Eating Out

Burmese cuisine offers a variety of dishes, which are comparatively rich and spicy. The way of cooking is influenced by Chinese, Indian, Bengali and Thai cuisine, and respective dishes are found on most menues in restaurants all over the country.

There are some typical Burmese dishes, served in exclusive new restaurants in Yangon or "the real thing" in the homes of Burmese friends, which you are going to find soon.

In different regions you will find particular dishes: in Mandalay and the Inle Lake region you get Shan dishes, from Bago up to Mawlamyine, Mon dishes offering a large number of curries, while cuisine in Rakhine is influenced by Bengali dishes, being spicy and typically including many seafood dishes. The staple food consists of rice, fishcurry and different soups. ...continued

Typical examples of Burmese dishes are mohinga (a soup made from fish and rice-noodles), hingyo (clear soup with green vegetables) and ohno kaukswe (consisting of chicken, noodles and coconut milk). Traditionally, only tea or water is taken with the food, but nowadays, softdrinks and beer arealso popular. Everywhere you go, Chinese green tea is available free of charge, which is probably the best drink to quench your thirst.

Black tea with milk or lemon is also common, as well as fresh sugarcane juice. Local alcoholic beverages (toddy, spirits, whiskey, gin, rum and beer) are for sale throughout the country.

The eating time of the locals is usually 10 - 11 a.m. for lunch, and 5 – 6 p.m. for dinner; Burmese rest-aurants close early, between 7 and 8 in the evening!

Restaurants offering international cuisine are open as late as 10 p.m.

If you are fond of fruits, Myanmar is definitely a country to visit. It offers, depending on the season: fresh bananas, oranges, lemons, mangoes, papayas, jackfruits, pomelos and mangosteens, as well as the prickly durian with its smell awful to foreign noses, but a superb taste! These and many other delicacies can be experienced in different regions of Myanmar.