Myanmar Snack Tour: 10 Snacks and Edible Souvenirs to Try

Before you go: since the 2021 military coup, parts of Myanmar have seen armed conflict, and the March 2025 earthquake centred near Mandalay and Sagaing damaged many temples and historic sites. Check your government’s latest travel advisory, and confirm current access to the places in this article with a local guide before you travel.

Yangon is a great place to start your crash course in all things Burmese. As the largest and most ethnically diverse city in Myanmar, with more than five million people, Yangon brings together flavors and culinary influences from all over the country, from Chinese, Indian and Thai to Shan and Mon. Most traditional Burmese snacks are made with rice, sugar, coconut and milk. There are many stalls just outside Bogyoke Market where people eat these snacks after lunch: Mont Baing Taut made with rice and coconut, Mont Sein Paung (steamed rice cake with raisins and sweet pumpkin), and Shwe Yin Aye (a sweet coconut-milk dessert with bread, agar jelly and sago). You can find these local treats at pushcarts and tea shops across Yangon. Below are 10 snacks to try, many of which also make great edible souvenirs to take home:

Tamarind Flakes

Visitors come to Myanmar not only because of its beautiful places but also tasty cuisine. When it comes to Myanmar’s food, travelers cannot miss tamarind flake, a unique sweet and sour taste that comes from tamarind. Tamarind flakes are most closely associated with Bagan and central Myanmar, where tamarind trees grow everywhere, and they are hard to find outside the country. They are often offered after meals. If you visit Bagan, make sure you buy some of these little drops of heaven; you can also find them in markets and supermarkets elsewhere in Myanmar.

Instant Rice Vermicelli

These small packs of instant noodles will bring you straight back to Myanmar, the flavor pack inside tastes just like eating from a street vendor filled with Myanmar’s spices. This instant noodle version of this classic dish is a must buy when returning back to your country. Also a great souvenir to share with your friends and family.

Saw Mo Double Fried Beans

These are also a must have when traveling in Myanmar, different kinds of beans deep fried and tossed in spices. A very flavorful snack to pack with you on the go. People often pick them up as souvenirs before heading home; they are sold in most supermarkets.

Pickled Tea Leaves

Tea has been grown in Myanmar’s hills for centuries, and with tea being such a big part of the Burmese culture, it’s no wonder it manages to find its way into the local cuisine. Laphet, traditional Myanmar fermented tea leaf, is a much-loved national food. It has a very long history in Myanmar. In ancient times fermented tea leaves were used as a peace symbol or peace offering between warring kingdoms. Nowadays, the laphet tray is a main expression of hospitality offered to houseguests. Myanmar fermented tea leaf is a common signature and national ancient food that is eaten by all people in the country, regardless of race or religion, at get-togethers in family homes, in monasteries, and in the traditional celebrations. You’d think that you could only drink tea, but in Yangon, you’ll discover that it can also be eaten! A very popular Burmese dish, Laphet Thoke is a tea leaf salad. The tea leaves can’t be eaten raw, so they are pickled and stored, and the resulting mixture has a richly sour and tangy taste that lingers on the palate. The cuisine of Myanmar has a popular expression: “Of all the fruit, mango is the best; of all the meats, pork is the best; of all the leaves, laphet is the best.” The original taste of tea leaf is very bitter and its bitterness is reduced after the fermentation process. Furthermore, the bitterness of laphet is partially removed by rinsing with warm water once or twice, depending on the user’s desire. As a salad, the fermented leaves are mixed with shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, crunchy fried beans, peanuts and garlic, then dressed with oil and a squeeze of lime. Packs of laphet with the crunchy mix on the side are also a popular souvenir. It makes for a refreshing midday snack or as a starter that opens up your appetite for the mains. Pickled tea leaves is something one must try.

Butter Peanut Crisp Candy

A simple dessert yet regarded as one of the top Myanmar snacks, peanut butter crisp candies are made with sugar and peanuts, with some added butter to make it crunchy but soft for your teeth. It is also one of the most common souvenirs for friends and family for a taste of Myanmar.

Royal Myanmar Tea Mix

If you are a milk tea lover, then this is something you should never miss out on! Everyone who visits Myanmar knows this milk tea. Royal Myanmar Tea encapsulates traditionally brewed Myanmar tea. With its distinctly unique aroma and flavor, it evokes a sense of nostalgia and soothes your mind and soul.

Packaged Pickled Fruit

One of the unique snacks you’ll find in Myanmar, different kinds of pickled fruit packed in air-tight packages and ready to eat. Some are sour, others are both sour and spicy.

Myanmar Beef Jerky

This beef jerky comes in small packages and is extra crispy! The strings tied around it keep it in shape. Your first bite is a blast of spice, then your mouth will be filled with a rich flavor of beef.

Falooda

A sweet dessert drink that will quench your thirst and give that quick recharge while you’re out and about exploring the streets of Yangon. Falooda is a mix of rose syrup, vermicelli, sago pearls, milk, and sometimes even ice cream. Having a hard time visualising Falooda? Imagine a mash up of the most delicious chendol and bandung, and you’ll most likely be on the right track.

Cashew brittle

Last on our list is a scrumptious sweet, cashew brittle. It is made of cashews wrapped in crunchy sugar coating. The cashews are soft, rich in flavor, and yet the sugar coating makes it crunchy.

Which of these Myanmar snacks are you eager to try? For more Burmese food, read 6 Myanmar Unseen Street Food and Food Culture in Myanmar, and for more gift ideas, see 10 Unique Myanmar Souvenirs.

Cover photo: Wagaung, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons