Burmese cuisine is a unique combination of noodles, seafood, and rice, spiced up and enhanced with condiments and salads. Fruits, which are characteristic of the tropical climate, are also a key element of this cuisine. Myanmar’s cuisine has been inspired by the techniques, ingredients, and flavors of Myanmar’s neighbors: Thailand, India, and China.
- Mohinga: Mohinga is the most popular and famous breakfast in Myanmar. It is served with crispy fried bean fritters, boiled eggs, onions, and sliced tender core banana steam. You can add drops of lime juice, fish sauce, dry chili powder, coriander, or beans to suit your taste.
- Nan Gyi Thote: Nan Gyi Thote is one of the most popular trademarks of Myanmar breakfast. It’s a noodle salad prepared from thick round rice noodles mixed with flavorful chicken curry. Nan Gyi Thote is commonly served with a boiled egg, onions, coriander, a slice of lime, and crispy fritters. The flavor of the noodles is a blend of sweet, sour, salty, and fresh.
- La Phat Thoke (Tea Leaf Salad): A typical Myanmar dish consisting of tea leaves mixed with shredded tiny cabbage, sliced tomatoes, nuts and peas, sliced filets, spicy pepper, and garlic. The salad has a distinct texture and a flavor profile that combines soft, bitter, sour, and spicy ingredients. Burmese people eat tea leaf salad as a snack, appetizer, or as a meal with rice.
- Akyaw Sone (Burmese Tempura): An essential for Burmese’s people breakfast and favorite of all and love to enjoy with steamed rice. This dish contains a variety of deep fried ingredients such as onion, potato, peas, bananas, shrimp, and so on. Burmese Tempura (Akyaw Sone) cannot be complete without sauce.
- Myanmar staple food rice and curry: Rice is a staple food in Myanmar. A typical meal consists of a plate of steaming rice with various fish, chicken, or hog curries as side dishes, salad, a bowl of light soup, and a curry sauce made from pickled fish (ngapi yay). Serving spoons are given for dishes to be handled with the left hand, while Burmese people always eat with their right hand. Burmese folks have green tea, pickled tea leaves, and palm sugar for dessert after meals.
- Shan Noodle: Shan noodles can be served as soup or salad. The thick, round rice noodles are topped with marinated chicken or pork, juicy tomatoes, and toasted sesame or garlic oil. Most Myanmar people like it and eat it for breakfast, lunch, or as a snack.
- Shan Style Rice: Shan rice, also known as Nga Htamin, is a traditional Shan dish that is now popular throughout Myanmar. The most traditional Myanmar dish is rice mixed with tomato, potato, and fish kneaded into spherical balls and topped with crisp fried onion, garlic, tamarind sauce, and coriander.
- Coconut Noodle: Coconut Noodle is a Burmese noodle dish made of wheat noodles and creamy spicy chicken coconut broth. You can also garnish with fritters, hard-boiled eggs, and your favorite condiment, such as lime, chilies, or fish sauce.
- Si Htamin (Yellow Sticky Rice): This meal includes glutinous rice cooked with turmeric, salt, and onions, served with roasted sesame seeds, boiling yellow peas, and topped with freshly grated coconut and salted fish.
Popular items for shopping
- Decorative Tapestry: The tapestry is made meticulously, and decorated with gold, silver, and sparkling sequins. The image on the tapestry often depicts the classic Buddhist stories or other non-mundane objects of Burmese Buddhism such as legendary animals, Hintha, Kalong, etc.
- Gemstone: Myanmar has a lot of gemstone mines (mainly jade, ruby, and sapphire), and gemstone products originating from Myanmar are always highly appreciated in the international market.
- Lacquer painting: This product is available throughout the country but the most famous production center is in Bagan. You can buy yourself a lacquer painting in the village of Myinkaba (Bagan).
- Burmese Skirt – Longyi & Paso: Longyi (for women) and Paso (for men) is the traditional costume of the Myanmar people. It is simply a cloth wrapped from the waist down to the feet instead of trousers or skirts.
- Sand painting: Visitors to Bagan can be amazed at the artists’ creation of numerous highlighted paintings depicting the tranquility of old temples, bonzes pleading for food in the early morning light, local people going about their everyday lives, or the well-known Democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
- Local Sweets and Snacks: Tourists can bring home many sweet things, such as dried fruits, especially tamarind flakes, which can’t be found anywhere else, except mostly in Bagan in Myanmar.
- Umbrellas: Tourists can have them of all sizes and colors, and they are one of the most requested objects to buy in Myanmar.
Some popular shopping places:
- Nyaung U Market: Bustling market with a wide variety of fresh produce, local crafts and traditional Myanmar snacks.
- Myinkaba Market: A great place to find unique gifts like local artwork, lacquerware, handicraft support local artisans.
- Shwe War Thein Handicrafts Shop: Highly recommended souvenir shop with reasonable price items such as traditional and modern puppets, wood carvings and gems.