Acacia Tea Salon

By | Published Monday, August 6, 2012


Today is a public holiday in Myanmar so R and I decided to spend our afternoon at Acacia Tea salon. We have been to this place many times and I have to say that it is one of the best places to have afternoon tea in Yangon.

Entering the compound, it is as if you were brought back to the colonial times. The building exudes an understated elegance and it brings out the lush and well-manicured landscaping that surrounds it. There is also a one-storey greenhouse-like building that you can get pastry, cakes and bread for take out or dine in.

Stepping into the building is a continuation of the colonial theme, with warm lighting and classical looking furniture and high-ceilings.



There are many private rooms/areas, both indoor and outdoor with various capacities. As the weather was fine, we picked the veranda spot on the 1st floor that overlooks the garden.
Our seating choice of the day

We ordered a Carrot & Cream Cheese Cake (Ks 4,000) to go with our Iced Cafe Lattes (Ks 3,000). We think that Acacia's specialty is in teas as its name suggests but being coffee people ourselves, we went with the latter. The coffee was great as usual and so was the carrot cake. It was as tasty to see as it was to eat.

Carrot & Cream Cheese Cake
Iced Cafe Latte
It may seem odd but one of our favorite snacks to order at Acacia is its Mini-Chicken Burger (Ks 1,000 per pc). The chicken patty is really succulent and just delightful with the cheese and onion. One is never enough for R and we had 3 altogether.
Mini Chicken Burger
As day turned into night

We highly recommend a visit to Acacia if you have yet to do so. At any time of the day too as it also serves high-tea sets, western lunch and dinner menus.

Acacia Tea Salon
52, Saya San Road, Bahan Township,
Yangon
Tel: (95-1) 5547339
http://www.acaciateasalon.com/

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Sai's Tacos

By | Published Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sai's Tacos has been around for quite some time in Yangon but we have yet to try it. The Mexican restaurant is located at a quiet and prime residential district along Inya Myaing Road. We decided to try it for dinner on a lazy Sunday evening.

A narrow driveway from Inya Myaing Road leads to the restaurant, which is a fairly small single storey building. The restaurant has only a handful of tables and are decorated with Mexican-style table cloths. Locally woven rattan baskets and hats hang from the ceiling.

The restaurant serves popular Mexican fare such as burritos, tacos and quesadillas. As R is a bigger fan of Mexican food than me, I left the ordering of the dishes mostly to him. We ordered the Chili Cheese Fries (Ks 3,500), Chicken Crispy Taco (Ks 2,000 per taco) and Beef Quesadilla (Ks, 3,400). You can build your own Quesadilla with a variety of meat, beans, rice and vegetables to choose from.


First up is the Chilli Cheese Fries. Unlike most of the chilli cheese fries which we have had, the chilli for this is placed beneath the fries. I guess this is to keep the fries from becoming soft too quickly. Fries were crisp and were sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese. The beef chili was a little too dry and could be spicier.


The Crispy Tacos had tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese and chicken in a crispy corn tortilla shell. The crunchiness of the taco is contrasted with the tomatoes and chicken. More sour cream would further accentuate this contrast and fuse the ingredients together.


The Beef Quesadilla was our favorite of the 3 dishes. It also came with a side serving of refreshing salsa. The  beef chilli was flavourful and went well with the nicely toasted tortilla.

All in all, Sai's Tacos is a good place to get your Mexican fix. In fact it is the only Mexican restaurant in Yangon now. R is looking forward to try the Mexican Omelettes for breakfast as the restaurant opens early on Saturdays and Sundays.

Sai's Tacos
32A Inya Myaing Road,
Yangon, Myanmar
Opens: Monday to Friday 11am - 9pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am - 9pm.

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Shabu Tei - Beef and more

By | Published Monday, July 23, 2012

We start our food journey on this blog with a first visit to Shabu Tei. We have been driving past Shabu Tei almost every day and finally we decided to pay a visit to this little Japanese restaurant on University Avenue Road for dinner.


The restaurant is in standalone house with traditional Japanese décor. Entering the restaurant, we were greeted by a homely and cozy ambience. Most of the furniture are made of pine wood and it gave a sense of authenticity. With traditional Japanese music playing in the background, we were ushered to a private room that seats 4.


Shabu Tei offers a wide variety that ranges from beef based dishes such as shabu shabu, sukiyaki, BBQ to other Japanese food such as nabe, curry rice, bento sets, noodles and more.
R and I decided to order 2 appetizers, Potato salad (Ks 2500), Mini Okonomiyaki (Ks 2,000) to start and one BBQ beef set. It is no surprise that we chose the most expensive grade of beef, the Prime Wagyu beef at (Usd 89 per 200gm). The set also comes with a variety of vegetables and rice.

First up, the Okonomiyaki was served. It was topped with pickled ginger, bonito flakes and Okonomi sauce and mayonnaise. The pancaked was well layered and well balanced with the dressing. However, there was too much flour compared to the other ingredients. The Potato salad came next and we a little disappointing. The potato was still warm when it was served and the texture was dry.
Okonomiyaki
Potato Salad

The BBQ set came next and it was what we really came for. As we ordered the most premium grade of beef, our expectations were undoubtedly high. The beef was well-marbled beef was served in slices. However, there was a rind of fat on some pieces. Grilling the slices to medium-rare, I placed the first piece in my mouth. Expecting the beef to melt in my mouth, I chewed lightly. But it took more effort. After a few more slices, the tenderness of the beef did improve. We guessed that it be as a result of the raw beef warming to room temperature. The Yakiniku dipping sauce was flavorful and enhanced the grilled beef without being overwhelming.
Prime Japanese Wagyu

Given R is a big eater, he decided to order one more dish, the Cold Somen (Ks 3000). It was partly because this type of noodle is not readily found in Yangon and is a good gauge of the restaurant’s standards.
The somen was served in a bowl filled with water and ice-cubes around the noodles and a separate bowl of dipping sauce. Surprisingly, this dish came as the highlight of the night. The noodle, cooked to al-dente, was extremely bouncy and had a nice bite to it. The dipping sauce, peppered with spring onions was equally great.

Overall, although the beef BBQ was below expectations, we will definitely come back again to try their other offerings. 

 Shabu-Tei
No. 20 University Avenue, Bahan Township,
Yangon, Myanmar
Tel: (95-1) 526655

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