Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board

Dining in Yangon can be both pleasurable and exciting. As food is generally inexpensive, one can easily sample different dining options as food choices abound the city. The city's cuisine is influenced mainly by the neighboring countries and has therefore inspired various dishes:

· Burmese - the local cuisine is an interesting blend of Chinese, Indian and local Myanmar influence. Typical Burmese dishes are curry-based and make use of chicken, seafood, and mutton. As the country is Buddhist-dominated, there is very little use of pork or beef.

· Chinese - the country sits next to Mainland China and since Yangon is inhabited by many local Chinese, various regional cuisines such as Cantonese and Szechuan are available in the market.

· Asian - influence is also very strong in the city's dining lifestyle. Japanese and Korean restaurants abound the city. Thai, Singaporean and Malaysian dishes are also quite common in many restaurant menus.

· Western - most hotels and restaurants offer a wide variety of Western food. Items are usually available in buffet set-ups as well as in the ala carte menus. Oddly enough, the (Western) fastfood industry has not clearly penetrated the dining market. Worldwide fastfood chains are clearly absent in the city although this has given rise to a few local fastfood establishments and cafes.

Yangon has kept its local touch in terms of dining. Small teashops line up the streets of Yangon where one would find delicious local dishes served with favorite hot beverages. The "mohinga" is the most popular snack item and is served in practically all corners of town. This light, curry-based fish noodle soup is very tasty and although traditionally eaten for breakfast, is now served all-day. This tropical country also offers a wide variety of native, tropical fruits and while there is essentially no season for these fruits, most of the sweet and delicious variety come out during summer months.