Tin Tin Aye Mote Hin Gar, Kanbe Road, Yangon.

Mohinga is probably one of the most iconic, and widely eaten breakfast dishes across Myanmar. Best described as a spiced fish noodle soup, it is made by slow cooking fish (usually catfish or dagger tooth if the English translations of menus I have seen are anything to go by) in a spiced broth with banana stem, garlic, turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, chilli, paprika and coriander (check out MiMi Ayes delicious recipe here) which is thickened with a little rice and chickpea flour, and served with rice noodles, and a choice of different garnishes, from dried chilli, lime and coriander, to soft boiled eggs, fried onions and split pea fritters amongst others.

Regional variations are common, I recently saw a delicious version from Mawlamyine which has a thinner broth than we see in Yangon, and used a lot more banana stems. I have also read that the Mohinga found in Rakhine province tends to use more fish paste which makes it much stronger and more pungent. If anyone knows where to find regional variations of Mohinga in Yangon, or has a recommendation for their favourite Mohinga place, I would love to hear about it, do let me know in the comments!

As popular as Mohinga is, this is not a dish that is generally made at home as it is very time-consuming to make (simple rice and peas or rice and a fried egg is a more common home cooked breakfast) and so people tend to go to a local teahouse to get their Mohinga fix, Tin Tin Aye on Kanbe road being a popular choice.

The Mohinga at Tin Tin Aye is certainly very good indeed. The broth is noticeably thicker than at Lucky Seven (one of my personal favourite places to enjoy Mohinga) and they seem to use more banana stem as well. They have all the additional toppings you might expect (I always choose fried split peas as I really love the gentle crunch of the fritters combined with the soft, slippery noodles) so do ask them to garnish it to your liking.

In addition to Mohinga, Tin Tin Aye also serves a very good Nan Gyi Thohk, again a very different version to many of the others I have tried in Yangon, with a thick chicken curry sauce heaped on top of the noodles, as well as lots more vegetables than you usually see, and a gloriously soft, runny egg.