bagan eats: curries and more

Feast at Shwe Myanmar (aka Golden Myanmar)

While Mr. Sazy Rock and I enjoyed eating in Yangon, one other dish that captured my stomach comes from Bagan: the pork curry. I soon learned, however, that the dish itself, while very tasty, was not the draw. Instead, a particular restaurant that served that dish was the star.

But before I get into my top tastes in Bagan, as a little background information, we ate a lot. We tried many dishes. But, some, sadly, were not worth mentioning. The below, on the other hand, deserve a lot of kudos:


Pork Curry - I like pork. A lot. And, a lot of Bagan restaurants have pork (or chicken or mutton) curry on their menu. We tried many versions. But, what caught my stomach and my heart was the pork curry version served at Pwint Mar Lar. It was smoky - apparently smoked over firewood in low heat for an hour - and sweet and rich. Yes, it was oily but I've been told that oil was a sign of wealth and generosity. Notwithstanding the oil, which could be put aside, that dish was awesome. (And I suspect that if I paired it with the Yangon style balachaung, I would have been in seventh heaven.)

Pork Curry from Pwint Mar Lar.

Chicken Curry from Shwe Myanmar.

Pork Curry from Shwe Myanmar.

Pork curry from Mar Lar Thien Gi.

Rakhine Curry - Rakhine is a western state on the Bay of Bengal. Everytime I ate a Rakhine style curry, it was spicy. So, I suspect that Rakhine curry was supposed to be spicy. Some also had coconut flavors, like the one I tried at Green Elephant. All had fish as the main protein.  

Rakhine style fish curry from Green Elephant.

Balachaung - As I soon learned, the Bagan style balachaung was not the same as those I tried in Yangon. After trying a couple of restaurants that did not have balachaung, I ran into Pwint Mar Lar, which indulged my request and made me some balachaung fresh to order. I really wanted to like the Bagan style balachaung but it was not meant to be. This version was fresh and garlicky. So far so good. But, it had no dried shrimp. Instead, they used potatoes and peanuts. Mr. SR liked it but I was not as taken.

Balachaung from Pwint Mar. Lar.

Red Chili Dip (phonetically as "Doom doo mu kay an ten dee") - I actually do not know the real name of this dish. But, it was very fiery and sweet. It went well with all the different curries that cut through the oil. So good.

Red Chili Dip from Shwe Myanmar.

If you have tried Burmese food, what is you favorite dish?