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Myat & Potatoes: How a former restaurateur is helping her Myanmarese friends share their cuisine with her fellow Malaysians

Link [2022-03-15 04:53:17]

'Mohinga', an umami-rich Myanmarese dish of rice noodles and fish broth. — Pictures courtesy of Myat & Potatoes

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Perhaps the most well known Myanmarese dish is the  resplendent mohinga, an umami-rich dish of rice noodles and fish broth, garnished with a plethora of toppings from fish floss and hard boiled eggs to fresh lime and coriander.

Some crunch from chickpea crackers and heat from dried chilli flakes, and you have a breakfast to crave for every morning!

We don’t have to fly to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) to enjoy mohinga, however. Here in KL, lovers of mohinga and other Myanmarese delights can order from Myat & Potatoes, an online food delivery business specialising in such dishes.

Myat & Potatoes is spearheaded by former restaurateur Fay Cheng who started it to help Myanmarese friends who had lost their jobs during the pandemic. She explains, “When they wanted to cook from home to make some money, I offered to help with their social media and I was keen to introduce Burmese cuisine to fellow Malaysians.”

Former restaurateur Fay Kheng now helps her Myanmarese friends share their country’s cuisine.

Myat & Potatoes, in its current incarnation, is more of a social project, according to Cheng. She says, “Whatever proceeds we get from sales go back directly to them and it doesn’t come close to what they were earning before. So it’s more for their daily food and lodging expenses.”

Curious about the name Myat & Potatoes? Cheng shares that the name was coined out of the middle name of the Myanmarese chef’s twin boys: “It’s from their middle name of Myat, plus it rhymes with ‘Meat and Potatoes’ and hence that's why we decided to call it that.”

There are no potatoes in mohinga, of course, which Cheng likens to a fish chowder noodle dish. This isn’t inaccurate but it only begins to divulge the depths of flavour the dish possesses.

She says, “For me, it’s the pureness of ingredients and the subtlety that drew me to it. Comforting and soothing, it’s really a perfect bowl of goodness made from fish, lemongrass, ginger, onions, etc.”

'Lahpet thoke' is a Myanmarese fermented tea leaf salad.

Some adaptations may be required when introducing a new type of food or flavour to an audience who may not have been exposed to it before. But making changes to treasured dishes can be a tricky business.

Cheng says, “The classic mohinga is made with catfish which is actually very good but tends to taste a bit fishy – a no-no for most Malaysians. So we use barramundi and we add in our signature fish floss which is fish meat stir fried with lemongrass.”

Such nimbleness comes with experience; Cheng used to run Oriental Cravings in One Utama and is no newbie to the F&B (food and beverage) world. She recalls, “My colleagues – the Burmese staff – would be cooking some side dishes to eat with the staff meals. My first exposure was the mohinga.”

After conducting her own recipe research, Cheng began to host dinner parties serving Myanmarese dishes to her friends. It was her way of showing her loved ones what “From Burma with love” tastes like.

'Tohu thoke' (left) and 'ohn no khao swè' (right).

She says, “They are really food connoisseurs – and they all loved it! So that was how my love for the Burmese cuisine began. They use such simple, pure and fresh ingredients and make such delicious meals out of these.”

It’s not all fresh ingredients though. Fermented foods such as miso, kimchi and sauerkraut are increasingly recognised as nutritious, particularly for our gut microbiome. Some of my favourites include natto and cincalok – though, as with most fermented foods, one either loves it or hates it.

Myanmarese cuisine has its own entrant in this burgeoning realm of healthy food: lahpet thoke or fermented green tea salad. Lahpet means “green tea” while thoke is Myanmarese for “salad.” Rather than fresh tea leaves, fermented ones are used, imparting a multitude of flavours – savoury, salty, sour and a mild bitterness – to this unassuming salad.

Cheng is a big believer in lahpet thoke and its atypical appeal, though she admits that it is “such a strange dish. Just when you think you don’t like it, it then grows on you. I think it’s definitely due to the fermented tea leaves and their astringent taste.”

Mixing 'lahpet thoke' with rice for a breakfast order.

She adds, “I loved it from Day One and the thing with Burmese cuisine is the play with texture. You have all the salty, sweet and sour but what stands out is the addition of crunchy nuts and fried legumes that adds an extra dimension which you won’t find in a regular salad.”

Another Myanmarese salad is tohu thoke or chickpea “tofu” made from a thick paste of chickpea flour (also known as gram flour or besan) and water that is allowed to set into cheese-like “wheels” before being sliced into strips. Its iconic golden hue would whet even the most jaded of appetites.

Myat & Potatoes’ version involves scattering the sliced homemade chickpea tofu over crunchy cabbage, juicy tomatoes, zesty kaffir lime leaves, dried shrimp, crispy shallots and garlic. Almost jelly-like in texture yet creamy too, the soy and gluten free tohu thoke is typically dressed with tamarind sauce.

I noted that the ohn no khao swè – a luxurious chicken noodle dish in a creamy coconut milk based broth – reminds me of the northern Thai khao soi. This was something I frequently enjoyed when in Chiang Mai so I wondered if it had some Myanmarese influence, or vice versa.

'Pe kyaw' or Myanmarese chickpea crackers.

“The Burmese version is definitely milder with less use of fish sauce and chillies,” Cheng shares. “So the taste is cleaner in my opinion. Even with the mohinga, traditionally they will still serve it with fish sauce and chilli flakes on the side should you want a more robust kick to it.”

There is some truth to that: the ohn no khao swè is certainly lighter on the belly; for those used to the fuller flavours of a Thai khao soi, this might be a more guilt-free meal. In the place of the crispy deep-fried egg noodles used as a garnishing for khao soi, Myat & Potatoes’ ohn no khao swè gets some crunch from broken shards of chickpea crackers.

These in themselves are a popular snack back in Myanmar. Known as pe kyaw, these Myanmarese chickpea crackers are very addictive if a tad oily. A good dab with some kitchen towel would solve that easily, paving the way for perhaps a new treat for TV bingeing.

It is in finding such connections, introducing familiar ways to enjoy dishes that their customers might not be used to, that is Myat & Potatoes’ strong suit. Many of us would like to try something new but there is always an initial hesitation.

Cheng agrees, noting that the biggest challenge for an online, delivery-based food business is always the marketing. She says, “How do we reach out to more people and to ignite their interest? It’s a very new cuisine and we don’t have the budget to do much promotion.”

Thus far, the process of getting more people to learn about Myat & Potatoes, and by extension, authentic Myanmarese cuisine, has been a continuous lesson for Cheng.

She is grateful for how far they have come, however, adding: “We do have a few very regular customers. So we also try to include more new dishes to keep them interested.”

Keeping things interesting and customers interested seems to be the path forward for Myat & Potatoes and other food businesses attempting to break into a crowded field. Many of us would like to try something new – and Cheng is hoping, for more and more of us, that something new is her beloved Myanmarese food.

Myat & Potatoes

To order, WhatsApp 012-2200837.

IG: instagram.com/myatandpotatoes/