Burmese Food

Burmese food is an interesting mix of influences from China, India, Thailand and Malaysia and yet is so unique. Curries, stir fries, noodle soups and rice dishes all feature heavily but in a very different way to other countries.

Burma is made up of a number of distinct states which include Karen, Shan and Burma itself and the cuisine is different in each state.

A very common dish that you find served here is Morning Glory with Garlic. This is served with pretty much every rice meal and is high in iron and very flavoursome. A lot of locals will eat this dish for breakfast along with some plain rice and a smidge of curry. Quite different to our breakfasts! This dish is also found all across Thailand but the difference is that in Thailand, it is usually littered with spicy birds eye chilli's that really wake you up.

Burmese curries are quite different from the coconut heavy dishes of Thailand and are probably closer to those of India. They are often cooked early in the day and let to sit with a thick layer of oil to preserve them. As a traveller, this is quite scary as we all know the rules about eating things that are hot! so if you order a curry, ask them to heat it up (Most Burmese can speak some English as it used to be an English colony!). The curries are very delicious, hearty and not at all spicy, so for those who fear the fire of an indian curry, you will be safe eating a Burmese one!

Street Food of Burma

Burma is an interesting country filled with such a variety of foods - some delicious, some not so delicious. It is incredibly different to the firey and fresh tastes of Thailand so we found ourselves really craving chilli and fresh vegetables.

One type of food that is very popular but as a traveller, i could not touch if you paid me, was the street food. In Thailand and Malaysia, I was more than happy to delve in and eat whatever was being cooked on the side of the road (sometimes with not such good reprocussions!) but it was always tasty. In Burma, however, most of the street food leaves a lot to be desired. For example, most of the food cooked on the street is offal - thats right, the guts of a beast! Whether thats intestines, heart, liver or brain, it is consumed here. And its cheap!

There are some indian influences also with Roti a very common sweet street food, but these are also found widely across Thailand and Malaysia