Port Autonomy, the fusion-food baby of 57Below and Pun+ Projects now claims to be a part of Yangon’s culinary sequence after all its reincarnation. Located just next to the red cross building on Strand road, previously known as Union Bar & Grill, the new P.A is bound to please the gastronome in you, with its unique admixture of Mexican, Asian and Western menu.
Rustic decor, a vintage atmosphere and a strict no-plastic scheme makes Port Autonomy a silver lining in the falling industry. Just in time for lunch, Myanmore team went for a quick exploration of the fusion menu. Unfortunately with the daylight, the signature pink neon glow–that we’ve all seen in our Social Media feed–won’t be present at the time. Tacky lighting aside, we made do with a comfy booth table with firm leather seats.
We went with the Mains first––a lightly battered and deep fried set of catfish dressed with sweet pickles and mildly mixed ‘slaw. As delicious as that might sound; there was only 1 small tortilla which was sadly not enough for the both of us; though the Baja Catfish Taco (5000Ks), isn’t really a thing to share.
Nevertheless, the chef redeemed himself with the next addition to our rumbling tummies, four toasted mini brioche with juicy Country chicken–yeah, with all that buttermilk–and kimchi salsa with maybe what I think was Gochujang, all topped off with a few pickles. Two Korean Fried Chicken Sliders, both worth the 10K price tag, are the go-to at Port Autonomy.
Not A Steak Sandwich? I don’t think so. The medium-rare piece of Aussie Sirloin, which was slightly under-seasoned for our taste however an awesome piece of beef–juicy and oozy when it’s picked up. Oops, did we make you drool? Don’t worry, we’re just getting started.
Holding the Not A Steak Sandwich (20,000Ks) was the Asian twist to the Chimichurri Sauce–When in Southeast Asia, Eat Fish Sauce–which, when combined with the Aioli toasted sandwich bread lightly floured on the top, was a great burst of flavours that serves to be a reminder of a good meal in P.A. However, we did find the Phở dip unnecessary–just not our bowl of soup.
Continuing with our poorly timed appetizers, our food odyssey brings us to the final dish––the Mexican classic Chips & Guac. Decently priced at an easy 4000Ks, it’s a bang for your buck. It’s condiments: chunky guacamole, sour cream with toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds and salsa are just a wow. And the store-made tortilla chips were the highlight as we just couldn’t get enough.
Chips & Guac (4,000Ks).
Overall, we would recommend you to pop-in either for a lunch bite if you are bustling around the downtown area or a few drinks if you are out partying with fellas after work, even setting up a business meeting. Though we didn’t have a chance to try their signature burger, the P.A itself would stand out as an expat eatery in Yangon’s favorite dining list.
42 Strand Road, Botahtaung Township, Yangon
01 392 263
Opens 11 am till late
