5 of the best breakfast dishes in Yangon, Myanmar – the vivid Southeast Asian city with great street food
We are regaled by the Burmese phrase ‘sa ba’, which means ‘eat please’, whenever we stroll down the street; street food vendors are masters of the pop-up, changing location every few hours
From mohinga to tea leaf salad, street food vendors spill from the pavements onto streets offering comfort foods, influenced by neighbouring countries, from early morning until late at night.
Yangon, like Bangkok, is a Southeast Asian city with exceptional street food. Myanmar borders on China, India, Thailand, Laos and Bangladesh, and over 135 ethnic groups live in Yangon, which nurtures the rich flavours of the food.
Street food vendors are masters of the pop-up in this vivid, rundown city, changing location every few hours. We are continually regaled by the Burmese phrase “sa ba”, which means “eat please”, whenever we stroll down the street. Here is a bite of Yangon.
Mohinga
There is no better breakfast dish than a bowl of mohinga for locals to wake up to each morning. The signature dish is rice noodles covered in rich and pungent umami fish broth. The recipes vary, but crushed chickpea flour, fish sauce and spices, such as lemongrass, turmeric, ginger and chilli, are essential. Toppings include boiled egg, deep fried fritters and chickpeas.
The richly-flavoured mohinga, serves as the equivalent to pho in Vietnam, and has become an all-day breakfast in and beyond Yangon. It’s an ideal way to refuel your body and mind while travelling, as the locals do.
Tea leaf salad
The locals love noodles and salad (“Thoke” in Burmese). No other country makes salad like Myanmar. Ngapi salad uses fish paste as its base, mixing it with lime juice, chillies and onions. Samosa salad is served with diced samosa, and topped with vegetables, spices, sauces and nuts such as cabbage, mint and tamarind chutney.
One of the most popular salads is green tea leaf salad (Laphet Thoke) that can be a snack, appetite or dessert. The salad is served with pickled tea leaf from Shan State, in eastern Myanmar, crunchy fried peas, peanuts, beans, sesame, nutty tomatoes, cabbages, chopped onions and ginger, then sprinkled in mild sauces such as fish sauce and sweet chilli sauce, and topped with a squeeze of lime.