Typical Myanmar Feast - Take 2 (by G)

The day before I had had a beer at a deserted restaurant outside the center of town because, well, it was time for beer and the restaurant was there.  The guy who was serving was a nice guy and (for reasons I won't go into because you'll think I'm soft) I promised to come back the next day.

The next day I walked for 6 hours through the Bagan environs looking at pagodas and temples. Note to everyone - do not walk around Bagan - get a bike, or a car, or a motorcycle, or one of those dicky horse buggys - hell get a helicopter - just don't walk. It's HOT and if, for some mad reason you do decide to walk STICK TO THE PATHS - do not decide to walk across the plains because it looks like the shortest way (like I did).  At the end of the day the soles of my feet were blistered and I looked as if I had been dragged ass* bottom backward through a thorn bush (because that is basically what I'd done all day). Needless to say I did not feel like trekking back to this restaurant, nor did I even want to have dinner (though I hadn't eaten all day).

In the end I decided I should go and have a beer and, while I was drinking my beer, I flipped through the menu.  The chalkboard outside the restaurant said 'Chinese Food/Myanmar Food/Vegetable Food' but looking through the menu it appear to be all Chinese.

I was in a scratchy mood and crankily asked the guy, 'Where is the Myanmar food on the menu!  Point out to me where the Myanmar food is!'.  I really can be a dick sometimes...

'Well,' said the guy, 'There's no Myanmar dishes on the menu but we do serve them'.

'Like what?' I asked - softening my tone a bit.

He went into a broken English monologue on the types and merits of typical Myanmar cuisine.  'That sounds good', I said, 'Can you get me something like that?'.

He went to check with his father in the kitchen and said that they could make a soup, a curry, a tomato salad, a green mango salad and some water cress.  It sounded hauntingly similar to what I had had the night before but I was swayed buy the guy's enthusiasm.  'Yes please!'. I said. The guy told me there would be a bit of a wait on the food because they all had to be made from scratch. 'Even better.' I said.

The food, when it came, was amazing.  The soup came first, like a thin dahl with lentils, chunks of onion and potato and whole curry leaves - the kind of soup you could eat multiple bowls of. In-fact they kept offering me more but I was conscious of the fact there was more to come.

I'm no fan of green mangoes or green tomatoes (or salads in general) but these were different.

The green tomato salad had thin sliced onion, peanuts, lentils - the flavour was something like a really fresh tasting satay - excellent.

The green mango salad was even better - not much to it green mango strips with finely chopped onion and a vinaigrette. I'm not sure if the mango had been quick pickled or not but it tasted like a really green olive.

The greens were okay - nothing too special just greens stir fried with garlic and chicken stock?

The pork curry (not pictured) was also good but not the star - the salads were really phenomenal.

Maybe the best thing was the old guy who cooked the food. He was so proud of his food and seemed to enjoy my enjoyment of it.  He hovered about watching me eat like he couldn't drag himself away and happy to answer any questions:

- Is there fish stock in the soup? - No only vegetables, nothing but vegetables.
- I taste fish sauce in the tomato salad. - No, just crushed peanuts and seasoning.
- You cooked the curry just now? How did you get the pork so tender? - Wine. - Local wine? - No, Chinese rice wine.

I told the guy and his father about the meal I'd had the night before.  'They have things sitting around waiting for people to come, me, you order it I cook it - not before'.  I think attitude and passion have more to do with it though.

The old guy brought out a dessert of sugar coated banana flamed with rum and I couldn't refuse it though I don't like desserts.

When the bill came the food cost $3 and the beer $2 - I didn't feel right paying them less than I'd paid for the previous night's dinner so I tipped a few more dollars to redress the balance.

If you're ever in the area I'd recommend this place:

Shwe Lan Thit Resuaurant (sic), Near Thazin Garden Hotel, Bagan, Myanmar Ph. 09-402773651

*Ass is censored in Myanmar - in the subtitles they substitute it for bottom.