MMR: 999 Shan Noodle Shop

The cheapest dinner with proper seating I've ever had overseas!

Located along the 34th street of downtown Yangon, Myanmar is a humble noodle shop of the Shan ethnicity. It's a clean place with a nicely framed New York Times article hung on its wall, recommending none other than this hole-in-the-wall eatery that offers a wide variety of noodle dishes.

I reached at the eatery at around 6.00pm, one hour before it closed for the day. Truth be told, the price of each dish ordered is cheaper than that of canteen food in the school where I'm teaching now.

Pickles & Tea

The complimentary pickled vegetables weren't only crunchy, but also gave a powerful kick on the tongue due to its sour and spicy flavours. On the table was also a thermos full of tea that was moderately aromatic.

Fried Tofu Ks. 1,000 (~S$1.35)

Taste: 6/10

Never since the inception of this food blog have I had a difficult moment in deciding what score to give for a particular dish. The fried tofu was airy and crispy, made even more delicious with a dipping sauce presumably comprising fish sauce, vinegar and garlic bits. Here's the problem: each piece was greasy to the point of coating the walls of my mouth with oil.

Shan Noodle Soup (Chicken) Ks. 1,200 (~S$1.60)

Taste: 8/10

Swimming in a bowl of adequately seasoned, peppery soup were strands of chewy rice noodles with chicken, topped with chopped spring onions and fried garlic bits. It was a nice comfort food, but not extraordinary. The clear soup accompanying the noodle dish was very similar to those that usually accompany Indonesian bakmi mangkok (lit. bowl noodle). Pika's advice: Not a fan of chicken? You can opt for pork, or go vegetarian.

Steamed Pork with Rice Ks. 1,500 (~S$2.00)

Taste: 8/10

The braised pork belly was tasty, but even more impressive was the braised egg that had absorbed so much goodness from the soy sauce gravy that gave it a nice oomph to the taste buds. My only gripe was the fact that it was served at room temperature, but luckily the soup was warm enough. 

Melon's Rating

Taste: 7.5/10

Ambience: 6.5/10

Service: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

The food was good, even though it wasn't utterly spectacular. As there was no bill given, and I couldn't be bothered to ask anything as they were about to close, I'm not sure if the menu booklet quotes nett prices. Presumably so, I daresay.

The bonus in this post is a picture of the hectic city taken from a pedestrian bridge in the early evening. Do you notice the lit-up Sule Pagoda in a distance?

999 Shan Noodle Shop

No. 130(B) 34th Street

Yangon

Myanmar

(Daily: 6.00am - 7.00pm)

*Prices quoted are (presumably) nett prices.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)