A cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, U Hla Tun, 50, ladles a white batter into bite size moulds dented into a large pan.
He cracks a quail’s egg and sprinkles chickpeas from a pink plastic tray into each bubbling mix—heated by charcoal underneath—and then lets the sides crunch up into a crispy brown before flipping them over.
Finally he combines the two halves into a saucer-shaped snack—now it’s officially mote lin ma yar or “couple’s snack,” the two elements representing a husband and wife.
As they cool off in a bamboo basket, U Hla Tun divulges some of the ingredients: sticky rice flour, ginger, salt, along with the egg and chickpeas. But he stops short of disclosing the full list. His recipe is “different,” he says, enigmatically, which is perhaps why his stall is so popular.
U Hla Tun has been at this spot in the shade of a blossoming tree in Yaw Min Gyi Ward for eight years, but has been making mote lin ma yar for double that period. His father and grandfather did the same, he says, scooping 10 pieces for 500 kyats in a plastic bag and finishing them with a pinch of sesame and salt.
They have a spongy, oily texture that goes well with the crispy edges. A tasty mid-afternoon treat, preferably shared between two.
Address: Corner of Bo Yar Nyunt Road and Nawaday Street, Yaw Min Gyi Ward.
Opening Time: About 2.30pm-7-8pm.
