Burmese's National Dish - Mohinga

Mohinga

The good thing about living in an immigrant country is that there are always different kinds of ethnic cuisines to try and enjoy.

Burma/Myanmar is a country I've heard so much about as a kid but never really know about their history and cuisine. I know it's adjacent to southwest China, a major player in the Golden Triangle for drug cartels. For better or for worse, I was never interested in learning about Burma until I had a taste of their food.

It was fascinating to learn about the tragic history of Burma from a powerful kingdom to British ruled colony to relentless civil war for the last 50 years. Before WWII, Burma is part of Indian colonial administration.

As a result of political and economic instability, Burmese cuisines were not being widely appreciated until recent years.

Mohinga - as often being referred as the "National Dish of Burma" is absolutely a hidden gem in Southeast Asian cuisine. It was traditionally being consumed as breakfast and sold by street hawkers with big wooden barrels with hot soup. The soup has a variety of spices and ingredients influenced by China, India and Thailand -- lemongrass, onions, ginger, turmeric, fish sauce, dried shrimp, and most importantly catfish, topped with cilantro, sliced hard boiled eggs, and some bean fritters (interesting add a light crispness to the dish). The broth is everything for a good and authentic Mohinga!

Vegetable Curry

Burmese curries suggest their Indian counterparts but without the often heavy reliance on chilies. Instead there is a more subtle set of flavors including items like bay leaf that competes equally on the palate. Somehow, the vegetable curry we ordered reminded me of the vegetable soup I had in the US. Probably because of subtle flavor of the bay leaf and the some well stewed beans.

Burma Bistro is where we like to go for Burmese food. It somewhat more “Burmese” than most with videos from Rangoon and tables set with fork and spoon in the Burmese manner.

The decor includes numerous photos from the Burmese countryside, and some from Rangoon (Yangon).

If you're looking to escape those so called authentic restaurants with not so authentic food and loud pop music playing in the background, this is the place to be! Order a bowl of Mohinga, some type of curry, and coconut water, you are in good hands my friend! :)