Crispy Chris

BURMESE FOOD

Have you ever wondered why there are no Burmese restaurants around? I guess not. Until the killing of Buddist Monks during the civil unrest in 2008 put Burma (now Myanmar) into the media spotlight, a lot of younger people wouldn’t have known the country existed.  After all, it’s not a known holiday destination and doesn’t generally hit the headlines.

It is a combination of factors that has prevented Burmese cuisine from being brought to the rest of the world unlike its three neighbours India, China and Thailand (even my little village of Bottisham has an Indian restaurant and a Chinese takeaway that also does Thai dishes!). 

Firstly, Burma is in the grip of a brutal military regime which for many years has closed its borders and taken on pariah status due to its appalling human rights record.  This has meant that the Burmese people have not been able to enjoy international travel and the widespread poverty resulting from the gross mismanagement of the country’s affairs means that international travel would be unaffordable to all but the privelaged few.  So, there is no one to open and run Burmese restaurants.

Secondly, assuming you can find Burmese chefs outside Burma (and there are plenty living as refugees in Bangladesh and Thailand) how would they get over here and how and why would they set up their own restaurant?  It’s a daunting enough challenge to open a restaurant in England even if you’ve lived all your life here so it would be especially difficult with an unfamiliar cuisine.

Thirdly, because buddism plays such a role in Burmese culture, the Burmese people generally do not pursue money the same way we do in western society.  I know this is a sweeping generalisation but I have heard the Burmese people being described as “unambitious due to their Buddist values”.

Having said that, I do know of the only Burmese Restaurant in Europe and that is at 444 Edgeware Road in West London and is called the Mandalay ( www.mandalayway.com ).  On the couple of occasions I have visited there on the off-chance, they were fully booked so I have never eaten there although members of my family have and they say the food is great.  I am pleased to say that a Burmese food shop has recently opened in Wood Green in North London called Mum’s House.  You can check them out at www.mumhouse.com .

So, once a year I put on a Burmese Dining Experience on behalf of the Cambridge Food and Drink Festival ( www.camfoodfest.co.uk ) to give people the chance to taste this wonderful cooking style for the first time.  It is always successful and now that I have Cook’s Barn I plan to turn it into a Burmese Restaurant for one evening a month so if you’re interested in trying it then drop me a line at chris@stonetime.co.uk and I will add you to the growing list of aventurous diners.

Chris Thought for Food