13-19 mar 2015
weekly guide
editor’s note Hello MYANMOREans Salsa lovers! This is your lucky weekend - Salsa on Saturday at Union and Sunday at Club 5, all for you. Dance baby, dance! St Pat’s Day happens next week, but why wait til then? Wear something green, join the leprechaun (there’s bound to be someone dressed like one), have green drinks and food on the Shamrock Boat this Saturday. Check out the Francophonie Festival at IFB grounds. There will be French food tasting, tombola games and other competitions, singing contests including a party with Charles Baptiste with a special francophone DJ set in the evening. I’m sure some of you noticed it too; we have a Friday the 13th this month - the second one for this year. Regardless of what you believe, I hope that you are safe, wherever you go. Live it to the highest octane!
what’s on FRIDAY 13TH MAR QUIZ ME | NIGHTLIFE
Every second Friday of the month, Quiz Me happens at the Gallery Bar. Quench your thirst for trivia and enjoy free pass-around snacks and happy hour drinks. ? Sule Shangri-La Hotel - 223 Sule Pagoda Rd (opposite Sakura Tower) | P 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
ACOUSTIC MUSIC SHOW | NIGHTLIFE
OTBT proudly presents an acoustic music show every Friday from 7 to 9:30 PM. TGIF everyone! ? OTBT - Kandawgyi Natural Park, Karaweik Oo-Yin Kabar, Mingala Taung Nyunt Tsp | P 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
THE ART OF BARTENDING: COCKTAIL SHOW | ACTIVITIES
Myanmar Bartenders Association will showcase its first-ever Cocktail Show at Myanmar's 2nd International Exhibition. ? Myanmar Convention Center - Min Dhamma Rd (Close to Victoria Hospital) | P 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
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what’s on FRIDAY 13TH MAR - SUNDAY 15TH MAR MYANMAR INTERNATIONAL FRANCHISE & SME EXPO 2015 | BUSINESS Meet the franchise businesses, SME products & services and other business opportunities from local and abroad. It’s the business opportunities seminar from experts in the franchise business. ? Tatmadaw Hall - U Wisara Rd (Next to Minder Ground), Dagon Tsp | P 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
A TASTE OF RAINBOW CUISINE | DINING
South Africa Northern Cape Province Food Festival. Experience the "Rainbow Nation" in Yangon! Guest chefs from South Africa are here to share their culture, diverse traditions and wonderful flavours. Starts from 10th to 15th of March. ? Sule Shangri-La Hotel - 223 Sule Pagoda Rd (opposite Sakura Tower) | P ALL DAY
FRIDAY 13TH MAR - TUESDAY 17TH MAR “SPACE & SPEED” SOLO SHOW OF ARTIST AUNG LART | ART
A solo art exhibition “Space & Speed” by Artist Aung Lart at River Ayeyarwaddy Gallery from 13rd to 17th March 2015. ? River Ayeyarwaddy Gallery - 134, 35th Street, Middle Block, Kyauktada Tsp | P 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
SATURDAY 14TH MAR FRANCOPHONIE 2015! FRENCH IT UP! | ACTIVITIES
DELICIOUS FRENCH FOOD! Come & visit IFB next Saturday the 14th for the Francophonie Festival. No need to speak French, just enjoy and have a taste of the FRENCH CULTURE! ? French Institute - 340, Pyay Road, Sanchaung Tsp (Close by Hanthar Waddy Bus stop) | P FROM 10:00 AM
“THE MEE YA HTA BUILDING” ART EXHIBITION BY KATE BOWEN | ART
Gallery 65 is pleased to present a new art exhibition “THE MEE YA HTA BUILDING” featuring UK Artist Kate Bowen. The exhibit will open on the 14th of March and will run through to the 22nd. The exhibit will feature over 60 paintings of the Artist’s works. ? Gallery 65 - 65 Yaw Min Gyi Rd (Behind Parkroyal Hotel) | P 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
what’s on LEARNING FROM FAMOUS ENTREPRENEURS FREE SEMINAR | ACTIVITIES U Kyaw Kyaw Hlaing, the chairman of SMART Group of Companies, will give a speech on “Learning from Famous Entrepreneurs”. Send a message together with: NAME, OCCUPATION, PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL: 09420033355, 09421007002, 09797367944, 09797367955. ? UMFCCI – Min Ye Kyaw Swar St (Near by Taw Win Shopping Center) | P 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
YANGON HASH HOUSE HARRIERS SATURDAY RUN | SOCIAL The Yangon Hash is a mixed, family-style Hash. The runs usually take about an hour or so. Occasional in-town Hash but they definitely prefer to go out-of-town. Run fees are 4,000Ks or the equivalent in US$. ? Yangon University,University Rd. between Inya and Pyay Rd. | P 2:45 PM - 8:00 PM
SHAMROCK THE BOAT | NIGHTLIFE
Yangon Boat Party is excited to announce their next great party cruise – the 2nd Annual SHAMROCK THE BOAT – Yangon’s only St. Patrick’s Day Boat Party! Tickets at 30,000Ks available at Wardan Jetty Pier on the day of party. ? Wardan Jetty - Lan Thit Street, Seik Kan Tsp | P 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
SALSA NIGHT | NIGHTLIFE
Salsa Night at Union Bar & Grill will take place the second Saturday of every month. The fun is at Union Bar & Grill! ? Union Bar - 42 Strand Rd (Same building as Red Cross by Strand Road) | P FROM 9:00 PM
what’s on SUNDAY 15TH MAR CREATIVE WEEKEND | ACTIVITIES
Weekend Art Workshops for Kids between 7-12 years old. Looking for a creative way to spend the weekends? Special lessons on drawing, painting, etching, claying. Register for free! 09 5151056, 09 30198968. ? AGORA CAFE & RESTAURANT - 84, Kanbe Main Rd (Opposite of Yankin Children Hospital), Yankin Tsp | P 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
SUNDAY NETBALL GAME | SPORT
Netball game every Sunday at L’Alchimiste. Bring a water bottle, face towel and proper sports shoes with grip . Free. Beginners are welcome. Email: elizabeth_watt@hotmail.com ? L'Alchimiste - No 5, U Tun Nyein Street, Mayangone Tsp (close to L’Opera) | P 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
SALSA BEGINNERS WORKSHOP | ACTIVITIES
A 10-week salsa workshop at Parkroyal Hotel on Sunday. Their talented instructor, Jay will be introducing you to the very salsa basics followed by some intermediate moves and share his perennial salsa dancing experience. ? Club 5, Parkroyal Hotel, 33 Alan Pya pagoda Rd, Yan Min Gyi Ward, Dagon Tsp | P 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
MONDAY 16TH MAR TRIVIA NIGHT & MEXICAN MONDAY | NIGHTLIFE
A Pub Quiz with Mexican Cuisine. Tequila shots: 2,500. Corona: 4,500. Mojito: 3,500. Free Pitcher for Round Winner & Tie Break Drink Challenge. Winner Team gets a 30,000Ks Bar Tab ? 50th Street Bar - 9/13 50th St, Botahtaung Tsp (off Merchant Rd) | P FROM 8:00 PM
MONDAY BLUES | NIGHTLIFE
The Best Social Event winner at the MYANMORE Awards 2015 is on. Come enjoy the most famous blues night of Yangon! There’s always space for other musicians and a good Jam during the Monday Blues! Free entry. ? Mojo - 135 Inya road, Bahan Tsp (Opposite Savoy Hotel) | P FROM 9:30 PM
what’s on MONDAY 16TH MAR - TUESDAY 17TH MAR MYANMAR EMERGENCY MEDICINE UPDATES SYMPOSIUM | BUSINESS Knowledge is power! Do it right, the first time! This is a unique educational opportunity from the USA to provide essential knowledge of emergency medicine. 20,000 Ks per head. RSVP @ 01 667173 ? Sayar San Plaza Ballroom -5th Floor, Sayar San Plaza, Corner of Saya San Rd and New University Ave Rd,Bahan Tsp | P 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
TUESDAY 17TH MAR HOLA DANCE CLUB MARCH EVENTS + ZUMBA DANCE PARTY | NIGHTLIFE
This March HOLA DANCE CLUB does 3 Tuesdays of Social Dancing plus Zumba Dance party. Tickets are only 6,000 Ks and 1 free can of soft drink. 30 persons only for each event. Get your ticket in advance. Wear a comfortable attire and party! ? HOLA Dance Club - 94, Bogalay Zay St (Beside Gamone Pwint Shopping Mall) | P FROM 9:00 PM
ST. PATRICK FESTIVAL | NIGHTLIFE
Let’s celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the Drunken Irish Bar Stools, a drinking band with a music problem...Sláinte! Free entry. ? Mojo - 135 Inya road, Bahan Tsp (Opposite Savoy Hotel) | P FROM 9:30 PM
what’s on WEDNESDAY 18TH MAR GIRLS NIGHT OUT | NIGHTLIFE
Meet your besties, sip a complimentary cocktail while enjoying the groovy tunes of our resident DJ Mr.Y! Free entry. ? Mojo - 135 Inya road, Bahan Tsp (Opposite Savoy Hotel) | P FROM 8:00 PM
JAZZ MUSIC AND DINNER | DINING
Enjoy Jazz music every week in Yangon…it’s possible now @ IFB! Every Wednesday, come & enjoy a great dinner in a friendly musical atmosphere at The Rendez-Vous. ? The Rendez-Vous - Institut Français de Birmanie, 340 Pyay Rd | P 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
THURSDAY 19TH MAR THE ART OF CHARACTER DESIGN | ACTIVITIES
Those who love to learn how to create character design are welcome to join the workshop. Joosk, a Myanmar Design startup, who created Facebook Myanmar Sticker & Pansagar sticker, is sharing. See you there. ? Phandeeyar - 11th Floor, "Mac Tower" Building, 561 Merchant Rd | P 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
NIGHTLY LIVE MUSIC | NIGHTLIFE
Live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at casual Kokine. Be there or be square. ? Kokine Bar & Restaurant - 34, Kokkine Swimming Club Lane, off Saya San Rd | P 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM
BOOK OF THE month Bamboo People Bamboo people by award winning young adult author, Mitali Perkins, is a fiction novel following the lives of 2 young Myanmar boys: Chiko and Tu Reh, who for very different reasons, find themselves on opposing sides of war. Chiko, who is ethnically Burmese, becomes forcibly drafted in to the Myanmar Army when he is lured out of his home by the promise of a teaching position. Tu Reh is a native Karen, who voluntarily joins his state’s military as a means to avenge the perceived injustices brought on to his people by the Myanmar military. Through coincidents, both boys meet on the battlefield and an unlikely friendship is struck. Can this friendship survive ethnic strife? Will Chiko and Tu Reh’s bond be tempered by adversity? Perkins book is important for young readers, in that the author is able to create an engaging story that touches on important topic, which are still current issues in Myanmar. The book also contains helpful information on Myanmar in the back.
150 Dhamazedi Road, Bahan Tsp, Yangon Tel : (+95 1) 53 63 06 / (+95 1) 53 78 05
InDepth No 5, March 2015
A Gentle leGend,
A lethAl FiGhter lone chaw
more more more more
art fashioN travel lifestyle
NEW ISSUE!
art & culture
Photo by Yadanar Win
A VILLA AND ITS PAST
CONTEMPORARY ART REFLECTS ON HISTORY By Borbála Kálmán The Myanmar contemporary art scene is undoubtedly crossing an exciting period, nevertheless international exhibitions are still uncommon in the country. Building Histories, organized within the future Goethe Institut Villa is not to miss if you wish to breathe fresh art. The exhibition’s background context is strongly multilayered, just as the readings its title offers. What brought it to life is a house located North of Kandawgyi Lake. To strengthen the cultural ties between Myanmar and Germany, negotiations started in 2013 about the location where Goethe Institut could independently reopen after several decades. In the 1920s, the villa belonged to a Burmese-Chinese family, next it became the Antifascist People’s Freedom League’s headquarter founded by Aung San and U Nu. Later, the spacious rooms welcomed the Yangon State School of Fine Arts before the latter moved into another magic building on Kabar Aye Road. Director of Goethe Institut, Franz Xaver Augustin wished to mark a new start for the villa while paying homage to the various aspects it had witnessed through the past century. Independent Singapore-based curator Iola Lenzi was to awake the sleeping histories by choosing the artists who would contribute to the opening exhibition of the house, looking ahead of a grandiose renovation. A special moment when the signs of time can also play a role in the creative process.
The exhibition integrates the entire building. Walking up the lane of the main entrance, Yangon-born Chaw Ein Thein’s ‘slipper-installation’ accompanies the visitor until the façade-wall bearing hundreds of signatures of people who already changed the building’s history by stepping in it. As if the clothes of the visitors would have been transformed into a continuous ‘life-line’, unfolds the work of Cambodian artist Bandaul Srey on the first floor. The complex meaning that simple fabric can carry recurs through the site-specific installation of Vietnamese artist Bui Cong Khanh, based in Saigon. Stepping in a room aside, Vasan Sitthiket, a senior performer artist of the Thai scene chose the technique of wood-cut and handmade paper to reflect upon the building while Mandalay-born video-artist Wai Mar Nyunt grabs the vanishing presence of one specific room through different video-channels. Yangon-based Yadanar Win, the youngest participant, considers the rewritable aspect of history while duo Wah Nu and Tun Win Aung, both graduates from the University of Culture, guide the visitors through specifically arranged video-rooms. On the ground-floor again, one will be tempted to approach a huge table, beautifully set up – however, the food has already been touched and still evolves with time. The chairs are empty: on the night of the opening, the scene gave place to a performance conceived by Vietnamese artist Dinh Q. Le, who invited twelve guests from the country to talk about General Aung San during a dinner, reflecting on the history of the building but also upon the possible different histories that can enclose one person. Nine artists, some having participated to major international art events like Venice Biennale or Documenta, changed the building with new histories, establishing a new era in the villa’s life.
Photos by Dinh Q.Le
Exhibition is on until March 15th, 2015 at the future Goethe-Villa No 8, Ko Min Ko Chin Road, Bahan Township, Yangon www.goethe.de/myanmar
photo of the week
U Bein Bridge - Amarapura Juan Gallardo http://www.myanmartravelessentials.com/
review
LA TAVERNA MEDITERRANEAN BISTRO BY ZARA DANG
WHAT IT IS It’s often a challenge to find healthy food in our jungle city, but thankfully, the La Taverna has arrived to save the day! A refreshing new addition to the Yangon culinary scene with flavours derived from the fragrant spices of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine, the dishes are prepared with copious amounts of fresh vegetables and herbs, using only minimal amounts of oils. ATMOSPHERE La Taverna transports you to a serene Mediterranean island. The white walls with exposed brick keep things cool, while the Moroccan lanterns add a romantic ambience. There is also a lounge area with sofas and low tables if you’re just stopping in for a few drinks and some mezze. In dry months the wrap-around patio offers outdoor seating, perfect for a date night (friendly tip: try to get a table on the side of the building away from the street). RECOMMENDATIONS The extensive menu certainly offers something for everyone, including an all-day breakfast options. Appetizer highlights includes a creamy Hummus topped with chopped, grilled Shawarma (perfect to dip freshly-baked fluffy pita bread), and a zesty bulgur Tabbouleh Salad that was pleasantly light on the grains and heavy on the veggies. It was difficult to choose a favourite main dish. The Moussaka was lovely and surprisingly light, with delicate layers of eggplant, potato and lamb topped by a dab of béchamel sauce. The most elegantly presented dish was a seasonal special of asparagus wrapped in beef with peppercorn sauce. The tender spears were cooked perfectly with a slight crunch. The founder’s wife is a vegan, so vegetarian dishes are not just an obligatory afterthought. The Dolmas are juicy and delicious with tender grape leaves, specially imported. The Stuffed Bell Pepper is so hearty that I would be willing to bet even a meat-eater can be satisfied having this for dinner. If at all possible, save a little room for dessert. You’ll be rewarded when you taste the Chocolate Crumble Cake. Don’t let the name deceive you, it has a moist chocolate cake base with a creamy pudding layer, all of which is draped in another decadent chocolate coating, a combination that will leave you fighting over the last bite. This delicacy is an Israeli specialty and not found anywhere else in Yangon (in fact, we dare you to find it anywhere in Asia!)
LAST THOUGHTS La Taverna has brought the Mediterranean to us. The food preparation, the ingredients and the atmosphere re-creates the experience of sitting in a small cafe on the sea. La Taverna Mediterranean Bistro | Yangon International Hotel 330, Ahlone rd, Dagon Tsp, Yangon | Tel : 09 42113 9027 Opens Daily 9am to 10.30pm
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THE GREAT 10 YEARS! @ MONSOON 8 March 2015 photos by THE PICTUREMAN
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This WEEK’S photo Artist Zarni Ye Myint. Image courtesy of Pansodan Gallery. | ) www.pansodan.com