A lovely day in Mandalay

As opposed to every other country I had been to before coming to Myanmar, I had been reluctant to eat at cheap local diners in Myanmar unless I was recommended or went to one with a local. I had read and been warned about the poor hygiene from all sides including some Thai people. So I had mostly been eating at restaurants targeting foreigners.

But then, one day, despite having had some health issues (not food caused) I gave it a try. I found a local diner, no English name. Plenty of locals – the first good sign. No smell – a second good sign. No swarms of flies around food – a third good sign.

I humbly showed my ‘Me vegetarian’ message written by a local as no one spoke English. They didn’t seem to understand what I wanted. All people on staff were children or teenagers. I went to the kitchen window only to find another kid making something there. So I just showed my message to more people causing a lot confusion among them. They kept shaking heads and saying stuff or just stared at me but eventually they sat me down and brought a cup so that I could have some tea. Judging from the non verbal communication I had an impression I wouldn’t get any food. But I did.

There was a salad made from peanuts, sesame and uncooked veggies (not a good thing but whatever) and rice with chickpeas. I wasn’t sure what the soup was made from and then there was some cabbage salad.

It was pretty good. And I was in the center of attention of the children staff and some guests alike. My thoughts were like: ‘So let’s wait for the opinion of my stomach.’ (For the first time, I was wishing for some Slovak or Czech plum brandy to have as an appetizer, but there was no such thing.)