From mohinga to tea leaf salad, street food vendors spill from the pavements onto streets offering comfort foods, influenced by neighbouring countries, from early morning until late at night.

Yangon, like Bangkok, is a Southeast Asian city with exceptional street food. Myanmar borders on China, India, Thailand, Laos and Bangladesh, and over 135 ethnic groups live in Yangon, which nurtures the rich flavours of the food.

Street food vendors are masters of the pop-up in this vivid, rundown city, changing location every few hours. We are continually regaled by the Burmese phrase “sa ba”, which means “eat please”, whenever we stroll down the street. Here is a bite of Yangon.

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Mohinga

There is no better breakfast dish than a bowl of mohinga for locals to wake up to each morning. The signature dish is rice noodles covered in rich and pungent umami fish broth. The recipes vary, but crushed chickpea flour, fish sauce and spices, such as lemongrass, turmeric, ginger and chilli, are essential. Toppings include boiled egg, deep fried fritters and chickpeas.

The richly-flavoured mohinga, serves as the equivalent to pho in Vietnam, and has become an all-day breakfast in and beyond Yangon. It’s an ideal way to refuel your body and mind while travelling, as the locals do.

Tea leaf salad

The locals love noodles and salad (“Thoke” in Burmese). No other country makes salad like Myanmar. Ngapi salad uses fish paste as its base, mixing it with lime juice, chillies and onions. Samosa salad is served with diced samosa, and topped with vegetables, spices, sauces and nuts such as cabbage, mint and tamarind chutney.

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One of the most popular salads is green tea leaf salad (Laphet Thoke) that can be a snack, appetite or dessert. The salad is served with pickled tea leaf from Shan State, in eastern Myanmar, crunchy fried peas, peanuts, beans, sesame, nutty tomatoes, cabbages, chopped onions and ginger, then sprinkled in mild sauces such as fish sauce and sweet chilli sauce, and topped with a squeeze of lime.

Shan noodles

Shan noodles, which originate in Shan State, are another favourite dish. Shan noodles have a lighter flavour than Mohinga. Both the wet and dry noodles are covered with chicken or pork paste, and tossed in Thai sweet chilli sauce. Shan noodles, because of the geographical proximity to China, are heavily influenced by that country and often include five spice seasonings, such as anise and Sichuan pepper.

Rice and curry

Different to neighbouring South Asian countries, there is a special custom involved in eating Burmese curry. It is usually a big meal for lunch or dinner, with many small curry dishes that include chicken, pork, fish, tofu, chickpea, prawn, gourd, all are smooth and spicy.

With curries assembled in rows, bowls of steamed rice and a tasty stewed soup, made with fresh fish and vegetables, are also served.

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Fried quail egg

Fried quail egg (Mont Lin Ma Yar in Burmese), showcases the couple, or husband and wife snack. A dash of rice flour batter is poured into a sizzling iron pan, followed by toppings of quail eggs and other variations, such as chickpeas, tomatoes, scallions and peppers, and then, like a husband and wife, the two halves are joined to make a little round cake. Quail egg is an ideal breakfast meal.

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