Myanmar Travel Guide：7 Types of Foods for Vegans and Vegetarians

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. Conditions change quickly, so check your government’s latest travel advisory and confirm with a local guide that the places you plan to visit are open and safe to reach before you go.

First-time vegan travelers might wonder where to feast on when traveling to Myanmar(or Burma). As a matter of fact, savoring foods in Myanmar is not so tough for vegans or vegetarians. This article shares what vegans and vegetarians can eat on a journey through Myanmar.

Why Myanmar is a good place for vegan travelers?

As most of the population in Myanmar believe in Buddhism, there is no lack in the option of vegetarian food; also, due to the deep influence of its neighboring country－India, finding an Indian-style vegetarian meal is not a big deal either.

What word need to say？Let’s learn the keyword

“Thet-thut-lut” (often written “thut thut luh”) is the word that all vegans and vegetarians should keep in mind. It is the Burmese word for vegetarian food, literally “free from killing”, so if you point at a dish and say it, local people will understand what you need. Many curries and salads are seasoned with fish sauce, dried shrimp or shrimp paste, so it’s worth asking about those too.

Read More: Five Must-See Places in Mandalay

What dishes you can find in Myanmar？

Don’t worry, there are plenty of options for vegetarians to choose on the road. Let’s check out some of them below.

• Fried bread stick：Fried bread sticks (fried dough) are a typical Chinese/Cantonese food, and in Myanmar they are a breakfast favourite too, often eaten with a cup of tea.

• Salads：Where there are vegetables, there is the way for vegetarian travelers. In Myanmar, travelers will view here paradise to savor salads; in fact, there are many types of salads, such as pennywort salad(myin kwa yuet thote), shan tofu salad (tohu thote), tea leaf salad(lahpet thoke), etc.. Local people would make good use of authentic ingredients, like fruits, spices, cabbages, onions, tomato, peanuts, and chilis to mix up some mouth-watering tastes.

• Rice with Burmese Curry：It sounds simple yet delicious with heavy sauce for vegetarian travelers, and this dish is not hard to find in Myanmar. And you can taste vegetables as side dishes.

• Deep-fried stuffed Tofu：Tofu plays an important role in giving vegetarians protein, and deep-fried tofu stuffed with vegetables and sauce may become your favorite street food.

• Fruits：Thanks to a tropical location, resembling other neighboring countries, Myanmar is also home to many sorts of fruits; watermelons, durians, bananas, jackfruits, avocados, mango, you name it. While wandering in the streets, you probably can see a kind of special fruit called sour palms that look red and small, and they will be baked and sold by weight. Needless to say, fruits are the best friends that ease vegetarian travelers’ hunger and thirst on the journey.

• Tea：Burmese are fond of drinking tea, which can be seen as a wonderful beverage for vegetarians. As travelers will notice, locals casually walk into a tea shop, sip a cup of milk tea and chill out in the afternoon. (Vegans: Burmese milk tea is usually made with condensed milk, so ask for plain green tea, which is often free on the table.)

• Miscellaneous street foods： Besides drinking tea, why not try a variety of Myanmar’s street foods? Dried fruits, rice dumplings, pancakes and rice crackers are all good options.

Read More:Everything You Need to Know Before Traveling to Myanmar

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