Myanmar

After enjoying the beaches and jungle in Thailand, my friends and I flew to Myanmar for our second week of vacation.  It was a completely different experience.  The people of Myanmar were incredibly welcoming and curious of this group of Americans.  We split our time between Yangon, Bagan, and Pwin Oo Lwin.  The food was vastly different from Thailand and varied from region to region.

Our first day in Bagan, we had lunch at a small, family owned shop.  The buffet lunch was pretty massive with so many choices I am embarrassed to say that I am having a hard time recalling most of the dishes served.  I do remember that the chicken curry was my favorite but that it was unlike an Indian curry.  The only way I can describe it is to say that it was not as smoky.

A small detail that I loved was that at almost every restaurant in Myanmar we were served a small plate of fresh roasted peanuts.  Delicious!

Our first stop was Bagan an area filled with about 2,000 Buddhist temples that are roughly 1,000 years old.  They fill the landscape and are quite spectacular.

We ate a fair amount of Chinese food during this part of the trip.  I was not expecting this at all but it was a pleasant surprise.  I enjoyed a couple plates of sweet and sour chicken as well as chicken with cauliflower.  

One dish that our friends really wanted to make sure we tried was Shan Noodles.  Once we were in Pwin Oo Lwin we made this our lunch a couple of days.  I believe it is rice noodles that are topped with peanut oil, garlic, chopped herbs, scallions, chicken, and roasted red pepper flakes.  This is definitely a dish that I am going to attempt to re-create now that we are home.  I can see this becoming our comfort food on a cold day!

There was also a large food market in Pwin Oo Lwin.  It was incredible, what a stark comparison to the market many of us frequent every week.  I was surprised to see so much recognizable produce, tons of tomatoes, garlic, eggplant, and chiles. 

For the most part I veered away from street food.  But on one of our last days I couldn't help it.  A woman was mixing eggs with corn flour, scallions, corn kernels and salt.  She then cooked them over a wood fire in a pan  that made small dumplings.  

As they cooked the street was full of the most inviting smell.  We all had one and they were delicious!  

I really enjoyed my time in Myanmar.  It without a doubt provided a cultural and culinary adventure!  If you are looking for something completely different and don't mind doing some paperwork upfront it is worth the trip.  Enjoy!