine sauce, red snapper surprise, grilled Chittagong lobster, fish and chips, Scottish smoked salmon, tom yum soup, vegetable biriyanie, American apple pie, lemon pancake and cheese cake.

The snack menu has club sandwiches, hot dogs, spring rolls, pizza, burgers, milk shakes and Ceylon tea.

From its party shop, Royal Park sells fresh bread and an array of cakes, gateaux, pastries, tarts, cookies and pies.