Bordering on a trend

Burmese cuisine, rich, light, diverse, is close enough to feel familiar but still seem unusual. No wonder it's popping up all across India 

- Shraddha Chowdhury

Ordinarily, a conversation around the cuisine of Myanmar would start and end with khow suey. The noodle soup thick, bursting with flavour, typically accompanied by condiments is the layperson's initiation to Burmese cuisine. But restaurants around the world, and increasingly in India, also serve other staples of the cuisine: The congee-like san pyoke; the rice-noodle and fish soup, mohinga; atho, a noodle preparation; a range of refreshing salads (some even made with tea leaf); and the country's own version of the samosa. For a nation that shares a border with India, the food sure took a while to cross over.

But its mix of both familiar and new flavours is a hit across the length and breadth of the country from Delhi to Chennai and Bengaluru, from Kolkata to Goa and Surat.

"The soaring popularity of Burmese food appears to be following the same trajectory of regional Indian food," says Smitha Menon, TasteHunter for the annual World's 50 Best Restaurants rankings. "In the past 10 years, there's been this wave of micro and sub cuisines." Similarly, Burmese cuisine goes a step beyond pan-Asian, staying within the territory but offering something unique.

Breaking it down