Being the most renowned ethnic cuisine in Myanmar, Shan traditional food can be found literally everywhere in Yangon. Yet, the existence of a truly authentic Shan restaurant where you can enjoy over 60 menus in a fine dining style is barely seen. Hence, I would like to share my experience of visiting Shan Yoe Yar Restaurant.
What is it?
Shan Yoe Yar is the first fine dining Shan restaurant in Myanmar serving various cuisines from different parts of the Shan state, the largest district by land area which is situated at the western part of Myanmar. Shan Yoe Yar has three branches, the main branch at Manaw Hari (temporarily closed), second branch at Sule Square and the last one at Yankin. This time, I visited the Sule Square’s branch.
The atmosphere
With the grand wooden bar area in the middle of the restaurant, the whole interior is giving the full ambience of Shan culture. Emphasizing the decoration of “Gingala”, the traditional bird dance which means the warm welcoming for guests, I saw a couple of dancing dolls and elegant wall paintings expressing the Gingala dance.
Moreover, the fact that all the service staff were wearing Shan traditional costumes was super cute and I can also see that they all were well-trained from the spectacular service I got. Smiley, well-mannered services and the product knowledge they have may be one of the reasons why the Shan Yoe Yar is still a top-rated eatery.
The menu and recommendation
Starting from Shan appetizers including fried dumplings, fried leek, pork sausages and more, for the main dishes they serve Shan style fishes, chicken, pork, beef and prawns. There are also hot pot in Shan style, pounded salads, vegetarian menus, different kinds of noodles and soups. Variety of beverages starting from traditional drinks including fermented rice, some healthy fresh juices, smoothies, coffee, tea and also several cocktails, mocktails and alcohol drinks can be enjoyed, too. Desserts unfortunately are not really part of the menu.
The price range starts from 3,500 Ks to around 25,000 Ks which I think is super fair owing to the quality and big portion of their food.
On that day, I tried Shan style pounded potato (6,000Ks), Sour & Spicy Beef Soup (9,000Ks), Vermicelli Salad (4,500Ks) for the food and Shan milk tea(1,500 Ks) and Shan yoe yar signature cocktail (7,000) Ks for the drinks.
Among all of them, I would like to recommend the Beef soup which was served with a lot of sliced beef in the soup and some chili sauce on the side. The meat was so tender and the soup tasted so fine with a collaboration of sour and spicy tastes on my palate. It would go well with a bowl of rice which I didn’t get to try since I was full even before starting this course. The rest two had a little bit lighter taste but they didn’t disappoint me with their giant portions compared to the price.
Shan milk tea was also a great success on my palate and no flaw could be found in that classic tea.
Final Thought
I would admit that I was amazed to see a fine dining restaurant offering only ethnic foods and I understood why it could keep the great success along these years. All of the foods and beverages were really delicious and I could taste the high quality of ingredients. Furthermore, the service provided by attentive and sweet servers will be the highlight of this beautiful experience. I really love that place and I’ll definitely visit again whenever I have a chance in future.
- Address – 2nd floor of Sule Square, Sule pagoda road, Pabedan township, Yangon.
- Opening hours – 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM
- Phone – 09 258 777 070, 09 978 777 070
- Rating – Food : 9, Service : 10, Ambience : 8
