ယုန်ထောင် ကြောင်မိ

burmese proverb

By 默默富酷

December 30^th, 2018

serenpidity

ယုန်ထောင် ကြောင်မိ - "a trap for rabbit caught a cat", an expression that when one planned for something, another thing happened. it occurred to me during my visits to yangon for work. as habit, i skip hotel buffets to go visit a local market and eat what the locals eat. as my hotel was within a 5 mile radius to one of the main street market, i ventured one early morning in anticipation of sight and smell overload, and perhaps a bowl of steaming mohingha.

i could not find the market (it was 2 blocks down if i didn't give up finding) and wanted to head back since the sun is raging on my pale skin. i walked pass a tea house and thought some sweet milk tea could replace that bowl of fish noodles i did not find.

that is when i first met u chit sien. i was peering into the tea house, trying to make sense what the breakfast scene was. u chit sien gestured me to come in and join him with a table of elderly men. they were having chinese tea, brewed and poured out from warm china. i joined (or more correctly interrupted) their breakfast gathering, and found myself a long-term membership into this yangon geriatrics club.

u chit sien ordered me a cup of sweet milk tea and it didn't take long for me to realize he owns this tea house. his entourage of elderly men were also business owners within the chinatown area adjacent to the tea house.

since this meeting, i will make it a point to visit shwe pa laung teahouse each time i visited yangon for work. the tea-house is the intersection of mahabandoola and 30th street.

on one such trip, u chit sien brought me on a guided tour around his neighborhood, invited me to his residence, eat at a local curry house, visited his friend whom he has not met for years, visited the clan headquarters, attend a chinese clan dinner and attended a housewarming - all within 48 hours. i think he mistook my "i like yangon" to " i am moving here". blame it on my bad mandarin.

shwe pa laung

u chit sien inherited this tea-house from his father. his family was originally in the international trading business, during the military rule era, their family business was seized and given that international trade was no longer possible - they decided to do f&b and started this place, as that was the only business that had a domestic market.

this place is located at the intersection of religious homes in yangon - the only burmese jewish synagogue is across the road, and diagonally across is yangon's largest mosque, 2 blocks down there is a chinese taoist temple, i saw a couple of small christian places within a mile, there are 1-2 indian temples along the same road as the tea-house and it is also is minutes away from many burmese buddhist temples. no wonder u chit sien said his tea-house quench the thirst of all religions.

this teahouse screams old school charm - everything from the menu, decor and i suspect some patrons were from the 60s or 70s. the tea used are burmese green tea and their sweet milk tea is some of the best i had. the cakes and pastries ain't my fancy but i will have them any day over those hipster avocado nonsense breakfast platters.

u chit sien and family owns the entire building that house the tea-house. there is a bakery at the top floor that manufactures bread and cakes. and his 10+ workers stay on the 2nd floor.

on this ocaasion, u chit sien was not in the tea house. his assistant called him, and u chit sien came to the tea house for me within 10 mins.

when i ordered my tea, they brought me an assortment of cakes and pastries. they must have thought i was very hungry or very greedy.

home

u chit sien stays in one of those old colonial blocks in downtown yangon - the prime real estate in an ever expanding yangon. he occupies the first floor duplex. it is modestly decorated and what took center stage are many photos of his family and ancestors.

his residence is 8 streets down from the tea-house and is just 10 minutes by foot and 12 minutes by car (traffic in downtown yangon defies the physics of speed). he has to be at the tea-house at 330am everyday and he works till 630pm everyday. so staying nearby helps.. a lot.

u chit sien parents came from xiamen, china. his wife and his children are in san francisco, united states of america. he said there are more opportunities there.

the interior of his 2 storey duplex house.

summer in yangon is unbreable. however, the interior of his house is surprisingly pleasant and cool. we were drenched in sweat walking from the tea-house and u chit sien had to changed to his longyi to cool down.

l: a potrait of u chit sien, his siblings and a cousin. he is the eldest, one brother is in new york and another in los angeles. his sister and another brother is helping him in the tea-house. r: an altar of his grandparents.

l: u chit sien asked me to read the chinese newspaper, i could not even make out the title of the papers. these are the only approved chinese papers in myanmar and is heavily censored.

dinner plus

while u chit sien's sister had already prepared dinner, he wanted to bring me to a local curry house. i told him i wanted to try local street food but he didn't want to compromise my work schedule by consuming food served out of street stalls. he managed to find a hole in the wall establishment that is still open for dinner.

burmese curry and rice is perhaps one of the underated national cuisine - it is not as famous of her peer cuisines as as those in thailand and vietnam. it is absolutely delicious.

a quick primer on burmese curries - it is an array of proteins or vegetables that is simmered or stewed in aromatics and is meant to be eaten as a topping on plain white rice or alongside flatbreads. despite its name, burmese curries aren't spicy - it fact the prominent characteristics are mushy or soft texture, plenty of bitter herbs, sour, use of fermented sauce and meats and loaded with fragrant oil and caramelized aromatics. smear this curry on anything and boom, it becomes desirable, even on your boss.

u chit sien asked what i wanted to order. i wanted to go "everything" but said "anything you usually have". mistake. i soon realised elderly burmese man eat very little for dinner. he ordered some dried fish, a pork curry, a sambal and a pickled salad. in all meals, it will come with a herb tray and a sour soup.

after dinner, u chit sien wanted to play guide by bringing me to some sights in chinatown - most of the places i would have seen and photographed before. he went into a temple to offer some blessings and wanted me to do the same, which i declined.

en-route home. we made a stop at his childhood friend's house. she runs a tapioca flour factory in another township. she supplies flour for u chit sien's bakery. due to the difference in working hours, the 2 has not met for 5 years. they conversed in mandarin and hokkien. the whole time i was marvelling at the beautiful teak wood furniture in her house. when it was made, they brought in whole timber and carve the furniture to fit the interior.

i did not remember the exact location of this curry house but if i had my way, i will be back here every meal

l: u chit sien asking his friends about adding me to his clan dinner invite for the next evening. r: deliciousness in an image

a chinese taoist temple in downtown chinatown

clan dinner

this is perhaps one of the most bizarre meals in yangon. the clan dinner was at a chinese restaurant that time stood still. the decor was 70s hongkong chic with phoenix and dragon ornaments and koi pond. the whole time i was waiting for some hongkong gangsters to walk pass in trenchcoat and break out in a slow motion gun fight. nothing like that happened. in fact, nothing much happened.

i was introduced to many chinese businessmen - one gentleman by the name of u thon runs a goldsmith shop next to the tea-house. he is 96 and shutters between yangon and new york. another one was albert and runs a sushi chain in san francisco. i soon realised my intro was boring. by the 5th guy, i told everyone i am a magician and i can make sandwiches disappear - very quickly.

i could literally sit here and make a thousand photos

l: the opening of dinner - singing the taiwanese national anthem (i will leave it as that) r: some really bizarre karaoke songs playing in the background

i thought as a self proclaimed glutton, i would know all chinese dishes. i am wrong. burmese chinese dishes are a new level.

postscript

i have not seen u chit sien for over a year now because of the pandemic. the first person that crossed my mind in the recent yangon situation is him. i lost his mobile number. i hope he is safe and healthy. if anyone can reach him, please email me.