Bagan - Day 1

Out of the 5 days spent in Myanmar, I decided to spend 2 days here, in Bagan, because of the amazing views and the more than 2,000 temples and pagodas. Also, I wanted to try foods in other areas because foods in a big city like Yangon can be less traditional.

After enjoying the fantastic views of Bagan, I went to a local restaurant that the guide recommended (after I assured him that I didn't want a touristy restaurant...). I was happy to see many local people and some monks at the restaurant.

There was no menu in this restaurant. They brought a bunch of small dishes. The portion was like a Korean restaurant's side dishes (banchan) but it included main dishes and different types of curries. Below are the pictures of each dishes. It's only $5 or so per person; an amazing deal...

Fried fish and roasted pork (pretty dry but tasty)

Braised chicken

Braised pork belly (some pieces are pure fat..)

 

Shallot and chili tossed with some paste (probably coarse sesame paste?)

Black bean paste

Chili

 

Tomato sauce

Stewed green beans

Some sort of squash

 

Cauliflower

 

 Bitter melon

 

Side veggies. The purple one is eggplant. It was my first time having raw eggplant. It was pretty sweet.

Complimentary soup, tasty but don't know what it was..

Laphet thoke (more traditional style of tea leaf salad - laphet thoke is served as tea snack in central Myanmar)

Dessert - Palm sugar and tamarind candy

 

After lunch, the guide brought me to the hotel because the afternoon was too warm for sightseeing. Around 4:00 I restarted the tour, then went to a restaurant nearby that the guide recommended. As soon as I was seated, the server brought peanuts. The guide had told me that Bagan is very dry unlike the rest of the Myanmar. So, the local specialty foods are peanuts and sesame. So, these must be the local peanuts.

Throughout the stay in Myanmar, I had this beer a lot. It's a typical lager, rather light. So, I was having this instead of water...

 

Most curries in Myanmar are pre-cooked. However, it seems this restaurant serves freshly cooked curries. The fish in the curry below was very moist and tender. Other fish curries were very dry. On the other hand, the black bean and pork curry (second picture) was rather dry...

 

 





 

There are two salads that I had: laphet thoke and tamarind leaf salad. Laphet thoke is the style that I would usually recognize as "tea leaf salad" at Burmese restaurants in the US. And this is a salad. The difference is this is a bit saltier. It seems local people eat this with white rice, that's why... The tamarind leaf salad was something to remember. First of all, this was my first time having fresh tamarind leaves and I don't think I can get them in the US. It was tossed in some creamy dressing. It tasted like mayonnaise but I think this was sesame paste. Very refreshing.

 

 

Again, the dessert was palm sugar and tamarind. This time, the tamarind was shaped into thin and small disks and wrapped by white paper. They were accompanied by cut watermelon.



 

 This is the end of day 1 in Bagan. I can't wait for the 2nd day!