Delicooks

Traditional Myanmar food is a mixture of influences, Burmese, Mon, Indian and Chinese.
Htamin (rice) is the staple food of Burma and is eaten with hin (which are different types of curries) normally using fish, chicken, prawns or lamb.  Beef and pork are less popular as the majority of the population is either Hindu or Buddhist.  Soup is always served with a variety of chutneys and pickled vegetables which are used to flavor it.  Noodle dishes are often eaten for breakfast or a snack in between meals, the most popular is the mohinga, which are rice noodles served in a fish soup and whatever else the cook wants to pop in!  Then there’s the khauk shan-swe, noodle soup which is based on thin wheat noodles served in a stock with meat or tofu, this is a very popular dish but more often than not found in the states of Shan or Mandalay.
Another popular dish is the htamin chin shan, which is a rice salad flavored with turmeric and is delicious...
Seafood is served along the coasts and the grilled squid in Ngapali is very popular.  Nearly all the dishes that come from out of state Rakhaing (which is near Bangladesh) are very mild in taste.   The chefs use a simple masala of turmeric, ginger, garlic, salt and onions along with peanut oil and mashed shrimp.
The Burmese are keen street snackers and you will find many sweet market stalls selling delicacies called tha ye iza which translated means appetizers that make your mouth water , these are served in different shapes and sizes in the form of multicolored sticky rice cakes, poppy seed cake, banana puddings and other curiosities…

Burmese tea is served Indian style with condensed milk with sugar.  Almost all restaurants offer free tea, and the tea shops which are on every corner are great places to chat with the locals, relax and try out some of the local sweets and pastries.

Another thing one notices when travelling in Myanmar are that the streets are covered with red spots, this is because there is a custom of chewing the betel leaf called betel nuts, or as it is locally known  as “paan”. This is a mild narcotic and has stimulant properties many people are addicted and chew up to 50 leafs a day, leaving their mouths stained red.

There are so many things to do and see in Myanmar that one trip will not be enough. It is a country where you will experience many things which will stimulate your senses and become installed on your soul….