Joanna James
Myanmar's cuisine focuses on rich and savoury/salty bases, borrowing culinary secrets from South and Southeast Asia. Myanmar's famous dishes are delectable and worth discovering. Here are some of the best dishes you can find in Myanmar.
This much-loved breakfast dish is a staple in Myanmar. Local restaurants serve this wholesome soup with fine rice noodles, crispy fried bean fritters, yellow split pea crackers, tender banana stem, and cilantro. The dish is infused with lemongrass, ginger, scallion, turmeric, fish sauce and lime juice. You can add a boiled egg, fried fish cake or fritters to your soup. The dish is so popular in Myanmar that you can find it in almost all Yangon Restaurants. Try this essential breakfast and comfort dish at restaurants such as the Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon.
People of Myanmar are fond of fermented tea leaves. They eat the leaves as a dessert on their own. But 'lephet thoke' (pickled tea leaf salad) is as addictive as kombucha. Tea leaf salad is made with sour and ever so slightly bitter tea leaves mixed with shredded cabbage, deep-fried beans, sliced tomatoes, peas and nuts. A splash of garlic oil and slightly pungent chili and garlic pieces are then sprinkled on the salad. This versatile salad can be a snack or an accompaniment for a main meal.
Burmese people seem to have an obsession with deep-fried goodies like samosa, savoury fritters, spring rolls and sweets. They even garnish noodle dishes with deep-fried food. But there is one deep-fried dish you should definitely try – 'buthi kyaw.' These deep-fried chunks of delectable gourd are served with a sweet and sour dip made with taste bud tingling tamarind. Served hot, the tender and watery gourd is coated with crisp batter.
Yet another popular breakfast dish, Nangyi thoke epitomizes the Burmese people's love of dry noodle salad served with broth on the side. The thick, round noodles are paired with chicken, thinly sliced fish cakes, beansprouts (par-boiled) and yellow in the middle slices of hard-boiled eggs. These ingredients are well seasoned in a mixture of roasted chickpea flour, chili oil and turmeric. You get two side dishes with Nangyi thoke; pickled greens and broth in a bowl. Often, restaurants garnish the dish with cilantro, crispy fritters and a slice of lime. You can grab your Nangyi thoke from tea shops and street vendors too.
Sweets dishes in Myanmar are referred to as 'moun.' And they don't eat sweets after main meals in the form of desserts. Burmese love their moun with a cup of tea in the morning and afternoon. And there is good news for weight watchers and health conscious travellers. Myanmar's sweets are not sugar laden. Instead, they derive the sweetness by using grated coconut, creamy coconut milk, rice flour, tapioca, fruit and cooked sticky rice. Try 'hsa nwin ma kin' – sweet, crumbly small cakes made with semolina, coconut milk, ghee and raisins. Another sweet snack to try would be 'moun pyit thalet', pancakes of sorts which somewhat resembles English crumpets.
Bon Appetit!
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
