What's for a snack in Myanmar?

Depend on the region, custom, and habit of each ethnic that Burmese has different popular snacks. You can find almost well – known snacks of Myanmar both in the restaurant and on the streets, each place will give you a different experience and taste.

1. Mont Lin Ma Yar

Mont Lin Ma Yar

Mont Lin Ma Yar is a popular and tasty street snack in Myanmar. In Burmese, “Lin Ma Yar” meaning a couple, it has this name because each Lin Ma Yar includes two parts of a circle. There is no fixed recipe for this Myanmar snack, but stallers know how to put enough the mixture to create two fit pieces “couple”. There is a similar snack in Thailand named Khanom Khrok.

2. Deep-fried foods

Fried food is sold everywhere on the Myanmar streets so you can find it even from small stalls to big restaurants. Fried foods can be considered the most popular dish in Myanmar. It is usually served with tamarind sauce, so the slightly sour taste will make eater no longer tired even eating more deep-fried food.

Deep-fried food in Myanmar

Most of these fried foods are made of sticky rice flour, rice flour, or can also be mixed with both types. These flours will be mixed with onion, garlic, pureed ginger. These spices will help the dish more attractive when put in the oil pan.
The flour is also mixed with other ingredients such as coconut fiber, tomatoes, sesame seeds, curry, etc. which helps increase the various kinds of food.

3. Mont Lone Yay Paw

Mont Lone Yay Paw

Mont Lone Yay Paw means “rice ball on the water”, is a famous sweet in Myanmar. Burmese will ball rice flour into small circles then boiling them in water or coconut milk. When the rice ball floating on the water surface, Mont Lone Yay Paw will be served with coconut grated. It is quite easy to make it so you can try to make it by yourself at home. Mont Lone Yay Paw is not only a snack that you can eat every day but also a traditional dish in Thingyan Festival and Myanmar New Year.

4. Khaw Poat

Khaw Poat

Khaw Poat is a type of Shan’s snack. It is a traditional snack in Shan state, Khaw Poat is made from pounded black and white sticky rice, sesame, and brown sugar. You can fry or steam Khaw Poat before eating, each of them has different tastes. Everyone who visit Shan state often buys Khaw Poat as a souvenir because it is one of the specialties snack here. Therefore do not forget to try this delicious snack when coming to Shan state!

5. Bein Mont

Bein Mont

Bein Mont is known as a street pancake of Myanmar, locals often have it in their breakfast and teatime. There are two kinds of Bein Mont: white and brown pancakes. Both of them are made of rice flour but the brown one is mixed with palm sugar to make it sweeter then covered by coconut grated, nuts and white poppy seeds, etc. While the white pancake without sugar is more suitable for those who can eat sweet food, it is also added with boiled peas and onion.

6. Samosa salad

Samosa salad

This dish is a mixed street food of Myanmar and India. Samosa is a triangular pastry and has the origin from India. The cover is made of wheat flour, inside is a variety of vegetables such as peas, potatoes, onions, and a few others. Then Samosa can be baked or fried depending on where sold. Samosa salad is a mixture of samosa, cabbage, onion, mint, masala lentil sauce, and cinnamon. If you want to eat a spicy dish, it is ok for you to add some chilies.

7. Htamane

“Htamane” is the name of a harvest festival in Myanmar, it is often held on the full moon day of February in the lunar calendar. Therefore Htamane is a specialty dish of Myanmar which made from sticky rice, coconut, ginger, peanuts, sesame seeds, water, and oil. At the festival, Htamane is prepared with a huge number to serve everyone, and cooking Htamane also one of the festival contests. Locals will offer Htamane to Buddha first then the remained will be distributed to family members, friends, and neighbors.

Through these delicious Myanmar snacks, hope that you can get the most authentic view of the cuisine here. This is also a way for you to learn and explore the culture of this land, so do not miss the chance to enjoy it! This will be a very unique and interesting experience in Myanmar!

Thanh Van

(Image source: Internet)