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lifestyles, such as farmers working their
lands and street markets near the tracks.
Burmese Flavours
Originating from the colonial British-
India period, Burmese tea shops are male
domains. The men squat on small stools
at roadsides and making kissy sounds
at waiters taking orders. Curry and rice
define Burmese cuisine, while Chinese
steamed buns, Indian flatbreads and
grilled meats typical of Muslim cooking
are local favourites as well. First-time
visitors wary of hawker fare hygiene
can dine at places such as Rangoon
Tea House. It has a projector playing
old Burmese films and music videos
on a wall. Go for local staples such as
mohinga
(a fish noodle soup), curries, tea
leaves and pennywort salads, samosas,
triple-cooked tofu chips or
bel thar
mont
(duck meat empanadas). Sixteen
tea blends are on offer as well. Each is
colour-coded in the menu, showing the
different ratios of black tea, condensed
and steamed milk.
In Chinatown, enjoy grilled meats and
seafood at various eateries. Adventurous
gourmands can also go for fried insects
sold at several roadside pushcarts. The
coconut noodles that I tried were similar
to Malaysian curry
laksa
. I also sampled
spicy Shan noodles from the Shan region
bordering China, Thai and Laos. Unlike
other local noodle dishes, this dish is
served with chicken broth soup and
sour mustard greens for added flavours.
These national delights are easily found
at roadside stalls.
Now is a good time to visit Yangon,
before the floodgates open and the
tourists flock there. Make the trip and
immerse yourself in this wonderful,
historical place.
Nearby, early 20
th
Century edifices
such as The LawCourts Building, Custom
House and Port Authority Building are
laid out in a chessboard pattern on streets
centered on Sule Pagoda. Also check out
a beautiful ornamental staircase inside a
building that housed the Accountant Gen-
eral’s Office and Currency Department,
where the clerks oversaw the colonial
government’s revenues from opium, salt,
custom duties, railways, post offices,
telegraphs and major irrigation works.
News From Reuters
At Merchant Road, you cannot miss
Sofaer’s Building – its opulent exterior
has Italianate flourishes and a striking
interior replete with patterned floor tiles
in green, gold, burnt sienna and lapis
lazuli, all imported from Manchester,
United Kingdom. Designed by Isaac
Sofaer, a Jewish immigrant from Bagh-
dad, the building was also fitted with
the city’s first electric lifts. “If visitors
weren’t brave enough to use the lifts,
they could ascend sweeping staircases
carved from premium teak felled in the
jungles of upper Burma,” said Travel
and Leisure magazine. In the heydays of
1910, Sofaer’s housed an upscale empo-
rium stocking Egyptian cigarettes, fine
European liqueurs and confectionaries
at The Vienna Café. Upstairs, the Reuters
office sent telegrams of news from around
the world.
The tour came full circle at Maha Ban-
dula, surrounded by significant edifices
including the red-and-white brick High
Court Building, built in 1911 with a clock
tower. It is, however, to be converted into
a museum and national theatre offering
plays and puppet art shows. Around the
corner, Yangon City Hall, opened in 1936,
stands out in traditional Burmese tiered
roofs, green peacock ornamentation
above the central doorway and local
motifs on the pillars.
To escape the bustling city, take a slow
train ride from Yangon Railway Station to
the lush countryside and suburban areas.
Built by the British in 1954, the aging
trains run rather efficiently at 30 minutes
to an hour intervals. The four-hour
journey is a great way to observe rustic
Local delicacy of fried insects
sold in Yangon‘s Chinatown
The Strand Hotel, established in
1901 by the Sarkies brothers