Joanna James
Surely you can agree that one of the best ways to get a taste of a country's culture is through its culinary extravagance! What makes the Burmese cuisine special in that sense is its multitude of influences- Chinese, Indian, Thai and Vietnamese. Here are 06 must try Burmese street foods!
This quick afternoon snack is as crisp as a noon in Yangon! Specifically served at the most primitive store with short plastic stools down by the side of Merchant Road, this is a dish that you can savor anytime, anyday! Made of fried samosas cut neatly into strips, mixed with fried chickpeas, cabbage and potatoes, and topped off with a warm savoury broth to complete the dish, it is one that is impossible to love! Should you by any chance be one to love spicy foods, you will not be disappointed with the extra heat of some chilli flakes!
Within a short walk's distance from the Sule Pagoda on a small street between the 33rd street and Sule Pagoda you can find a little slice of heaven! The street vendors who occupy this area, clearly know their stuff so well that it almost feels like magic! Amongst the many vendors, you can find some selling one delicious pancakes, and let me tell you, it's the best you are going to have when in Yangon! It is so good that it feels almost dream-like. So fluffy yet crispy, so light yet so filling! This is one of those eats that you can seriously thank us later for!
Right along the path where you can find those delicious (possibly) heaven-like pancakes, you can also find yet another push cart selling such swag food that even the guides around call its ever famous dish a 'gangster sandwich'! It is made of a thin and crispy flatbread, clearly inspired by the Indian Dosa, and is wrapped around a stuffing of cabbage, chickpeas as well as a unique blend of sweet and savory sauces which is later chopped into bite-sized pieces! If you think the detailing was a little too much on the description, wait till you have a taste of this- you are bound to be at a loss for words!
Of course, you will never find a lack of Yangon restaurants to dine in, for instance, such as that of the famous Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon, but you would be surprised by how surprisingly delicious the Burmese street food scene is! As hard as this name might be to remember, try this dish and you are bound to forget everything else in the world- we are talking that yummy! Translating to mean 'Quail Egg Snack' this wholesome dish is wildly popular among the locals and tourists alike. It comprises 2 sides joined into a round bite-sized ball of quail eggs, chickpeas and a hint of pepper to taste. It comes with a variety of different toppings such as tomatoes, chickpeas or sometimes even plain! No matter how it is served, all we can say is that it is delicious either way!
This is a signature Burmese breakfast dish and chances are you can find these no matter where you end up visiting in Myanmar. It is a rice noodle dish served with a hearty fish broth. As a thickening agent for the soup, crushed chickpeas are used on top of other flavouring agents such as turmeric and lemongrass. The dish could be called an 'acquired taste' to be honest, as it feels a little too pungent, to begin with, but as you begin slurping in all that goodness, we assure you, you will grow into it!
In case you haven't come to notice already, the Burmese love their chickpeas! If you have been to Myanmar and tried their food, you wouldn't really be surprised to see how they have chickpea batter fried tofu as a finger snack on a daily basis! We absolutely have no idea who invented it, but one thing we can say, we are loving it!
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