Work through the list in order. Hide the notes when you know what to do.
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Try mohinga
Myanmar's quintessential breakfast: thin rice vermicelli bathed in a hearty catfish and lemongrass broth thickened with toasted chickpea flour and banana tree stems. Street vendors serve it topped with crispy chickpea fritters, hard-boiled egg slices, and a squeeze of lime.
Broth styles vary: Yangon versions are thick and pungent, while Rakhine iterations carry fiery black pepper. Find it at neighborhood tea shops before 10:00 AM.
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Order fermented tea leaf salad (lahpet thoke)
A globally unique dish where tea leaves are fermented rather than brewed, then tossed with fried split yellow peas, peanuts, toasted sesame, crunchy garlic chips, tomatoes, sliced cabbage, and chili oil.
Packed with natural caffeine, it serves both as an afternoon snack and a palate cleanser after curry. Request it without dried shrimp for a strictly vegetarian version.
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Eat Shan noodles (Shan khao swè)
The iconic comfort food from Shan State: thin, slightly sticky rice noodles dressed with a savory stewed tomato and minced chicken or pork sauce, topped with crushed peanuts and scallions. Order it dry (thoke) with broth on the side, or as a soup (yay).
Always served with a side dish of fermented mustard greens (monnyinjin), whose sharp, sour punch perfectly cuts through the savory, garlicky sauce.
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Try coconut chicken noodles (ohn no khao swè)
Wheat egg noodles bathed in a rich, velvety chicken broth simmered with creamy coconut milk and thickened with gram flour. Garnished tableside with crisp raw shallots, lime juice, and fried wonton crisps.
This comforting bowl is the direct ancestor of northern Thailand's khao soi. Seek it out at traditional breakfast tea houses in Yangon and Mandalay.
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Order warm Shan tofu (tofu nway)
Shan tofu is made from yellow split peas rather than soy. The 'warm' version (tofu nway) arrives as a luscious, silky porridge poured over rice noodles, seasoned with garlic oil, crushed peanuts, dark soy, and chili paste.
An unbeatable breakfast around Lake Inle and Mandalay. Cooled pea tofu is also sliced into blocks and deep-fried as a crispy afternoon street snack.
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Order a traditional Burmese curry meal
A classic lunchtime feast: choose your main curry (pork, mutton, or river fish cooked in aromatic shallot-turmeric oil) and receive a complimentary banquet of raw greens, tart soup, pickled bamboo, and pungent ngapi dip.
The visible layer of oil on top acts as a natural seal against tropical heat—simply skim it aside. Rice refills are typically unlimited and complimentary.
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Try thick noodle salad (nangyi thoke)
Often dubbed the spaghetti of Myanmar: thick, round rice noodles hand-kneaded with rich chicken curry gravy, roasted chickpea flour, shallot oil, and lime. Topped with sliced fish cakes and boiled egg.
A specialty closely associated with Mandalay, though loved nationwide. Served at room temperature alongside a clear broth to wash down the hearty noodles.
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Try Mandalay mee shay
A rich noodle bowl featuring thick rice vermicelli dressed in a thick meat stew, gelatinous fermented soybean paste, pickled bamboo shoots, and crushed garlic oil, accompanied by sour mustard pickles.
Heavier and more intensely savory than the Shan version due to its thick bean sauce. Look for it around morning market stalls across Mandalay.
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Order Rakhine mont di
A coastal signature from Rakhine State: slender fermented rice noodles submerged in a clear, fiercely peppery fish broth seasoned with black pepper, garlic, and shredded marine fish.
One of Myanmar's genuinely fiery dishes. Can also be ordered 'salad style' (dry), tossed with concentrated fish paste, fiery green chilies, and crispy garlic.
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Try kneaded Shan rice with fish (htamin jin)
A Shan specialty of sticky rice kneaded with flaked freshwater fish, boiled potatoes, turmeric, and fragrant garlic oil. Rolled into mounds and garnished with crisp fried pork rinds and raw leek roots.
A staple of the Intha people living around Inle Lake. The richness of the fish-infused rice is balanced by biting into pungent raw Chinese chives.
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Snack on Burmese fritters (a-kyaw sone)
The cornerstone of Burmese street snacking: an assortment of deep-fried fritters including bottle gourd wedges (bu thee kyaw), yellow split pea patties, and baby shrimp cakes, served with a tangy tamarind-garlic dip.
Eaten as an add-in for morning mohinga or as an afternoon tea companion. Pick stalls with high turnover where cauldrons of oil bubble fresh on the pavement.
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Try Burmese biryani (danbauk)
The Burmese adaptation of Indian biryani: aromatic basmati rice slow-steamed with tender chicken or mutton on the bone, ghee, saffron, cinnamon, cloves, and cashews, accompanied by green mango pickle.
Slow-cooked until the meat falls off the bone. Especially popular in Muslim quarters and heritage dining halls in downtown Yangon.
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Try 'husband and wife' cakes (mont lin maya)
Bite-sized round street cakes cooked in cast-iron dimpled griddles. Rice batter cups filled with toasted yellow peas, scallions, and quail eggs are fused face-to-face, uniting the 'husband and wife'.
Crisp on the exterior with a molten, savory interior. Best enjoyed piping hot from sidewalk carts on evening market streets, dusted with roasted sesame salt.
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Try coconut semolina cake (sanwin makin) Desserts and pastries
A rich, dense dessert cake made from semolina flour cooked down with thick coconut cream, clarified butter (ghee), and sugar, baked until browned and studded with white poppy seeds.
Sliced into diamonds and sold at tea shops and monastery festivals. Its buttery coconut richness pairs best with plain, unsweetened black tea.
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Order iced coconut dessert (shwe yin aye) Desserts and pastries
A refreshing sweet soup designed to beat tropical heat: tapioca pearls, emerald pandan jelly strands, sweet sticky rice, and a slice of white bread soaked in sweet, chilled coconut milk with crushed ice.
The white bread acts as an edible sponge soaking up the sweetened coconut cream. Incredibly popular during the scorching Thingyan New Year water festival in April.
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Try palm sugar rice balls (mont lone yay baw) Desserts and pastries
Chewy glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with chunks of unrefined palm sugar (jaggery), rolled in freshly grated coconut. The name translates to 'rice cake that floats on water' based on how they are boiled.
Eat in a single careful bite to avoid spraying hot molten syrup. During April festivities, locals playfully slip a fiery bird's eye chili into random dumplings.
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Try crispy street pancakes (bein moun) Desserts and pastries
A Burmese griddle pancake made from fermented rice batter sweetened with dark palm jaggery, topped with coconut slices, poppy seeds, and toasted peanuts, folded while still piping hot.
Crisp around the edges with a soft, honeycomb-like center. Found on afternoon street carts across Bagan and Yangon, cooked over charcoal braziers.
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Drink Burmese sweet milk tea (laphet yay) Non-alcoholic drinks
The social catalyst of Myanmar: strong brewed black tea blended with both condensed and evaporated milk. Tea stalls use nuanced codes: order 'cho tint' for sweet and astringent, or 'cho pawt' for mild sweetness and extra milk.
Served in stout glass tumblers alongside complimentary flasks of plain green tea used to cleanse the palate between rich, sugary sips.
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Drink complimentary green tea (ye nwe gyan) Non-alcoholic drinks
Unsweetened, pale green tea with an earthy, toasted flavor, provided free of charge in thermal flasks or ceramic pots on every single dining table in Myanmar, served in tiny handleless cups.
The water is thoroughly boiled, making it the safest hydration option across the country. It is customary to rinse your small cup with a splash of hot tea before drinking.
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Try fresh sugarcane juice (kyan ye) Non-alcoholic drinks
Fresh sugarcane stalks pressed to order through hand-cranked or motorized rollers alongside wedges of lime, producing a cloudy, lime-scented green juice that balances rich sweetness with sharp acidity.
Order it without ice ('ye ge ma hte ba neh') to avoid untreated tap water. Watch the vendor crush the stalks to ensure your drink is prepared on the spot.
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Try fermented toddy palm wine (htan yay) Local alcohol
Traditional toddy wine tapped from the cut flowers of palmyra trees in the dry central plains around Bagan. Morning sap is sweet and gently bubbly, naturally fermenting by midday into a sour, fizzy brew with 4–6% ABV.
Served in rustic earthen jugs at open-air roadside stalls amidst Bagan's palm groves, accompanied by roasted field peas and salted dried fish.
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Try traditional ethnic rice beer (khaung yay) Local alcohol
A traditional cloudy rice and millet brew crafted by Shan and Kachin highland communities. Moderately strong, slightly effervescent, and pleasantly tart with sweet apple and yeast undertones.
In mountain villages, it is customarily sipped through thin bamboo straws directly from a shared clay crock, occasionally topped up with hot water.
