Food: Myanmar

Rice & curry

A "standard" Burmese meal at one of the roadside places consists of whichever curries you fancy from a range of bain maries, a heap of rice and some side dishes. On the whole I found the curries to be very meat focused - even the egg curry was usually in some sort of meat gravy. I always managed to find something to eat though, even if it was just side dishes. There was almost always a vegetable based soup and salad ingredients like raw carrots, cucumber, random leaves.. 

Broad bean, eggplant, dried fishies - at Two Two in Mandalay 

The curries were pretty unique in that they did not resemble the well known Thai or Indian curries, but rather was their own style. Onion and garlic flavours were dominant, and most were not particularly heavy in chilli.

A "fancy" meal at some roadside place in Nyaungshwe.

The curries are in china bowls and the side dishes in glass bowls

The rice was often quite broken and coarse - not the refined stuff we are used to in the West. There was always a mountain of it which helped to offset the heavy oily curries. 

A meal at a random place in Yangon, recommended by the post office lady

Tofu curry and egg curry at Redstar in Nyaungshwe. The green tomato salad was so refreshing.

The rice & curry places usually had a jar full of jaggery balls for dessert. 

Noodles

We saw noodles everywhere in Myanmar. The most popular of these is Shan noodles, interestingly translated as 饵丝 on Chinese menus. 

Shan noodles in Bogyoke Aung San market, Yangon

They can be served in soup or "dry" as here, usually with a heady mix of peanut, chilli and coriander and a squeeze of lime. The noodles are tossed until they are well coated in this mixture and there are usually bits of greens for a textural change. Utterly delicious, never got tired of this.

Plain noodles from a roadside cart 

Shan noodles buried under a pile of vegetables, Pan Cherry teahouse, Mandalay

Thicker Shan noodles in Nyaungshwe, opposite the market

Coconut noodles at Than Lwin guesthouse, Yangon 

Tea house

Teahouses are the best places to while away a few hours watching life go by, but sadly we just weren't in Myanmar long enough to do that very often. At the teahouses Chinese tea is complimentary and often used to wash the cups out, or as a bit of a fill-in drink in between drinks. Usually Burmese tea is the drink of choice, a thick strong brew sweetened with condensed milk. There was also instant coffee, a variety of soft drinks and sometimes) fruit shakes.

One day we were waiting for the bus in Bagan, so we spent the afternoon at Skyworld teahouse. It was interesting to see the dynamics of the teahouse - all the "waitstaff" were boys and girls aged perhaps 10-12, who all answer to a fat owner sitting in a tatty singlet & longyi behind the counter counting money. The regulars are offered cigarettes when they sit down, also brought out by the teaboys/girls. Teacups are brought out with giant metal tongs and deposited unceremoniously in front of you making a small splatter.

A variety of snacks are on offer.

Chapatti with butter and sugar 

Pastries filled with sweet bean paste like 老婆饼

Fried puffs filled with shredded coconut 

Other random food photos

 Fried Shan tofu with radish pickle

Random bus stop purchase of purple sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf which had a very strange taste - it was uncuttable and unchewable. Even chilli didn't help

Pickled tea leaf salad - at Taste Myanmar, Yangon

 A sign in Bagan - who knew good is a country?

Fried kittens? 

The best airline meal ever - Indian veg meal on Singapore airlines. Proper curries separated in little paper cups, a spicy bread, pappadums, yoghurt & pickle, and even milk burfi to finish the meal! 

Food: December

Breakfast with Gwyneth (what a inner west yuppie name) at Bread & Circus. This cafe is so bright and airy that it feels healthy sitting there among the produce scattered about - there was a basket of peaches and a box of pumpkins just next to our table. Along with the healthy theme I had this kale & quinoa dish which is quite simply done with chilli, garlic and onion, topped with a fried egg and some blanched spinach. I was so pleased with the simplicity of this that I made it the next week for a Christmas party. 

Sherry marinated globe artichokes with ancient grains, heirloom carrots, goats curd & beets from Bowery lane. What a mouthful - would never remember this as more than just "artichokes". I've never cooked this vegetable so have no idea what is involved but it looks time consuming. Each component was quite small and not particularly overwhelming. However when combined together the flavours were much more interesting and palate challenging.

Pandan pudding with rhubarb compote from Yulli's. We came here for a mega vegetarian dinner and practically ate everything on the menu including 3 of the desserts. This was the prettiest of them all. After dessert we had to have a second serve of gluten free moneybags just because they were black.

How I love that Sushi Masa is in my apartment block. They do simple things so well, such as the well executed kakiage udon, a cake of grated vegetable tempura with just the right amount of rubble, atop fat chewy udon noodles and a perfectly clear headed broth. They don't have many vegetarian options on the menu (I've eaten them all) but this one is a winner.

A random after work dinner at Basil with pizza, salad and nachos. Eating with vegans is easy at Basil.

90s nightmare from Brewtown. I have eaten the polenta dish here way too many times, and since they changed it to pairing with tomatoes I decided to try this mishmash which had a cute name. This was a solidly filling meal with marinated vegetables (eggplant, capsicum and field mushrooms) on pesto toast with spicy white bean mash and parmesan. I didn't eat out in the 90s enough (high school = Maccas) to know why it's called the 90s nightmare though.

Look at this pretty thing, a passionfruit curd cronut. Post nights breakfast at Brewtown usually involves several cronut rounds where a single cronut is cut into quarters and consumed by all the medical staff present... before ordering another round of one single donut. We would really order all of them at the same time, except the service at Brewtown is absolutely atrocious and this is our little game to get them back (immature I know..)

Smoked mushroom and tempeh burger from Veggie Patch Diner. It is amazing that the guys behind Veggie Patch van have opened up on this corner of Five ways (I really hope they make it!!) This burger was just so flavoursome and it's hard to imagine even the most hardcore carnivore wouldn't enjoy this. One can choose from sides such as sweet potato fries (the flat crinkly kind rather than chips) and a variety of luscious salads, here I had roast pumpkin and green bean salad.

In the month of December I was at Mary's for shroom burger three times. That's how awesome it is. I love everything from the soft sweet bun to the melty cheese to the garlicky mushroom, even the wilty lettuce. If only there was a quiet section so you could hear what your dining companions are saying.. but I guess that's what the cemetery across the road is for. 

Refreshing affogatos on a hot sunny afternoon from Gnome, with some damn amazing vanilla bean icecream.

Vegetarian dumplings from Alchemy in Surry Hills. What does a vegetarian eat in a Polish restaurant? Why, deep fried dumplings (with mushroom & sauerkraut and potato & cheese) served with sour cream and chives, of course! The waitress was rather confused when I said no to the bacon that usually comes with these dumplings, hmm...

Ricotta gnocchi with caramelised figs in a cream sauce from  Salt Pepper Nutmeg. This place surprisingly surpassed all expectations for a suburban restaurant - the gnocchi were featherlight, the figs lusciously sweet and the pesto balanced the heavy cream based sauce perfectly. A hidden gem in Roseville for sure.

When my friend's mum found out I had to work nights for a week starting on boxing day, she gave me a whole bunch of Lankan curries - dal, butter beans, cashew and eggplant. I just added some kale, rice, roti, yoghurt and pickle - an amazing meal that reminded me of why I have to visit the subcontinent again soon.

 Last but not least, when I got to work on boxing day night, this is what I found in the office - lube next to mince pies. Yes... this is where I work. 

Two horrible dreams

Lanium?

This dream starts in Centennial Park. I am there with E to attend some party that her friend has organised. It's a lovely warm day and the sun is shining but not excessively hot. The time feels like mid morning and when we arrive there is a gazebo set up on the grass with a very long table under it.

We take seats at the table and admire the amazing looking food and drink being served. There are about 20 people around the table and we can barely hear beyond our immediate neighbours as everyone is chattering at the same time. Soon E says she is tired and wants to go, so we get up and leave.

Then I am back at my own place sitting at the desk. In front of me is a huge pile of data collection forms and a single computer speaker which is not hooked up to anything. The speaker starts to sound with 1, 3, 2 and other random numbers. I realise that they are the numbers I need to enter into the forms and start writing them down. But it is dull and I fall asleep.

I wake with a start and look up, the time is now late afternoon. On my phone are several messages from E saying "where are you?" "I've made dinner" "I've rented a movie". I jump up and get ready to go to her house. Somehow I manage to drive my car all the way back to Centennial Park to the exact spot where we had the party earlier on.

The gazebo has been taken down and several people are strolling around the park. I realise that G & B are pushing a pram down the path and wonder when they had a baby. I approach them and they gesture for me to keep my voice down so I do not disturb the baby.

G gently lifts up the hood of the pram and I see a baby inside. It is wearing a jumpsuit and I can't tell if it's a boy or a girl. The head is covered with a light blue square towel, inscribed with "Lanium (Lanthanum)". I think immediately that it is strange for them to use a drug company issued towel to cover the baby's head.

Then I suddenly realise with a chill that I cannot tell if there is actually a head under the towel.. is the baby headless?

Then I wake up.




The one where there is no mouth 

The dream starts off with the arrest pager going off. The message shows "CCU Bed 6, ruptured aneurysm" and I wonder how switch knows the diagnosis.

I run up to CCU and there are crowds of people in the room. I manage to get to the head of the bed and there lies a very unwell looking woman in her 40s. She is severely malnourished with paper thin skin that hangs in folds - she has obviously lost a lot of weight and muscle recently. She has a deep sternal wound which is covered in black sloughy tissue, and I cannot help but stare at the dark gazing hole. I look up at her face and realise that there is a huge scar where her mouth was, and one cannot identify any normal structure in that area.

I ask her how she feels but she cannot talk. The nurses tell me that she has been in hospital for 2 months with a sternal infection. There are so many people in the room and they are all talking loudly, so much so that I cannot hear anything. I feel frustrated at the lack of order and wonder what I should do.

Suddenly I see a milk crate so I decide to stand on it. I shout "everyone stop!" and the noise immediately recedes. I order some of the nurses out of the room so that there are only about 5 people left. I start reading the notes and try to make sense of what's going on, then Captain walks in and says quietly "she has previously expressed wishes not to be resuscitated, so perhaps we should respect them."

I look through the notes with him and confirm this is true. He says he will go fetch the family as she should be with them as she is passing away. Then he comes back with MM a recent patient we had (that died) in our ICU and I am shocked when he says "this man here is her father".

Then I wake up.