328
Eating in
Myanmar (Burma)
Burmese food suff ersfrom a bad rap – a rather unjustifi ed bad rap in
our opinion. While Burmese food can be somewhat oily, and lacks the
diversity of cuisine in neighbouring Thailand, with a bit of advice and
background knowledge we’re confi dent you’ll return from Myanmar hav-
ing savoured some truly tasty and memorable meals.A Burmese Meal
T’ămìn (rice), also written as htamin, is the core of any Burmese meal.
Rice is served with a variety of dishes that characterise Burmese cuisine,
a unique blend of Burmese, Mon, Indian and Chinese infl uences. These
dishes use a variety of local, largely plant- and seafood-based ingredients,
and as with other Southeast Asian cuisines, an eff ort is made to balance
the four primary fl avours: sour, salty, spicy and bitter.
Although these foundations are relatively simple, one of the pleasures of
eating an authentic Burmese meal is the sheer variety of dishes at a single
setting, something that rivals even Thai food. Upon arriving at any My-
anma saa thauk sain (Burmese restaurant), and having chosen a curry (see
box, p 329 ), fried dish or salad, a succession of side dishes will follow. One of
these side dishes is invariably soup, either an Indian-infl uenced peh-hìn-ye
(lentil soup, or dhal), studded with chunks of vegetables, or a tart leaf-based
hìn-jo (sour soup). A tray of fresh and par-boiled vegetables and herbs is
another common side dish; they’re eaten with various dips, ranging from
ngăpí yee (a watery, fi shy dip) to balachaungg (a dry, pungent combination
of chillies, garlic and dried shrimp fried in oil). Additional vegetable-based
side dishes, unlimited green tea and a dessert of pickled tea leaves and
chunks of jaggery (palm sugar) are also usually included.
Good Yangon restaurants at which to experience this type of Burmese
dining include Aung Thukha (p 60 ), Feel Myanmar Food (p 58 ) and Danu-
phyu Daw Saw Yee Myanma Restaurant (p 58 ).Burmese Specialities
One of the culinary highlights of Burmese food is undoubtedly ăthouqq–
light, tart and spicy salads made with raw vegetables or fruit tossed
with lime juice, onions, peanuts, roasted chickpea powder and chillies.
Among the most exquisite aremaji-yweq thouq, made with tender young
tamarind leaves, and shauq-thi dhouq, made with a type of indigenous
lemon. Shwe Mei Tha Su (p 59 ) in Yangon does an excellent take on the
latter. In fact, the Burmese will make just about anything into a salad, as
t’ămìn dhouq,a savoury salad made with rice, and nangyi dhouq, a salad
made with thick rice noodles, prove.
A popular fi nish to Burmese meals and possibly the most infamous
Burmese dish of all is leq-p’eq (often spelled laphettt), fermented greenFood is so en-
joyed in Myanmar
that standard
greetings to
friends and
foreigners include
sar pyi bi lar?
(have you eaten
your lunch yet?)
and bar hìn ne sar
le? (what curry
did you have for
lunch?).