Saaba Street Food Tours — Review by Luke Martin
Yangon, Myanmar — Burmese Street Food / Myanmar Street Food
Luke Martin takes a guided street food tour through Yangon after dark with Saaba Street Food Tours, experiencing Myanmar's diverse regional cuisines and nocturnal food culture. The tour showcases authentic dishes from multiple vendors including poppy seed pancakes, Shan dumplings, ice cream desserts, milk tea, and charcoal-grilled goat kebabs in areas like Little India and Chinatown. Despite recent cholera concerns on 19th Street, the reviewer thoroughly enjoyed the experience and cultural atmosphere of eating on the streets of this newly curfew-free city.
What was great: Fluffy poppy seed pancakes with various fillings, husband and wife snacks with creamy yolks, fermented Shan dishes, creative dumplings, rich durian desserts and ice cream, perfectly balanced milk tea with impressive pulling technique, tender marinated goat kebabs with flaky paratha
What could improve: Nothing mentioned
The Dishes
The street food tour begins with bayin, fluffy poppy seed pancakes with sweet and savory fillings cooked over charcoal from both top and bottom. The reviewer sampled banana, mixed fruit with candied papaya and melon, and coconut varieties, all praised for their unexpected fluffiness inside. Next came mima, the husband and wife snack, where two round battered discs are flipped together, some topped with creamy quail egg yolks. The pea and spring onion filling provided savory depth with sesame seed garnish.
At a third stop, hintto arrived as a steamed rice flour dumpling with watercress and pork inside banana leaf, topped with crunchy fried garlic and meant to be eaten with coriander and jum root for complex flavor layers. A plate of fermented mustard greens and carrots offered a Shan kimchi style preparation that tasted completely different from earlier dishes. Pio pio jaw pot stickers with chicken filling came with tamarind dipping sauce and a fish sauce based baked chin.
In Little India near the Golden Mosque, the tour shifted to desserts. Beluda arrived as a complex dessert with ice cream, custard pudding, buttermilk, sago pearls, and rose water that required gentle stirring. Durian malai featured chunks of real durian in creamy sauce, while durian coffee ice cream proved thick enough to require eating with a fork. An alassie mango yogurt drink balanced sweetness with refreshing mango flavor.
The final meal in Chinatown showcased goat kebabs with different preparations, including a pumpkin and yogurt marinated version and a sins preparation with fried garlic, chili, and local citrus for sour and spicy notes. Super flaky paratha bread accompanied the tender goat meat, which featured charred crispy burnt ends from the charcoal grill.
The Experience
The entire experience centers on Yangon's newly opened nighttime street food culture following the lifting of curfews. The tour uses traditional tri-shaws as transportation, adding authentic local flavor. Mark from Saaba Street Food Tours serves as an knowledgeable guide explaining the cultural and regional significance of each dish. The atmosphere shifts dramatically after dark in areas like Little India, where the reviewer notes the streets feel somewhat empty and on edge despite no longer being under curfew restrictions.
Sitting on tiny street stools smaller than even Vietnamese versions while drinking milk tea creates an intimate cultural immersion. The call to prayer from a nearby mosque adds atmospheric texture. 19th Street in Chinatown proves vibrant and bustling with crowds, lanterns, and an energetic nightlife scene, though the reviewer notes a recent cholera outbreak had caused temporary street food closures.
Value & Pricing
No specific prices are mentioned in the transcript, though the tour demonstrates affordable street food accessible to locals and visitors. The variety of vendors and dishes suggests budget-friendly options throughout.
Notable Moments
Mark's brought us to Little India and we're literally right outside of the mosque. You know when you eat ice cream with this with a fork, you know it's thick.
I've seen a lot of people pull tea in my day, but I never seen the reach that this guy has. The stretch is as far as he could possibly pull it.
This is kind of a perfect example of Yangon and kind of blending the local ingredients with all these different cultures into something completely unique and new.
The Verdict
Saaba Street Food Tours offers an exceptional introduction to Myanmar's diverse regional cuisines and the newly accessible after-dark street food culture of Yangon. The tour brilliantly showcases how local ingredients blend with various cultural influences to create unique dishes distinct from neighboring countries. Perfect for travelers wanting authentic cultural immersion, fearless food adventurers willing to try fermented and strong-flavored dishes, and those interested in experiencing how cities function at night. The knowledgeable guide and variety of stops make this a comprehensive and memorable food experience, though visitors should be aware of any current health advisories for specific areas.