Tucked
on the hillside,
not too far from
the bustling GEC
Center at 1st
Empress Road,
Chittagong Club
provides its members
and their visitors
a magnificent
place to gather,
chat and dine.
The club, the
oldest of all
the clubs of its
kind, was founded
on 23rd of August
1878, with the
initiative of
a group of Englishmen,
under the leadership
of a well-known
tea planter, W.
A. Campbell.
Kashem Chowdhury,
Chairman of the
club, points out
that since there
are very few places
in Chittagong
for businessmen
to hang out, Chittagong
Club has become
the hub of social
activities.
Many great personalities,
both national
and international,
visited Chittagong
Club to attend
lunch or dinner
receptions. Among
them were H.R.H.
Queen Elizabeth-2,
Queen of England,
who visited Chittagong
Club on 15th February
1961, and the
President of Iran,
Ali Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani, in
1993. Besides,
Ambassadors, High
Commissioners
of different countries
and business delegates
often visit Chittagong
Club when they
are in town.
"Recently,
Nobel Peace Laureate,
Dr. Mohammed Yunus
came here and
dined with us.
Dr. Yunus enjoyed
our special dish
called, Khaisha
with Domacha."
Khaisha is a local
term for Seem
Beechi (bean seed).
Bean seed is cooked
with dry fish-either
Shing or Magur
(catfish) -to
make Khaisha with
Domacha.
"We are very
proud of our catering
section. Last
year, it was renovated
to World Health
Organization standards."
Besides European
and sub-continental
specialties, the
club serves Thai,
Chinese and Indonesian
delicacies. "An
old time popular
dessert is the
Custard Pudding.
When the club
was managed by
the British, one
of our local cooks
learnt the recipe
from the then
British Chef.
Now the grandson
of the local cook
prepares the dessert
in our club."
Kashem insists
the club is completely
non-political.
The focus is to
provide quality
service to its
members, who are
usually businessmen
or renowned personalities.
The club has all
kinds of facilities-from
library to ladies
beauty parlor,
gent's salon,
laundry, catering,
bakery and cinema
hall; from cricket
ground to squash,
tennis and badminton
courts, billiard
room, gym, swimming
pool-you name
it. Recently the
club has built
a new guesthouse
with 21 centrally
air-conditioned
rooms with three
star accommodation
facilities.
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