lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

EATING IN MYANMAR (BURMA)

SWEETS

331

lined up in curry pots to be examined. Mon curries are also more likely
to contain chillies than those of other cuisines.
Rakhaing (Arakan) food most resembles dishes found in Bangladesh
and India’s Bengal state, featuring lots of bean and pulse dishes, very
spicy curries and fl atbreads. Minn Lane Rakhaing Monte & Fresh Sea-
food (p 60 ) in Yangon is a good place to sample Rakhaing-infl uenced sea-
food and noodles.
In towns large and small throughout Myanmar you’ll fi nd plenty of
Chinese restaurants, many of which do a distinctly Burmese (eg oily)
take on Chinese standards. Despite being the most ubiquitous type of
dining in Myanmar (upcountry this is often the only kind of restaurant
you’ll fi nd), it’s probably the least interesting.
Indian restaurants are also common, although much more so in Yan-
gon than elsewhere. Most are run by Muslim Indians, a few by Hindus.
Excellent chickendan-bauqq (biryani), as well as all-you-can-eat vegetar-
ian thaliiserved on a banana leaf, is easy to fi nd in the capital. The Myan-
mar people call Indian restaurants that serve all-you-can-eat thalii ‘Chitty’
or ‘Chetty’ restaurants.

Sweets
The typical Burmese dessert is often little more than a pinch of pickled
tea leaves or a lump of palm sugar (jaggery). You can visit places making
jaggery and toddy (see p 333 ) on the road between Bagan and Mt Popa
(see p 128 ). Bagan is also famous for its tamarind fl akes, delicious candies
made from the dried pulp of the sweet-sour fruit and wrapped in twists
of white paper; they’re made in Chauk, an hour’s drive south of Bagan
on the way to Salay.
More substantial sweet dishes, generally referred to as moúnn (some-
times writtenmounn or montt), are regarded as snacks, and are often tak-
en with equally sweet tea in the morning or afternoon.
Prime ingredients for Burmese sweets include grated coconut, coco-
nut milk, rice fl our (from white rice or sticky rice), cooked sticky rice,
tapioca and various fruits. Some Burmese sweets have been infl uenced
by Indian cooking and include more exotic ingredients such as semo-
lina and poppy seeds. In general, Burmese sweets are slightly less syrupy
sweet than those of neighbouring Thailand, and often take a somewhat
familiar form, such as bein mounn and moun pyit thalet, Burmese-style
pancakes served sweet or savoury.
A good place to sample Burmese sweets in Yangon is from the street-side
vendors (see p 61 ) who set up every afternoon in front of the FMI Centre.

Drinks

Nonalcoholic Drinks
Black tea, brewed in the Indian style with lots of milk and sugar, is ubiq-
uitous and cheap, costing K250 per cup at the time of research. See below
for more about the very Burmese institution of teahouses. If this is not to
your liking, ask for Chinese tea, which is weak and comes without milk.

DOS & DON’TS

» A fork is held in the left hand and used as a probe to push food onto the spoon;

you eat from the spoon.

» Locals tend to focus on the flavours, not table talk, during meals.

» If you’re asked to join someone at a restaurant, they will expect to pay for the

meal. Expect to do likewise if you invite a local out for a meal.

Pregnant women,

stay away from

bananas! Ac-

cording to local

beliefs, your

baby will be born

overweight if you

indulge while

pregnant.

BANANAS