Top 10 Foods to Try in Myanmar

Effie Frank

July 23, 2026

Burmese food doesn't get talked about anywhere near as much as its neighbours in Thailand or Vietnam, which is a shame, because it's genuinely one of the most distinctive cuisines in Southeast Asia — equal parts Indian spice, Chinese noodle technique, and ingredients you won't find used quite the same way anywhere else, like fermented tea leaves. Expect a lot of noodle soups, a lot of small side dishes served all at once, and food that leans savoury and tangy rather than sweet. Here's what we'd point you towards first.

If you're travelling with us, most of this shows up naturally over the course of the trip — we've also written up our favourite budget restaurants in Naypyidaw if you want a shortlist of where to eat well in the capital specifically.

1. Mohinga

Mohinga is about as close as Myanmar gets to a national dish: a fish and rice noodle soup built on a broth of catfish, lemongrass and banana stem, usually topped with a crispy fritter, a boiled egg and a handful of coriander. It's technically a breakfast dish and that's when it's best, sold hot from roadside carts and street stalls, but you'll find it served all day. Order it early and often. If you like spicy and sour then this one is a must try for you!

2. Lahpet Thoke (Tea Leaf Salad)

This is the dish that best sums up why Burmese food is worth seeking out on its own terms: fermented tea leaves tossed with crispy fried beans, toasted nuts and sesame, shredded cabbage, tomato and chilli. It's sour, savoury, crunchy and a little bitter all at once, and it's traditionally a symbol of hospitality — presenting lahpet to a guest is an old sign of welcome. Order it as a starter or a side to share. The fried beans often served with the salad are highly addictive.

3. Shan Noodles

From the Shan hills in the east of the country, this is thin rice noodles in a light, peppery broth with marinated chicken or pork, finished with toasted sesame and garlic oil. There's also a drier version tossed through with the same toppings instead of served in soup — both are worth trying, and it's one of the easiest Burmese dishes for a first-timer to love immediately.

4. Ohn No Khao Swè

Coconut milk noodle soup, built around boiled egg noodles and curried chicken in a rich, chickpea-flour-thickened coconut broth. It comes loaded with garnishes — crispy fried noodles, hard-boiled egg, fresh lime, chilli flakes — that you mix in yourself, so every bowl ends up a little different. It's the dish most often credited with inspiring Thailand's khao soi, and it's every bit as good as its more famous cousin.

5. Burmese Chicken Curry (See Pyan)

Milder and oilier than an Indian curry, which is deliberate — the oil helps the dish keep in Myanmar's heat without refrigeration. Chicken is marinated in turmeric, cumin, coriander and garam masala spices, then simmered slowly with tomatoes, lemongrass and fish sauce until the sauce turns rich and the meat falls apart. Order it with plain rice and let the curry do the talking.

6. Samusa Thoke (Samosa Salad)

An inventive way to use up leftover samosas: they're broken up and tossed through a salad of shredded cabbage, onion and fresh herbs, dressed with a tangy, chilli-forward sauce. The crushed pastry adds a crunch you don't get from a regular salad, and it's a good example of how Burmese cooking borrows from Indian ingredients but does something distinctly its own with them.

7. Mont Lone Yay Paw

Glutinous rice balls filled with palm sugar or jaggery, boiled until they float to the surface (the name translates roughly to "round snack on the water"), then rolled in shredded coconut and served warm on a banana leaf. These are traditionally made for Thingyan, Myanmar's water festival and New Year celebration, but you'll find them at markets and street stalls well outside of festival season too.

8. Dan Bauk

Myanmar's answer to biryani: rice and meat, usually chicken, cooked together with a spiced tomato-and-yoghurt sauce, believed to have developed in Yangon under Indian Muslim culinary influence. It's more of an occasion dish than an everyday one, so if you spot it on a menu or get offered some at a gathering, take it as a sign you're being looked after.

9. Kyay Oh

A noodle soup built around vermicelli, egg and meatballs in a broth made from chicken, pork or fish, traditionally served in a small copper pot. It's rarely made at home — this is very much a restaurant dish — and it's popular enough that you'll find dedicated kyay oh specialists in most larger towns rather than it being a side item on a bigger menu.

10. Shwe Yin Aye

The dessert to finish on: a cold, sweet coconut-milk dish loaded with tapioca pearls, jelly, bread and sometimes semolina cake, similar in spirit to a Southeast Asian ice kachang or che. It's exactly what you want after a plate of curry in Myanmar's heat, and it's sold everywhere from proper restaurants to street carts.

Do We Offer Myanmar Tours?

Yes — our Myanmar February Summer Tour runs from Yangon to Mandalay, taking in a tea leaf salad festival, the golden rock at Kyaiktiyo, the empty highways of Naypyidaw, the pagodas of Bagan and the Pindaya caves over nine days. Good food is built into the itinerary throughout, not an afterthought.

How Can I Book a Tour?

Send us an email at [email protected] and we're happy to talk through exactly what the current trip involves before you commit to anything.

Sources

Myanmar Food Guide: 50 Traditional Dishes You Must Try — myanmar.com

Burmese Food: Top 21 Dishes — TasteAtlas

Burmese cuisine for beginners: Top 10 must-try foods in Myanmar — Asia Tours