Burmese cuisine is familiar with a twist. It shares influences with its neighbours Thailand, India and China, combining them with techniques, ingredients and flavours of its own to make something distinct and delicious. To use a broad brushstroke, the curries are a little like Malaysian curries, the salads remind one of Thai salads and the noodles are similar to what you’d find in China. Then we have curveballs like tofu made out of chickpeas, curries made with mangoes and salads made from lemons.
Every dish has at least three of the five tastes of salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami, and every meal has a host of accompaniments. Texture is just as important as flavour, even within the same dish – for example, a bowl of Mandalay Meeshay will have tender rice noodles, crunchy-sour pickles, beansprouts that snap to the bite and meltingly rich morsels of pork.