Penang’s Burmese community has been part of George Town’s colourful cosmopolitan populace since the time of its founding by the British in 1786. The early Burmese settlers populate streets which have subsequently taken on Burmese names: Burmah Road, Rangoon Road, Moulmein Road, Tavoy Road, Irrawadi Road, Salween Road, Mandalay Road, etc.
In Pulau Tikus, George Town’s oldest suburb, there was a large Burmese community concentrated mainly in Kampung Ava (named after the old Burmese capital, Ava), situated near the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple which dates back to 1803.
What to eat whilst on Burmah Road? Burmese food, of course - from Mingalarpar, a tiny family-run Burmese eatery at the junction of Burmah Road and Cantonment Road.
We dined on piquant 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘳, Burma’s national dish: rice noodles bathed in a light spicy fish broth, garnished with slices of boiled heart of banana trunk.
A perfect accompaniment was 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘬𝘦 - pig’s head salad, with slivers of crunchy pig’s ears and gelatinous pig’s skin, and crisp slices of raw onions & cucumber. The lightly sour-sweet dressing lifted the salad a notch above the ordinary.
We also ordered 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯 (beef curry) and 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯 (pork belly curry), both oozing deep, delicious flavours.
Mimi Saung, who took our orders and served out the food, was the perfect hostess. We asked to meet the chef, who happened to be Mimi’s aunt. When Mimi said, “I’ll ask my aunt, who cooked all these dishes, to come out”, we were expecting a matronly Burmese lady instead of a young woman almost indistinguishable in age from her niece!
The restaurant caters to an almost all-Burmese clientele. So, we were assured that the flavours there were 100% authentic.
Menu in Burmese and English:
Address
Mingalarpar
379, Burmah Road, 10350 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6011 24151927
Opening hours: 11am to 10pm daily