Coffee Club, Yangon

I think for any expats or foreigners based in Yangon, the best place to make us feel at home is a nice cup of artisan coffee, just like what we are used to back home. After going around 5 star hotels for a cup of coffee on weekends (good coffee and environment, but for USD5 a cup? forget it), I finally stumbled onto this nice little place in downtown Yangon.

a view from the balcony

The interior resembles a nice little family owned coffee place in Sdyney or Melbourne, which made the place a little bit more familiar to me. Staffs were helpful and knows their coffee too.

small but cozy

reasonable pricing too

Not to forget the vast variety of cafe food too, (almost) everything under the sun.

mmmm...brownies...

Coffee here really is the bomb in yangon, a cuppa latte cost Ks1,700, probably the most reasonably priced coffee in town considering you only get instant coffee at the tea stands. The nice coffee art would brighten up anyone's day too.

mmmm....caffeine...

One must have food on the menu here would be the pies. I have always been a sucker for good pies and I would say the pies here are some of the best I have had in Yangon. The pastry skin is really crispy and the fillings really generous. The steak pie (Ks4,800) which I usually have are filled with generous chunks of meat and the gravy inside is fantastic too, perfect for the raining season now. The mini quiches (Ks800) here are delightful and just cute, and another must must snack? The freshly baked cookies!(ks600)

the pie

cute little quiches

cookie...

And if you have trouble deciding which hole to pee/poop into, they have it covered!

sit or stand? you decide

Here's a map for you readers. Note that Coffee Club is locate on the 1st floor above a handphone shop so you have to look up for the big sign on top. Parking is almost impossible so just get a taxi. Internet speed at this place is decent and if you see doggyjames sitting there enjoying his pie & coffee, come by and say hi! :D

Coffee Club
Level 1, Corner of 11th Street and
Maha Bandoola Street, Downtown Yangon.

Tel: 01224360 ext 201

coffeeclub.com.mm

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doggyjames says...I would not go as far as saying CC is the best coffee place in town, but it certainly ranks within the top 5 in my books!

Guide to Myanmar Tea Shops

Ask any Malaysian, or anyone who lived in Malaysia long enough, what is the trademark Malaysian night time activity and you would probably get this answer 99% of the time: mamak! The silky smooth teh tarik, the crispy, fragrant roti canai...if i were to pick one thing i missed the most back home, it would be mamak stalls.

Fortunately for me, Myanmar has her own version of mamak stall too! I almost jumped through the roof with joy after a colleague asked me to join him at a local tea shop, which he promised serves almost exactly the same food one would expect in a Malaysian mamak stall.

This particular tea shop is located in Kamaryut township, along Insein road, just a km or 2 away from where my apartment is. There is no point for me to state the details of this particular shop as there are at least 3 tea shops in almost every street in Yangon, big or small.

spot the malaysians

First the food, we decided to go for some roti canai, which in Myanmar is called dhosai (or tosai). Really different from Malaysian or India, where dhosai is a completely different thing. Remember to ask for curry or dhaal (if they have it) as the dhosais normally come with beans or peanuts. Curry in Myanmar is called, surprisingly, "curry".

crispy, fragrant dhosai

order your dhosai at the cooking station, normally located
in front of the tea house

mutton curry

Now to order your cup of tea. they are normally called lapae-ya but everyone here orders tea to their taste. here's a list:

cuppa lapae-ya anyone?

cha seh: sweeter tha usual, the normal ones are pretty sweet already but the locals do like their tea sweeter than usual.

bone mahn: regular tea, same as lapae-ya

baw shent: strong tea, my cuppa tea.

cha hseent: a stronger than the one above, and less sweet. my usual
 
bancho: strong and sweet 


And if you want, ask for sheh-la with your tea. This usually means you tea would be made with condensed milk from a tin, cost about 50-100kyats extra than a normal cup or tea, which is usually 150-200kyats.

Or if you want, you can opt for the standard free chinese tea provided at all the tea shops, called cha. Or as i call it, a tea tank.

a tea tank, standard issue in
Myanmar

There you go, your guide to drinking tea in Myanmar. Remember to say jetsu tema le to your friendly waiter & waitresses after enjoy your yummy cup of tea!