Indepth volume 4 feb 2015 by MYANMORE

InDepth No 4, Feb 2015

Next Wave Fashion taylah

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art fashion travel lifestyle

February 2015 / InDepth

CONTENTS 3

TEAM MANAGING DIRECTOR Andreas Sigurdsson

EDITOR IN CHIEF Andreas Sigurdsson

EDITORS Yuko Maskay, Leena Salim Bob Percival, Ben Hopkins

CONTRIBUTORS Bob Percival Tet Ka Tho Soe Moe Naing Mimi Wu Manny Maung Borbala Kalman Brian Berenguer Andrew Marshall Juan Gallardo

food

Shan State home food recipes and descriptions

streets yangon

25th Street - a diversity of culture and people

Discover the remote islands of Rakhine state

Natty Tangmeesang

travel

impressions

Searching for Theroux on the Mandalay Express

COVER PHOTO Gerhard Joren www.gerhardjoren.com

24 chef's profile

Award winning Chef Ma Moe Khaing on her expertise in European cuisine and future plans

26 food reviews Thai and Indian restaurants in Yangon

PHOTOGRAPHY The Pictureman, Hong Sar

ART & PRODUCTION Kyaw Kyaw Tun

PUBLISHER U Myo Aung (Permanent No.00315) InDepth MYANMORE Magazine 1st Floor, Annex Building, Strand Hotel, 92 Strand Road, Yangon, Myanmar

PRINTER Shwe Naing Ngan Press Permit No: 05745 No.90(C), Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd., Bahan Tsp., Yangon.

SALES

art

12 cover story

motor

Land Rover's flagship Range Rover ABOUT MYANMORE

MYANMORE is a registered brand under Lychee Ventures (Myanmar) Limited that manage the leading lifestyle and entertainment website www.myanmore.com. On top of InDepth, MYANMORE also provides city maps, a privilege card, a weekly guide and two quarterly guides - EnjoyIt and KnowIt. The mission is to give visitors and residents of Yangon more to enjoy and explore.

DISTRIBUTION

innovations

horoscope

Entrepreneur, Min Zeyo Phyo, on the creation of an app that can transform restaurant efficiency

Taylah, one of Myanmar's up and coming fashion designers talks of her inspirations and future plans

health

The health benefits of jaggery, grown and produced in Myanmar

Two Myanmar artists exhibit in Palais de Tokyo - one of the most prestigious art spaces in Europe

sales@myanmore.com 01 375 680

books

A forgotten explorer of 19th century Burma is brought back into focus

InDepth can be found in hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, business centres and embassies etc in Yangon. It is also distributed locally inside International New York Times, Nikkei, Bangkok Post, Nation, Straits Times, Business Times and Zaobao. Subscribe to any of these and get InDepth delivered every month. For more info contact successinternational2007@gmail.com.

Our very own atrologer on the fortunes that lay in wake for February, 2015

DISCLAIMER

No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the Managing Director. All details are deemed correct at the time of print, the editor, employees and contributors can not be held responsible for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions that might occur.

February 2015 / InDepth

4 WHAT’S ON

VALENTINES DAY SPECIAL PROMO BUSINESS THURSDAY 19TH

L’OPERA

APPEXPO 2015

Book a 5-course Valentine’s Day Italian dinner in their indoors and outdoors garden. Limited seats left. US $54 net/person Tel: 09 7303 0755, 01 66 55 16

The 3rd AppExpo is a tech exhibition bringing together industries such as software houses, developers, software importers and solution trainers. New start-ups and small software houses will be introduced. Besides product presentation, network game competition and booth camps, there will also be the “The best app 2015” title award for local apps innovation. 9am / MICT Park / Universities Hlaing Campus, Thamine College Street

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK (OTBT)

Children throughout Yangon look forward to the International Juggling Festival to be held at Kandawgyi Park at 6:30pm on 11th February. Photo by Lin Thet Naung

SOCIAL THURSDAY 12TH

YANGON DIGITAL NOMADS MEETUP This is their first meetup in Myanmar. Meet other digital nomads, and learn how to live and work remotely. You can also organise your own digital nomads meetup here: www.facebook.com/ events/736302863152377 6pm / Sule Tech / 561-567 Merchant Road, Bohtahtaung Township

FESTIVAL 13th - 21st

THE 7th YANGON PHOTO FESTIVAL Several exhibitions will colour the city in different locations. The participants will be presented during the Yangon Photo Night on February 21st presided by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who will award the best photographers. The central theme for this event is ‘I Love You’, and the fesitval will display photographers from countries such as France, Iran, USA, India, China and Myanmar. Details here: www.yangonphoto.com

ART TUESDAY 17TH

REMAKE LOVE Remake Love is an exhibition presenting the first collaboration of works by two 28-year-old artists—Ren Hang and Anna Broujean. Curated by Nicolas Havette/Le Magasin de Jouets 7pm / Transit Shed No. 1 / Between Lanthit Jetty and Kaing Dan No. 1 Jetty

SCREENING 19th

learnt juggling photography, dance and performance.

MAKE LOVE NOT WAR

6.30pm / Institut Francais de Birmanie (IFB) / 13 February

Eric Bouvet is a French war photographer who has covered conflicts for the past four decades in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Chechnya, Libya and Ukraine, to name just a few. In between the difficult times he spends covering conflicts, Bouvet likes to re-energize himself in different parts of the world visiting and documenting the lives of the Rainbow Family and other peace seekers. He will present his work and answer questions. Details here: www.yangonphoto.com/ screenings 6:30pm / Institut Français de Birmanie (IFB) / 340 Pyay Road, Sanchaung Township Tel: 01 536 900; 01 537 122

FESTIVAL 9TH - 15TH

INTERNATIONAL JUGGLING FESTIVAL Big Show Spectacular Top international and local performers star in the Big Show Spectacular hosted by young comedians Thura Thein and Jo Ker, featuring thrilling, dangerous and spellbinding acts never seen before in Yangon. Global Harmonies choir warm up the audience. 6:30pm / Kandawgyi Park / 11 February Inner Light Project A special performance by children who

Day of Fun Juggling shows, competitions, workshops, walkabout theatre acts and public participation games in aday of fun in the park. 9am-3pm / Karaweik Garden, Kandawgyi Park / 14 February Fire Show starring international performers and Yangon band “The Wheel”

Let OTBT handle all the special arrangements you have in mind for your Valentine’s Day. Call 09 510 2657

BELMOND GOVERNOR’S RESIDENCE

Enjoy a romantic dinner in a nice setting. Delicious food, gentle sounds of saxophone player, romantic and energetic Valentine juggling awaits. Book your table under events.tgr@belmond.com or call 01 229 860

Café Sule, Shangri-la Hotel

FESTIVAL MARCH 2ND - 8TH

Wine and dine the night away with their special Valentine Buffet plus free-flowing wine. Door gifts, welcome drinks, and flowers for every couple as well as a free Polaroid photo from the photo booth. US $88 net/couple Call: 01 242 828

YANGON WOMEN’S FESTIVAL

FROZEE GELATO CREAMERY

This week long festival celebrates and brings awareness to the voices of women, and highlights their contributions to today’s society through visual art exhibitions, concerts, movie screenings and workshops. It will showcase female artists, performers and role models who are striving to break the stigma and promote a culture of equality in Myanmar.

Celebrate this Valentine’s Day with an order of their special “True Love” Frozee Ice Cream Cake priced at 8,800 Ks. Call: 01 1223 874

Details here: www.yangonwomensfestival.com

Spend the most romantic day of the year with Peperoni Pizzeria with its picturesque view of the pagoda. 4-course dinner at US $28/person. Call: 09 3025 8399

6pm / Mahabandoola Park Unplugged Stage

Starts daily at 10am / Mojo Café and Lounge / 135 Inya Road, Bahan Township

PEPERONI PIZZERIA

February 2015 / InDepth

MYANMORE AWARD WINNERS 5

Congratulations to the winners of the 2015 Myanmore Awards competition. Votes were collected from diners, drinkers, revelers, seekers and finders from all walks of life. Best Myanmar

Feel Myanmar Address: 124 Pyihtaungsu Avenue, Dagon Township, Tel: 0973048783 Best Thai

Sabai Address: No 30, Kabaaye Pagoda Road, near Golden Hill Tower, Bahan Township, Tel: 09252051784 Best Indian

Corriander Leaf Address: Building 12, Yangon International Hotel Compound, Ahlone Road, Dagon Township, Tel: 012302069 Best Chinese

Golden Duck Address: Kan Taw Mingalar Garden Compound, U Wisara Road, Dagon Township, Tel: 01240216, 01706488, 097322 9233 Best Korean

Arirang Restaurant Address: No. 8, Thiri Mingalar St, Hledan, Kamaryut Township, Yangon, Tel: 0949335172, 01536508 Best General Japanese

Kohaku Japanese Restaurant @ Chatrium Address: Chatrium Hotel, 40 Natmauk Road, Tamwe Township, Yangon, Tel: 01544500 Ext: 6231 Best Teppanyaki, Yakitori or Yakiniku

Haru Yakiniku Address: No.81, Kabar Aye Pagoda Road, Bahan Township, Yangon, Tel: 09421149721 Best Southeast Asian

House of Singapura Address: Union Business Centre, Annex B, 40 Nat Nauk Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 0930258388

Best Western Restaurant

Sharky’s Address: 117 Dhammazedi Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 01524 677 Best Italian Restaurant

L’Opera Italian Restaurant & Bar Address: 62D Kan Yeik Thar, U Htun Nyein Street (next to Inya Lake Hotel), Mayangone Township, Tel: 01665516, 01660976, 0973030755 Best French Restaurant

Le Planteur Address: No.80, University Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 01514230 Best Fine Dining

L’Opera Italian Restaurant & Bar Address: 62D Kan Yeik Thar, U Htun Nyein Street (next to Inya Lake Hotel), Mayangone Township, Tel: 01665516, 01660976, 0973030755 Best Café

Easy Café Address: 30A/C1 Bo Yar Nyunt Road, Dagon Township, Tel: 01220722, 01246755 Best Tapas

The Lab Address: 70A West Shwegondine Road (east of the junction with Kabar Aye Pagoda Road), Bahan Township, Yangon, Tel: 09 250675289 Best Burger

Savoy Hotel Address: 129 Dhamazeddi Road (on corner with Inya Road), Bahan township, Tel: 01526289,01526298 Best Pizza

Peperoni Pizzeria Address: Union Business Centre, Annex B, 40 Nat Nauk Road, Bahan Townshi, Tel: 0930258388, 093025839

Best Bakery

Acacia Tea Salon Address: 52 Saya San Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 01554739 Best Outdoor Dining

L’Opera Italian Restaurant & Bar Address: 62D Kan Yeik Thar, U Htun Nyein Street (next to Inya Lake Hotel), Mayangone Township, Tel: 01665516, 01660976, 0973030755 Best Sunday Brunch

Café Sule @ Sule Shangri La Address: 223 Sule Pagoda Road, Pabedan Township, Tel: 01242828 Best Hotel Nightlife

Club Rizzoli @ Chatrium Address: Chatrium Hotel, 40 Natmauk Road, Tamwe Township, Tel: 01544500 Ext. 6243 Best Entrepreneur

Ngwe Tun, Founder and Owner Genius Coffee Address: 220 31st Street, Upper Block, street directly behind Sule Shangrila Hotel, Tel: 0973088068, 098500538 Best Bar

MOJO Address: 135 Inya Road, close to junction with Dhammazedi Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 01511418

Best Service

L’Opera Italian Restaurant &Bar Address: 62D Kan Yeik Thar, U Htun Nyein Street (next to Inya Lake Hotel), Mayangone Township, Tel: 01665516, 01660976, 0973030755 Best Nightclub

MOJO Address: 135 Inya Road, close to junction with Dhammazedi Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 01511418 Best Karaoke

Music Box Address: Yangon International Hotel Compound, 330 Ahlone Road, Dagon Township, Tel: 0973036433 Best Weekly/ Monthly Social Event

Monday Blues @ MOJO Address: 135 Inya Road, close to junction with Dhammazedi Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 01511418 Best Overall Votes

MOJO Address: 135 Inya Road, close to junction with Dhammazedi Road, Bahan Township, Tel: 01511418 Best Newcomer

The Lab Address:70/A Shwegondaing Road Tel: 09 250 537 979, 09 250 018 200

6 STREETS OF YANGON

February 2015 / InDepth

Mr. Singh celebrates the arrival of umbrella stitching machines from India to 25th street in downtown Yangonâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; Photo by Bob Percival

February 2015 / InDepth

STREETS OF YANGON 7

street

Bob Percival sets out on a crisp winter’s morning to discover the living gems of Yangon’s Indian quarter

t’s winter in Yangon and the cool mornings are something to be treasured. This is a perfect time of the year to walk the streets of Yangon—to discover their diversity of culture and people. To walk the street is to immerse yourself in the everyday activities and routines of living. It is here in the streets that you will meet and talk with Yangon’s residents, hear their stories and share the history of this city. 25th Street is in the western downtown area just before you reach Chinatown. It stretches for only two blocks, between Merchant Street and Anawrahta Road. It’s one of those streets you would pass without even noticing. Its delights are not obvious, behind its cluttered and confused spaces. This area is part of the Indian quarter, mainly occupied by Sunni Muslim. The lower block has eateries that are simple and very local. The man with the early morning roti stall, hidden away in the shadows just to your left as the street heads north, and the magnificently basic Tun Family (Rice & Tea) Indian cafe, where a great tasting range of dishes, including potato and egg curries, dahl, soup, rice, and condiments, can all be had for 1,000Ks. Right next door is a recycling depot for all things plastic and cardboard, the river of refuse flows out onto the street. The rest of the block is peppered with rare examples of early Bombay colonial-style residences painted in turquoise, faded green and mustard-yellows. One 1907 block of apartments is particularly special, one of the buildings that needs to be preserved as part of Yangon’s colonial heritage. You can also find a range of local bike shops offering basic models for 45,000Ks and multi-geared bikes for around 85,000Ks; dynamo light, bell and basket all

included. The street energy here is friendly and local, with lots of smiles and easy chatting. There is also a music shop, with locally made wooden guitars selling for as low as 40,000Ks. As you cross Mahabandoola Road, there is a small fruit market overflowing with huge baskets of in-season mandarins, oranges and oversize apples. The upper block is called ‘all trades’ street by the locals. It’s all about sewing supplies and haberdashery. Here you can find all thicknesses of thread, skeins of multi-coloured wool, scissors, needles, sewing machine spare parts and of course sewing machines. Mr. Singh’s newly arrived Goldy machines from China, as well as his specialised embroidery and umbrella-stitching machines from India, shine in the early morning sun. Mr. Singh has travelled from New Delhi to market his wares, and this week, he will celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak at the Sikh Temple in Dagon. In this block you will also find the Supater Razar Jamay Mosque, which services the local Sunni population. 25th Street celebrates its multiculturalism gently. Across the road from the mosque is the Christian-run OK 345 Household & Industrial Sewing Parts shop that raises money for Yangon’s St. Mary’s Cathedral, and nearby is the Alibaba Amusement Centre for the more secular minded; the lights are blazing and the spectacle is unceasing. My favourite shop is the button stall, hundreds of different coloured buttons (50100Ks) made from glass, plastic and coconut shell, it’s a brightly coloured flame in a sometimes grey street, alight with childhood happiness. g

A brilliant array of buttons made from glass, plastic and coconut shells Photo by Bob Percival

February 2015 / InDepth

8 ART

WHEN DAWN RISES IN PARIS It’s rare enough when a Myanmar artist finds himself exhibited in one of the most prestigious contemporary art spaces in Europe: more so, when it is the case of two artists from a country which has only recently made steps on the international scene. Borbála Kálmán unravels the adventures of Myanmar artists Chan Aye and Aung Ko at the Palais de Tokyo, located in the French capital, to reveal how blurry dreams can sometimes, unexpectedly, come true.

group of young French artists follow their guide through the immense exhibiting spaces of the recently re-opened Palais de Tokyo, one of Europe’s biggest contemporary art centres located in the heart of Paris. Suddenly, at the central staircase, a grandiose installation by Chan Aye stops the group in its track. “It was the first time they saw contemporary art from Myanmar,” says the guide,

young independent curator Jo-ey Tang. “They were amazed. It speaks well for the power of Chan Aye’s work, and how new encounters and opportunities for his installation titled ‘Aurore/Dawn’, could produce a new cultural experience.” The residency program, Le Pavillon, invites six artists each year (among them this year Aung Ko) to immerse

themselves for eight months in Paris. The first half is spent seeking inspiration and reflection, the second with individual work. Each artist, advised later by a curator from Palais de Tokyo, will then create a work exhibited by the institution during Spring 2015. The title of this year’s exhibition is, ‘Secret Archipelago’. Chan Aye and Aung Ko’s inclusion was made

Ko Shwe by Aung Ko, with figures of human size, their faces moulded from the artist’s own features, reflecting on society in a political context. Mixed technique, fiberglass, 2014. Photo by courtesy of the artist.

February 2015 / InDepth

ART 9

10 SHOWTIME

February 2015 / InDepth

ART 11

possible by the collaboration of Palais de Tokyo with the massive oil company ‘Total Corporate Foundation’ through the program ‘Emerging Talent in Emerging Economies’. As stated by the Palais: “Institutions have the responsibility to seek out new connections and trajectories. As part of its international mission, Palais de Tokyo wishes to engage with artists from all parts of the world in new ways, to deepen the knowledge of all forms of art and the exchange of ideas.” Jo-ey Tang, a native of Hong Kong, was the appointed curator for the current project. He had the mission to select two artists from Myanmar, as one of the first country’s to be focused on during the three-year program. “It was an organic process, which began with a period of preparatory research, followed by a trip to Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong and email exchanges with some key figures from the Myanmar art scene to help lay the groundwork,” remembers Mr. Tang. The final selection rhymed with the nature of the two different projects the artists would be involved in. For the on-site installation which opened in December 2014, the chosen artist, Chan Aye, had to create something big and unusual during a three week period spent on the spot. “We knew that we would want to bring in fresh voices from the scene” says Mr. Tang. “I spent three weeks in Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi, I met over 40 artists. In Myanmar, the incredible network of artists guided me to other artists. I kept my ears to the ground, talked and listened.” From Sketches to Fulfillment Late October 2014, Chan Aye talks in his Yangon flat about the project he has in mind for Paris. While conversing, he hands over a hard-cover notebook which seems to have survived long decades. Articles related to art in every way, texts that have been cut out from different foreign newspapers appear, mostly from the 1970s and 80s. This unique ‘novel’ is the result of years of collecting: when still a young artist, a close friend working in a library would provide him the international periodicals (Newsweek, Time…) that could convey some information on the latest moves of the outside art world. It is a way to seek thoughts and reinforce inner intuitions when creating his paintings and big scale sculptures, avoiding the so traditional and conventional path that had to be officially followed. Chan

Chan Aye in front of his installation ‘Aurore’ (Dawn) in the central staircase of Palais de Tokyo. Photo by Aurélien Mole

Aye’s works are a fusion of solid materials, time, space, science and spiritual philosophy – contrasting elements that create an everlasting beauty. Many of these works could never be achieved, until now. Aung Ko, 26 years younger than Chan Aye, was born in a different time, not too far from experiencing some elementary changes in his environment, but already turning 30 when the current transition period arose. His art goes from painting to installation, mixing sculpture with land-art and performance – quite typical of the latest generation of Myanmar contemporary artists who try to seek beyond borders. He founded, for instance, the Thuye’dan Village Art Project, inviting mostly Yangon-based artists to work with villagers in an exchange of knowledge. They inspired the children to make works that would not have been possible in the city, whether it is due to space limitations or censorship. Since Aung Ko’s work is focusing on creating new contexts for others, the Paris curator chose him for the residency, being curious about what might ‘transpire’ to him in a new environment. “Having two artists from two different generations allows a succinct view into the vibrancy and the diversity of Myanmar contemporary art scene that I hope will be not only surprising to the audience, but will reverberate and make the world take notice of the artistic scene in Myanmar,” adds Mr Tang. The curious thing about Spring 2015 in Paris is that the audience will not only encounter Myanmar art brought by the

wind of the Palais de Tokyo, but also through the breeze arriving from the Grand Palais, also located in one of the ‘chic’ districts of the French capital. The ‘big palace’ will host the next edition of ‘Art Paris Art Fair’ focusing this year on South-East Asia. Independent critic and curator Iola Lenzi, expert of the region, working recently on several projects including

the Myanmar art scene, has been asked to prepare a platform among the other programs of the fair, allowing a wider approach of the area still unknown for many. Myanmar art will therefore appear in various forms, finally able to enlarge the spectrum and vision that the international audience may have already gained up to this day. g

12 COVER STORY

The only way is up... Taylah

February 2015 / InDepth

Photos by Gerhard Joren

February 2015 / InDepth

COVER STORY 13

Next Wave Fashion Emerging talent, Taylah, has been hailed as one of Myanmar’s next up-and-coming young fashion designers. Her distinctive fashion line, Poise Couture, was featured at a Jaguar-sponsored event last November. She’s since been booked out to create everything from drifty, dreamy haute couture with a provocative edge to tailored and ready-to-wear pieces. She speaks to Manny Maung about having smarts, a plucky demeanour and a love for beads that has helped her to come crashing forth into Myanmar’s traditionally conservative fashion realm.

he first thing I notice about Taylah is how energetic she is. She comes out to the street to welcome me to her studio and I can’t help but notice how fast she walks. She’s dressed in a skirthtamein of a bright coral colour that stands out against the whitewashed walls of her home’s compound in up-town Yangon. I expect Taylah to walk with the slow, hypnotic gait that appears symbiotic with a Myanmar woman dressed in traditional attire, but she doesn’t dawdle. Instead she briskly hustles me toward her studio at the back of her family home and immediately launches into discussing the day’s business—my interview with her. “I felt like I was dying”, Taylah says of her previous career in hospitality. As she tried to make a break in the frenetic world of shift-work, hotels and front desk management, Taylah says she longed for something more. Then and now: Taylah reflects on the past as she looks forward to new beginnings

“I couldn’t see myself in the hospitality business forever,” Taylah says as she sits down behind her desk. “The same people were in the same positions, often for 10 years or more. I wanted to study fashion and design and I wanted to do it outside Myanmar.” Her parents, after much persuading, finally relented to Taylah attending design school in Singapore. They had earlier put up a fight because her older brother had also followed a career in the creative industries. “They wanted at least one of the siblings to have a practical endeavour, I think,” Taylah reflects. As it turns out, both have become independently successful of each other. Now 30, Taylah, runs her own high-end fashion line while her brother, 32, is a creative arts director of a prominent advertising agency. While she hand-designs and creates all her pieces individually, Tayla says she relies heavily on her brother’s advice as a stylist and art director to help pull together collections for the larger events and fashion shows. The sleek collection Taylah showcased for Jaguar’s launch in Myanmar last year was the result of one of these joint efforts to launch her work. Highly sophisticated, modern and sexy, the line is starkly different from what we’re used to seeing coming from Myanmar designers. It’s clear that Taylah has been heavi-

ly influenced overseas and she says she learns from every designer she discovers.

beads cross-stitched in a particular method that I can’t process, even as Taylah patiently explains the process.

“Alexander McQueen has strong energy and Ellisap from the United States is currently one of my favourites.” Taylah rattles off a few more designers of which I had to ask “who?” several times to.

Taylah says she draws from a wide breadth of inspiration, from the colours of the seasons to buildings designed by modern architects such as Daniel Libeskind and Ole Scheeren. The geometric patterns and cool metallic colours of these architects do follow through in many of her pieces.

At this point in the conversation, I’m feeling remarkably uncool but Taylah puts me at ease. “Hey, it’s not easy,” she reassures me. “I had to study for years and learn about buttons and cross-stitch and sewing. Finding inspiration isn’t easy either; you have to feel the mood for what’s in season, you have to constantly think about what your next inspiration will be.” She says she struggles with creating classically Myanmar-style designs, but her Crystal Snow collection has landed her on the front covers of the country’s better known fashion magazines and she’s been able to attract some of the more prominent fashion photographers to work with her on shoots. The opulently adorned, heavily hand-beaded twopiece tuille costumes from the Crystal Snow collection couldn’t be anything more than classical Myanmar, in vivid pinks and canary yellows. Each dress features her signature eyelet designer’s mark, and hundreds of

She’s methodical with her research, carefully scrapbooking and labelling every image or item that she can use in one of her own designs. She’s also tidy, almost meticulous. A panoply of beads, buttons and materials line the walls of her storeroom in carefully compartmentalized hangers and shelves, and she knows where each item is carefully stored. Tayla has more goals for the coming months: To hire some seamstresses to help with the orders she’s receiving for bespoke designs and to see how she can apply to attend fashion school in New York. “I don’t want to go to New York just because they have the biggest fashion school but because they teach the types of creations that I want to learn,” Tayla insists. “I’ve learned from teachers from London, Australia and Europe but it’s just not the same.” g

February 2015 / InDepth

14 MOTOR The Range Rover

The Go-Anywhere Luxury SUV Land Roverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagship Range Rover offers unbeatable lavishness and comfort with rugged ability to weather any terrain. Mimi Wu reports on her experience with the iconic car and an open road.

February 2015 / InDepth

MOTOR 15

o be considered “possibly the best off road vehicle in the world” by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson is an honor. Yet Range Rover finds no reason to boast. There is no loud revving engine, no flashy headlights, and no complicated navigation. Instead, its solid body tempered with understated elegance says it all. The Range Rover is perfect for navigating all terrains, whether that is a rocky road or the most posh venues. This is Land Rover’s most luxurious Range Rover to date, and I had the privilege of test driving it. The Range Rover has an air of quality. Physically, the SUV is imposing with a high frame and long body, which Land Rover has smoothed out to give a rounder and chicer appearance. The new Range Rover is also 420 kilograms lighter than its predecessor, thanks to an all aluminum body.

Inspection of the trunk revealed a rear hatch with split tailgate that can store 909 liters of space. The split tailgate – a Range Rover trademark feature – is all about functionality. The lower gate prevents items from falling out if the car is on a steep incline. A completely opened lower gate allows the trunk to serve as any normal rear storage area should. Lowered, it also becomes a platform for sitting and standing when you go camping, to the beach, or to a sports game. Should you have a longer item, a control panel automatically adjusts the back seats to form a flat bed for an extra 381 liters of space. No longer do you need to wrestle with headrests and pulleys. The car doors are thick and feel expensive. Even though the starting chassis level is low enough to make the SUV look sedan-like, I still had to steady myself for the climb up into the car. This, of course, was unnecessary, as Land Rover has put the user experience first. A retractable step glided out to allow for graceful alighting into the throne-like Command Driving Position. I closed the door and settled into the plush seat and a vacuum of silence. At once, I felt protected, calm, comfortable, and important. Is this what a celebrity feels like? Inside, I first noticed how neat and minimalist the center console is. The touch screen controls everything from the Meridian™ sound system, which provides a concert hall experience, to the navigation tools. These include rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, and navigation maps. Additionally, you can build memory settings for seat adjustments and operate the panoramic sunroof that extends to the spacious back seats. What really excited me was the front seat massage option, which is quite subtle but welcomed. Other options included in Yangon’s Range Rover base models include four-zone climate controls, Bluetooth, a rear-seat entertainment system, and a surround camera system. After marveling at the Range Rover’s supple leather and wood veneer interior accents, I was finally ready to drive. The car has a push button start and when initiated, the gear knob ascends from the center console. Rather than a traditional shift stick, I simply turned the dial to the gear I needed. There is a quiet diesel engine start, yet even when accelerating, there’s

nothing rambunctious or arrogant about it. As I eased into traffic, and onto bumpier roads, I noticed immediately how composed the car is due to Range Rover’s Adaptive Dynamics feature, which monitors the vehicle’s movements and reacts instantaneously. The chassis is also highly effective at absorbing impacts to minimize creaks and rocking. With such a large car, being spritely isn’t intuitively the most fitting description. However, Range Rover’s 600 nm of torque (and as mentioned before, lighter body) allows the SUV to accelerate quickly when required in traffic with a smooth power delivery and no turbo lags. Comfort aside, the Range Rover is beloved for its ability to climb and depart steep angles. The car can also wade in nearly one meter of water, no easy feat for any SUV but a persuasive feature for drivers in flood-prone Myanmar. The car’s terrain response system allows the driver to select different settings depending on the driving surface, and the car frame itself adjusts up or down with the touch of a button. The Range Rover has been incredibly popular in Yangon – customers have been known to purchase three

vehicles at a time. They not only appreciate its striking appearance, lush interior, and smooth ride, but also its navigational versatility. In short, the SUV is an adventurer dressed in a tuxedo, humbly functional yet utterly refined. Test drive your own Range Rover today at: Capital Automotive Ltd. No. 3, Ward 12, Insein Road, Hlaing Tsp 01 966 9036

Price (Starting) Engine Fuel Economy Power Torque Maximum Speed Acceleration (0-100 kph) Weight

$266,000 TDV6 190KW City: 13.9 L/100 km Highway: 10.2 L/100 km 340 to 510 HP 600 nm 210 kph 7.9 seconds 2,160 kg

February 2015 / InDepth

16 TRAVEL

Cooling off in a secret lagoon

Unexpected Rakhine Bryan Berenguer explores the remote islands of Rakhine State

t 8am the Myanmar Airways International hostess woke me gently, letting me know this was my stop. I wiped my eyes, grabbed my small backpack and headed out. When I descended the stairs and reached the tarmac, an immigration officer appeared in front of me with a stern face. She held up a Myanmar passport (I assumed as an example), pointed to it and then to the small building that served as the airport. I smiled and asked her in Burmese if she was offering me Myanmar citizenship. She looked at me seriously for a few seconds and the straight line of her closed mouth tilted upward then quickly went back to a flat line of seriousness. She turned and walked hurriedly towards the building, motioning me to follow her to a large table where she entered my passport details into three thick ledgers. These would be the only entries made that day. Welcome to Kyauk Phyu. Kyauk Phyu, on Ramree Island, is almost halfway between Ngapali and Sittwe. Primarily a fishing and trading town, it lies across from the mainland where an oil and gas pipeline has been built, linking the Bay of Bengal with southern China. There are a few gas prospectors living here, but none are in sight. We had booked into one of the two beachfront hotels in the town, and were the only guests. After checking in, we walked down to the white-sand beach in front of the hotel and fell asleep in the sun.

I was woken an hour later with the rising tide, the small waves lapping at my feet. I moved towards the shade of the umbrellas set further up on the beach, and ran into some travelling companions who had come by boat from Sittwe. With the help of the hotel staff,

The frantic business of island hopping in Rakhine State

we organised two rickety motorbikes and some lunch, and took off south looking for a good isolated beach to spend the day. Driving past small villages and smiling waving faces, we eventually turned down a gravel road, trying to locate an entrance to the beach.

February 2015 / InDepth

TRAVEL 17

All we found was a narrow footpath leading across dry rice fields then on to a wooded area. Parking the bikes behind a bamboo fence, in the shade of acacia trees, we set off down the trail, across the rice fields, and past small houses where people were attending to small vegetable gardens. We eventually came to a nipa-lined stream about four meters across and, we hoped, no more than waist deep. I mentioned jokingly that I had recently read about the Battle of Ramree Island, fought in 1945, which was best known for around 500 Japanese soldiers being eaten by thousands of saltwater crocodiles. The Guinness Book of World Records had listed it, both as the ‘Worst Crocodile Disaster in the World’, and as the ‘Most Number of Fatalities in a Crocodile Attack’. Without any further questions, I was elected to be the first to ford the stream, with the others waiting a good distance away. I made it across with all limbs intact and located a path on the other side. The others hesitantly followed, looking for ripples in the water as they made their way across. Another 30 metres on past the bank we exited the undergrowth onto one of the most pristine beaches I have come across in Rakhine state; white sand and blue water, here and there dotted by small canoe-like boats anchored near the shore, and not a person in sight. We walked a few hundred metres to a grove of coconut trees and settled in for the afternoon; reading, swimming, doing headstands and somersaults, and everything else one does at the beach where there is no one around. Some hours later, with the sun getting low in the sky, we decided to head back to the motorbikes, using a different trail that we’d found behind the coconut grove. Unfortunately, we quickly became lost, fording an increasing number of streams not previously crossed. We eventually came to a small homestead where a woman was tending a small fire. She guided us to the road, trying her best to chat with us along the way. I could only understand a fraction of her heavy local dialect. We arrived back at the hotel just before sunset, in time for a few drinks on the beach and a Rakhine-style seafood dinner under the stars. Island hopping The next day the hotel organised a boat trip to the nearby island, Se-kyun, which is about an hour’s trip from Kyauk Phyu Jetty No 1. The hotel staff took us to a jetty on the eastern side of the town where there was a floating market. Boats bustled in and out and people walked on the narrow raised paths carrying improbable loads of goods. We boarded a large boat, and sprawled out on the floor above the engine that had been fitted out nicely with a blanket-roof for shade. Halfway out to the island, we asked the captain to drop a fishing line off the back of the boat to do some trolling. Within minutes a 1.5 metre barracuda was hooked and the crew pulled it in with ease. With everyone satisfied that we’d caught at least one fish on our ride, we settled in to enjoy the rest of the journey on the deep blue water, happy to ignore the fishing line that had been newly re-set.

Village life on Rakhine waters

Mid-morning we arrived at the island of Se-kyun, and managed to call a small nearby boat to take us into the shallow bay. This is an uninhabited island often used by fishermen to untangle their nets, dry fish, and escape from the midday sun. We jumped off onto the palm-lined beach and walked to the eastern side of the island, away from the few fishermen who were busy taking fish out of their nets. Turning the first corner, we came across a stunning small bay wrapped by rock and reef. It was tempting to drop our bags and spend the day there, but we moved on to see what lay past the bay. We found a series of bays, each more beautiful than the other, with massive holes in the rocky shore, big enough to dive into and swim out to the ocean on the other side. We dropped our bags and spread out under the shade of a palm to pass the day. The following hours were spent swimming, searching for shells, and meditating in blissful isolation. The captain of our boat eventually came over to see if we hadn’t been washed out to sea. I took a 30 minute walk around the island with him. Se-kyun is full of pristine beaches on all sides, except for the west side, which consists only of a rocky shoreline. The captain, U Khin Sein, has never landed on the Se-kyun before, passing it by on his various trips. His job was mostly transporting rice, fish and fertiliser to the south-east parts of Kyauk Phyu or to the mainland. The captain told me of all the islands around Kyauk Phyu; large islands like Man-auk in the south, and small islands such Ye-kyun, all with beautiful bays, good fishing, and small huts for transient fishermen to rest. When we finished circumnavigating the island, we stopped to talk to fishermen who were drying fish on the beach, and managed to convince an expert climber to scale some trees along the beach for the only source of fresh water on the island, coconuts. This took longer than expected and after everyone had tamed their thirst with coconut water, and their stomachs with the fleshy copra, it was time to head back to Kyauk Phyu. The ride back was quiet and the water calm.We quickly fell asleep on the deck, waking only on our arrival back to Kyauk Phyu at dusk. On the short walk back to the hotel the sight of our catch of fish brought nods

of approval from passing motorbike drivers and calls from the women in the roadside shops. We asked the kitchen staff to grill half the fish and fry the other half, supplying us with more food than we could eat, along with our Myanmar beer. Sunburned, full, and content, the remaining hours were spent on the beach searching for constellations in the night sky as we sat listening to the ocean. We watched the moon move across the clear Rakhine sky, and fell asleep on the beach, only to wake up early morning in time to shower and catch the 8am flight back to Yangon. g

kyauk phyu

Yangon

Kyauk Phyu is a 22 hour bus ride from Yangon or a short flight from Yangon International Airport

18 IMPRESSIONS

February 2015 / InDepth

SEARCHING FOR THEROUX ON THE MANDALAY EXPRESS By Bob Percival

he Mandalay Express (5 UP) is scheduled to leave Yangon from Platform 1 at 3.00pm. I arrive two hours early. Everything takes longer here. It is hot, and it will only get worse. In Myanmar, waiting is a way of life. Waiting for the bus, waiting for the train, waiting for the rain to come. There is already talk about when the monsoon will break, and that isn’t for another four months. And of course, the biggest wait of all is for the promised open election at the end of 2015.

Paul Theroux had written about the Mandalay Express in two of his travel books. Once in 1971 in The Great Train Bazaar and again in 2008 in Ride The Red Rooster. I wanted to write an essay about how Burma had changed since his first journey, and also explore in what particular ways Theroux had seen Burma. Some critics have marked him as pompous and imperialistic, even misanthropic. Others accuse him of being his own mythmaker. It is no longer possible for the author just to be a writer.

Early morning on the Mandalay Express. Photo by Bob Percival

His words can be cynical, bitter and mocking, but they are never bland. At times they are capable of deep compassion, and sublime beauty. Theroux had caught the early morning express, which left before dawn; he saw Yangon as an artist would see the floating world: “I arrived at this hour: the bats were tumbling past the crows, and the pale yellow sky was inked like Burmese silk with the brush marks of the black bodies.”

February 2015 / InDepth

IMPRESSIONS 19 ing to topple. Young girls walk beside the train with crimson umbrellas. The grandmother throws a plastic bag out the window, as though offering a flower to the gods. It took Theroux five minutes to leave the city and enter the country. Now it takes forty.

A betel nut smile. Photo by Griffin Hotchkiss

In The Great Train Bazaar he describes the Burmese people as, “… like a royal breed, strikingly handsome in this collapsing city, a race of dispossessed princes.” Theroux could really turn a phrase; it reads like some form of exotic voyeurism. Today on the platform, I can see only one old man smoking a cheroot, his feet doubled up on the red plastic chair, his eyes looking off into a contemplative distance. Women, children and monks filled the other seats. The large overhead fans are turned off for some unknown reason, and the birds chirp from the steel tress rafters. A little boy dressed in red pyjamas squeaks past with his squeaky shoes, his face and shaven head spotted with thanaka. Small islands of families are sprawled out on the cool terrazzo floors, reading comics and newspapers, eating out of stainless-steel tiffin, and cooling themselves with cheap pink paper fans. The Burmese are voracious readers. There are seventeen daily newspapers on offer just in Yangon alone. Most of the people on the platform appear silent and lethargic, relaxed and thoughtful; you sweat just sitting still. The piercing sound of a long whining horn belches from the departing 1.00pm train to Pyay. It sounds like a prehistoric animal in pain. A young Bengali girl waves from a window of the ordinary class carriage, and two monks peer out through blackrimmed glasses from an upper class compartment, serious and business like. A young man comes and sits down next to me. He is chewing beetle nut, and has a wide about-to-spit-red smile. He takes the pen from my hand and sprawls his flourishing signature across the page of my book with pride. He gives me another beetle-nut smile, red and salivating; then spends the next half-hour trying to teach me a small part of the Burmese alphabet. There are over two hundred and fifty vowel/consonant sounds to learn. Myanmar people are proud and patient. Patient with its government and their promised reforms, and fiercely proud of their own ethnicity and religion, a

pride that has the potential to rip Myanmar apart at the seams. One of Myanmar’s greatest challenges, if democracy comes, will be to overcome the sectarian and ethnic hatred that exists just below the surface in this ‘land of smiles.’ Aung San Soo Kyi, the ‘Mother’ of modern Myanmar, has been presented to the world as the one saviour of modern Myanmar. Even this narrative is starting to unravel into a new tangle of rumour and mistrust. The Mandalay Express finally arrives. There is a gentle and quiet rush of passengers to the gates, a marked change from the mayhem and anarchy of Chinese and Indian train stations. Once on board, the sleeping compartment is clean and bright, with crisp white sheets and freshly ironed pillowcases. I am sharing the compartment with an American guy, and a Burmese grandmother and her three-year-old granddaughter. The grandmother calls for the guard to change compartments, not feeling comfortable to be alone with two foreign men. She is told she has to stay-put.

Looking out the window of the Mandalay Express is like looking at Indian cinema. There are a few nervous smiles, companions in travel. The grandmother and child are quiet. The American is loud. In his own modest way he begins to tell me what an accomplished photographer he is. I decide it’s safer just to stare out the window. As the train pulls away all that can be seen is a junkyard of plastic bags littering the embankment, a motif throughout the trip. In the near distance the spires of St Mary’s cathedral rise above the grime and smog of the city; the shanty houses, built of scrap iron and timber, pass by. A nearby concrete apartment-block appears to tilt earthwards, an anarchic growth of wooden verandas and staircases sprout from its side, threaten-

The train rides the rail with a gentle up and down movement, like that of a horse at canter. It is the end of the day and the light and shade of the countryside merges into the sky. Looking out the window of the Mandalay Express is like looking at Indian cinema. The images flash past, one long continuous camera shot… three young women dressed in exquisitely coloured longyi walking across a dusty hot field, adorned with thanaka, red lipstick, and hair-ties… a wild bison runs through the dry paddy field, its dust trail picking up the colours of a crumbling sunset… two women standing at the edge of a track, hands on hips, looking… two men walking along the banked ridges of the paddy fields, talking and smoking cheroot… a sheet of electric blue sky intersects with an expanse of spring green land… green paddy fields lay soft against broken wooden fences… pink lilies float in green ponds… the dusk air holds the smell sweating vegetation… a golden pagoda catches the last light of day. Theroux would have seen similar images but chose not to write them. He did write of the wretchedness of the trip, “moving north in a straight line the heat drugs the train passenger into thinking he is disappearing down Burma’s gullet.” He wrote very little about the actual journey. He is too purposeful for that. His interest is in examining a country from the inside, not the outside. He was however very intoxicated with a Burmese girl seen from the train, “…it was a beautiful sight on this sunny morning… the cascade of black hair, swaying under the comb… her feet planted apart, her arms caressing her lovely mane.” It doesn’t take long before the train ceases its canter and breaks into a full galloping stride. The carriages jump and sway, rearing up from the buckled rails beneath. This wild rampage doesn’t let up for another next twelve hours. It is as though someone very large is jumping up and down at the end of your bed, hour after hour, relentlessly. What initially is a captivating travel experience quickly becomes a nightmare of sleeplessness; a long slow torture, punctuated by brief moments of respite when the train pulls into a stop. It is the Mandalay Express after all. The grandmother and her granddaughter have no trouble sleeping curled up against each other, young and old; the American wanders into the night looking for someone to talk to. Early the next morning we pull into Mandalay station. I am shattered, as is the now speechless American; the grandmother lies on the bed combing her luxurious raven hair, twisting it into a tight bun - the young grandchild looks at me, and smiles for the first time in the whole trip. There is an understanding. I wished Theroux could have been there, hopping of the train with me. We could have sat in a Mandalay teahouse, or a beer station, drinking, being cynical and misanthropic for hours. After that we could have talked about all the beautiful things in life. g

February 2015 / InDepth

20 BOOKS

INVASION OF THE TROUSER PEOPLE

A forgotten Scottish explorer of colonial-era Burma helped Andrew Marshall discover a land of startling human diversity

t was the diaries that brought me to Myanmar. They were kept in the British Library in London, and only a handful of scholars had ever dusted them off before me. I could understand why. Blotched with jungle mould, and unimproved by later decades in a damp English attic, the diaries were virtually illegible. But I read them with growing excitement. They belonged to Sir George Scott, a forgotten Victorian adventurer who hacked, bullied and charmed his way through uncharted jungles to establish British colonial rule in what was then called Burma. Born in Scotland in 1851, Scott was a die-hard imperialist. He had a fondness for super-sized pith helmets and a bluffness of expression that bordered on the Pythonesque. “Stepped on something soft and wobbly,” he records in his diary one dark night. “Struck a match, found it was a dead Chinaman.” The diaries noted jungle firefights with angry natives,

bullets flying everywhere, and as Scott strode unarmed into a hail of spears and buckshot there were manly exchanges like this: “Have a revolver if you are going on,” called out the Colonel. “Send me a box of matches, my pipe’s out,” returned Scott. Reading the jungle diaries, I formed an impression of Scott as rough and artless. But that was only half the story. As I discovered by retracing the explorer’s footsteps, Scott was also a pioneering photographer, as well as a gifted and prolific writer. His masterpiece, The Burman, published in 1882 was still in print today. It is an unrivalled authority on everything Burmese, from ear-boring and exorcism to monastery construction and the funeral requirements of sacred white elephants. Scott spent half of his working life in the remote and rugged mountains of Shan State. Ancient migration routes between India, China, Tibet and Assam had seeded this wilderness with a baffling array of ethnic groups, each evolving outlandish customs quite distinct from those of the majority Burman people who populated the lowlands. Some tribes ruled mountain fiefdoms half the size of England; others occupied a single hilltop and spoke a language unintelligible to their neighbours in the valley below.

George Scott with fellow football players in Rangoon in

es before reaching the Wa tongue. “They are an exceedingly well-behaved, industrious, and estimable race,” Scott wrote of the Wa,”were it not for the one foible of cutting strangers’ heads off and neglecting ever to wash themselves.” After months spent deciphering Scott’s diaries, I found myself embarking on an obsessive quest to rescue this singular Scotsman from obscurity. My travels took me from the moldering colonial splendor of Yangon to the fabled royal capital of Mandalay, then up

Scott plunged into this great unknown to record tribal customs and photograph a way of life that had remained unchanged for centuries. One of these tribes was known as the Wild Wa – headhunters with betel-blackened teeth who lived in skull-ringed mud fortresses and, rather incongruously considering their savage reputation, claimed to be descended from tadpoles.

Scott with a fellow footballer in Rangoon in 1878.

Negotiating jungle paths strewn with decapitated corpses, Scott became the first European to study them in depth. Cunningly, he once disarmed a party of headhunters by telling a joke so funny that it survived being translated through four separate tribal languag-

Scott (far left) exploring the Shan Hills in 1890. He holds a pocket watch to time this self-portrait.

February 2015 / InDepth

BOOKS 21

the Banyok people (who worshiped their dogs in an annual ceremony) and the En (who ate them). I had followed Scott’s brief exegesis on the Karen’s use of chicken bones to divine the future. I knew that the Kachin believe that the movement of giant subterranean crocodiles causes earthquakes, while the Eastern Tai are convinced that eclipses are the work of a moon-swallowing frog who must be frightened off by gong-beating and gunfire. I no longer confuse the Yindu people with the Yaw, the Yao or the Yo. 1879

into the tribal highlands where Scott had his greatest adventures and closest shaves. Along the way, I discovered that foreigners were nicknamed “the trouser people” by the country’s sarong-wearing civilians. Part of Scott’s job was to map Myanmar’s lawless frontiers with China, and for years its eastern border was marked by something called the “Scott line.” But he also widened the imperial goalposts in another way: he introduced football to Burma, where today it is a national obsession. The boisterous Burmese loved the game, Scott noted, “because it’s just like fighting.”

the smallest village. Nothing escapes its omniscient sweep. It knows, for example, that the saopha’s revenue from opium and liquor in Hsipaw State in 1897-8 was 18,132 rupees. It knows that in Kengteng five annas will buy you four duck eggs and still leave change for a custard apple.

In 1891 Scott began work on his great five-volume Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States. Brick thick and turgid with detail, gazetteers were the blunt instruments of colonial administration. Today they squat, massive and many-volumed, on forgotten shelves in library basements, dusty reminders that the Empire was won not just by force of arms, but also by sheer tonnage of paperwork.

But Scott’s Gazetteer was much more than a dry imperial stocktaking. It was a fathomless resource on the origins, customs and languages of Burma’s ethnic peoples, written not in the stilted prose of a bureaucrat, but with the flair and passion of an experienced journalist. Even a century after its publication, the Gazetteer had an almost biblical authority. In Burma I met an American gem-dealer and a Canadian Red Cross worker who both swore by Scott’s magnum opus. I bought my treasured copy at a Yangon bookshop. It wasn’t great bedtime reading; that would be like propping the Ten Commandments on your chest. But with a firm table, and some quality time, the Gazetteer was endlessly absorbing.

They are psychotically fastidious. Scott’s Gazetteer records every man, woman, child, bullock, buffalo, cow, pig and pony in the Shan states, along with the geography, ethnicity and chief produce of even

I now knew that Kachin warriors usually make war just before the moon rises, and make love in purpose-built “bachelor huts” – the love hotels of the jungle. I had learned the crucial difference between

Even the index was a rewarding read. Looking up one eye- catching entry – “Headhunting, rules for its conduct” – I read that, among the Wa, “to behead a man from a community even on the same range of hills is looked upon as unneighbourly and slothful.” The Gazetteer also scotched the myths of earlier observers, disagreeing, for example, with a rival’s flamboyant contention that the Ling tribe solves the problem of coping with elderly relations by eating them. How could Scott – who had once been a living legend in Myanmar – be so little known today? The answer was obvious: Scott had been forgotten because Myanmar had been forgotten. Now, after nearly half a century of isolation, the country has become one of Asia’s hottest tourist destinations. Once again, foreigners are pouring into this little-known land of startling human diversity. So begins a new – and much more welcome – invasion of the trouser people. A fully revised edition of The Trouser People: Burma in the Shadows of the Empire is published by River Books and available on Kindle and at all good bookstores. Andrew Marshall is a Southeast Asia Special Correspondent for Reuters news agency. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2014 for his journalism. For more information: www.thetrouserpeople.com

February 2015 / InDepth

22 FOOD

Juan Gallardo, having fun as he mixes the paste to create the taste in Shan State

shan food Juan Gallardo, author of Delicious Myanmar, describes his fascination for Myanmar cuisine and offers up three great offerings from Shan State.

f Asian food is one of the best and most varied in the world, imagine a country with its own delicious cuisine plus a healthy addition of other Asian ingredients and cooking styles. I first went to Myanmar in 2012 and in addition to all the beautiful places and extraordinary people I found there, I discovered its amazing food. I was fascinated by the strong influence from neighbouring countries such as India, China, Thailand, Bangladesh and Laos not only in culture, art and religion, but also in cuisine. It was then that I decided to learn all about its cuisine. I travelled all over the country meeting locals and asking them to cook their favourite dish for me. This gave me the opportunity to interact with them on a personal level and learn first-hand about their culture and customs. Myanmar people are a proud people, and they leave a lasting impression. Your heart will be touched with their warmth and sincerity, and their kindness and

generosity. Burmese cuisine is very healthy, favouring fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish products like fish sauce, fish paste (ngapi) and fermented seafood. Shan State is one of the most popular states in Myanmar for tourists, not only because of its cuisine, but also because of the variety of attractions it offers. It is located in the mid-eastern section of Myanmar, and the capital Taunggyi is famous for its hot air balloon festival. Shan State is also famous for beautiful Inle Lake, where the floating gardens, the local villages, and the unique one-leg paddling technique of fishing boats will fascinate you.

the local chefs they’d say, “as you like it”... “depends on your taste.” In other words, be creative and have fun adjusting the ingredients to your own taste. Shan Noodles

For adventurers, Hsipaw and Kalaw are two great towns to be in touch with nature and do trekking, while the Kakku Pagodas is a must see religious site. Photo by Myanmar Travel Essentials Here are three of the most popular and authentic Shan State food dishes for you to try your hand at. It’s important to note there are no specifications for how much of each ingredient to add. When I asked

Shan noodles are one of the most popular dishes in Myanmar. You will find them in every teahouse and restaurant. You can have them either as a soup or as a salad, and in both cases the sauce is the same. The

February 2015 / InDepth

FOOD 23

noodles are different. The ones used in the soup are sticky and flat rice noodles, while the ones used in the salad are thick and round rice noodles.

For cooking the rice there is no trick, just wash it, add water, turmeric powder for the yellow colour, salt and a little bit of chicken powder.

To prepare the sauce, they blend tomatoes and then add salt, sugar, oil, sugar cane sauce and paprika. After that, everything goes in a pot to boil.

There are two different tomato sauces, one to mix with the rice and another one to put on top of the rice cake. For the first one, cut tomatoes in half, add salt and cook them in a pot until you have a sauce. Leave to cool. Remove the tomato skin.

The ingredients for the soup are: boiling water, flat sticky rice noodle, tomato sauce, salt, sugar, sugar cane sauce, fermented soy bean powder, oil-garlic-turmeric sauce, spring onions and coriander. The ingredients for the salad are: thick rice noodle, tomato sauce, salt, sugar, sugar cane sauce, cooked bean powder (dah), oil-garlic-turmeric sauce, spring onions and coriander. Shan Yellow Rice Cake with Tomato Sauce

Photo by Myanmar Travel Essentials

This is one of the dishes I tried on my first visit to Myanmar. It stuck with me and I definitely had to learn how to cook it. It’s so good!

Then you stir the yellow rice to make it a little bit sticky and mix it with this tomato sauce. Before pouring all the tomato sauce, separate some in a bowl and add turmeric oil. Use this mix to wet your hands and season the rice cake while you shape it. The second tomato sauce to add on top of the cake is the key ingredient. To prepare it, heat oil and add onions, garlic, fermented soya bean powder, dried chilli powder and turmeric powder. Then add grained tomatoes, salt and chicken powder.

Black Sesame Seed and Sticky Rice Cake (Khor Poat)

Photo by Myanmar Travel Essentials

This is a very traditional snack in Shan State, made with purple rice, black and round sesame seeds and salt. It is really interesting to see how they prepare it. They place the cooked rice into a stone ‘bowl’ situated in the ground and add black round sesame seeds (already mashed) and salt. Then there is a ‘wooden machine’ that smashes and mixes this, making a dough.

At this point you can also add coriander or spring onion, and chicken or pork.

When it is sold, the dough is separated into small portions of the same size and wraps it in banana leaf so it won’t dry.

There is always another side sauce to add on top of the cake; a turmeric garlic sauce is common. Just heat oil, fry garlic and then add turmeric powder. I love this crunchy-garlic touch!

The most popular and tasty way of having this dish is fried or barbequed, although you can also eat it raw. It is usually eaten in winter and served with brown sugar or jaggery on the side. It only costs 100–200 kyats.

Any cracker such as pork skin, bean or rice goes perfectly with this dish.

Next time you are in Shan State, don’t forget to try these delicious dishes and enjoy them as I did.

Conjuring up a feast: Black sesame seed and sticky rice cake Photo by Myanmar Travel Essentials

For more info: www.deliciousmyanmar.com

24 CHEF’S PROFILE

February 2015 / InDepth

Ma Moe Moe Khaing. Photo by Hong Sar

Local Master chef As part of the recent tourism boom in Myanmar, Myanmar Hospitality Professionals Association was established to improve the standard and skills of people in the hospitality industry in this country. Ma Moe Moe Khaing, Myanmar award-winning chef with around 10 years of experience in European Fine Dining Cuisine, has recently become one of the association’s chef trainers, fulfilling her dream of contributing to her much loved homeland. Ma Moe Moe Khaing talks with Natty Tangmeesang on her passion and dedication in reaching this level of culinary expertise.

eginning at ten years old, Moe Moe Khaing loved to be a kitchen helper to her mother. It was here that she first developed her inquisitiveness for food preparation. “Cooking has been my passion since I was young,” Moe Moe Khaing recalled. When she was old enough to work, she followed this passion. In 1999, at 17-years-old, Moe Moe Khaing applied for work in the kitchen at the Sedona Hotel, a leading five-star hotel in Yangon. Though the working age in Myanmar was eighteen at that time, she convinced her bosses to start at a younger age. She had one year as a part-time trainee to prove herself. With no background in professional hospitality or cooking, her first step into the kitchen was as Commis

2, the lowest rank, where her main responsibilities were cleaning the kitchen and preparing ingredients. She knew that she had to work harder than others who already had experience from attending culinary training schools. “I had to work an extra two hours in the evening every day after my 9am–5pm shift, so as to learn everything about the kitchen,” she explained. She worked at Sedona Hotel for around 6 years, with her last position as Commis 1, where she was responsible for cooking, and passing on the finished dishes to the chefs for approval. In 2005, through a recruitment agency in Myanmar, Moe Moe Khaing grabbed an opportunity to further pursue her dream of becoming a chef by going to

Dubai. She applied for the position and paid around US$500 to the agency. At that time it was a huge amount of money, as the average income per capita in Myanmar was only around US$237. When accepted, Moe Moe Khaing took a bold decision, leaving her family and her loved ones behind to travel abroad. She was the only woman from Myanmar working in the kitchen at a the five-star Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa. Life in Dubai was challenging. Her first job in the kitchen was as demi chef, assistant-in-charge to the chef; a cool job that she loved. Four months later, she had worked her way up to the French Fine Dining kitchen, despite having a limited knowledge in French cuisine and language.

February 2015 / InDepth

CHEF’S PROFILE 25

“Everyday I had to learn French after work because the chef was French and most of the ingredients were in French,” she said.

In 2014, Moe Moe Khaing saw the milestone developments in her home country and thought it was time to give back.

She had to spend hours at night learning from a simple dictionary, trying to speak as much as French as she could. Thanks to her boss and co-workers who helped her, she quickly improved her language skills along with kitchen skills.

“I wanted to come back and work in Myanmar. I wanted to help my country,” she said.

Moe Moe Khaing experienced a great deal of culture shock and homesickness in Dubai. Her secret to getting through such difficulties was ‘perseverance’. “I had to keep reminding myself that I was in Dubai to gain international-standard knowledge and experience, and to fulfill my dream of becoming a good chef,” she said. She spent four years in the French Fine Dining kitchen and then proceeded to the hotel’s Italian kitchen for 3 years, and then the Tapas bar for the final two years of her nine-year-sojourn in Dubai. During her time there, she proved her excellence by winning many culinary competitions. The Black Box competition was the most arduous as no preparation was allowed prior to the competition. She had to cook nine dishes – three starters, three main courses, and three desserts – from what was supplied inside the Box, within one hour. Despite the challenges, she won this competition twice.

“I wanted to come back and work in Myanmar. I wanted to help my country”

The Myanmar chapter in her career kicked off when she became assistant to Chef Oliver E Soe Thet, Chairman of Myanmar Chefs’ Association, as well as food production trainer at Myanmar Hospitality and Professional Association. “I wanted so much to share my knowledge with others, to be a good trainer, and help in the improvement of young chefs in this country, “ Moe Moe Khaing said of her goals on being back in her homeland.

brother who is a culinary artist specialized in ice carving, food carving, and decoration. With the recent opening up of Myanmar, the tourism and hospitality industry is booming. New high-class restaurants have sprung up on almost every corner in the main areas of Yangon. Moe Moe Khaing intends to be part of this business boom. “It has been my dream to have my own restaurant. I want to open an Italian restaurant. However, it is very difficult for me, due to the high cost of business operations,” she admitted. She hopes to meet potential investors who will make her dream come true. When asked whether she reached the highest point in her journey as a chef, she said that this peak had not been reached yet. “Being a chef, you never give up and you never stop learning,” she said. The next step in the Myanmar chapter for Moe Moe Khaing is to make her country proud. This upcoming June, she will be the first person to represent Myanmar in a Black Box Competition, this year being held in Singapore. g

She also has a plan to open her own culinary training school in the near future; with the support of her

26 FOOD REVIEWS

February 2015 / InDepth

THAI 47 DELICATE

Simply irrisistable: Steamed fish in lime sauce

By Natty Tangmeesang WHAT IS IT? Good news for those living in downtown Yangon – a new Thai restaurant called Thai 47 has recently been opened at the corner of 47th street and Anawratha. Though the owners and chef are Burmese, Thai 47 has developed a wide range of Thai dishes on their menu for you to choose from. The restaurant also has a fancy corner bar set up, ready to whip up different types of cocktails. ATMOSPHERE Step in and the first thing you’ll notice is its modern and stylish décor with displays of many interesting photos, thanks to one of the owners being an avid photographer. Open glass surroundings means diners get to see out as much as passers-by get to see in. There are four private dining rooms on the first floor.

Guests are given full attention, perhaps a tad intrusive but well-intentioned, by the servers. RECOMMENDATION Fans of spicy cuisine will enjoy Goong Chare Nampla (Fresh raw shrimps in spicy garlic, chili, lime juice & fish sauce) and Pad Kapaw (Spicy Basil Leaves Stir Fry) which left my tongue almost burning. My dining companion swore her scalp was on fire! The Chef’s recommendation of Pla Neung Manow – Steam Fish in Lime Sauce – was a decent-sized fish both succulent and flavoursome. The Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai) and Gang Moo Yang Bai Cha Om (Grilled Pork with Acacia Leaf Soup) are also safe bets for those who cannot take the heat. Also, don’t forget the Thai signature dish Tom Yam Goong (Spicy Shrimp Soup), a must in every Thai restaurant.

INDIAN TADKA AROMATIC By Mimi Wu infuses dishes with rich flavors.

Authentic Indian curry

WHAT IS IT? Indian Tadka is an authentic, traditional Indian restaurant with six chefs preparing 300 dishes that represent the country’s vast regional variances. True Indian food is much different from Myanmar-style Indian food in the way it is cooked and spiced. Indian Tadka cooks many items on the tandoor (charcoal-heated clay oven) and isn’t afraid of adding tadka, a spice mixture heated in hot oil that

ATMOSPHERE The owners had the customer experience in mind when designing their restaurant. However, the two-storey restaurant’s six distinct sitting areas attempt to realize too many creative ideas at once. Downstairs is brightly lit and casual, while upstairs is outfitted with a bar, two outdoor seating areas, and a dizzying array of wallpaper and neon ceiling lights. Televisions are found on both levels. RECOMMENDATION Tandoor-cooked items are delicious and oil-free starters. Try the Zafrani Paneer Tikka, a solid but soft cheese much like tofu prepared with saffron and cashew; Tandoori Murgh Tikka, chicken marinated in spicy yogurt for a tender, barbecued meat; and Afghani Murgh Malai Tikka, chicken marinated with cream, cashew, and cardamom for a slightly sweet and nutty flavour.

Fresh tea from Thailand is also highly recommended. PRICES Average between 3,000 – 8,000Ks FINAL THOUGHTS Overall, Thai 47’s menu comes up pretty decent where Thai food is concerned. All dishes are MSG free and all the ingredients are locally sorted. Understandably, tweaks have to be made to please local palates. As a Thai trying food here, I would say I’m pretty satisfied. If I am around 47th street downtown, I may revisit. No (153), corner of 47th Street & Anawrahta Road, Botahtaung Township Tel: 095169215 Opening hours: 11 am – 2.30 am Kitchen closes at 10.30 pm

I also highly recommend the Masala Dosa (crepe made with rice batter and black lentils, stuffed with potatoes and onions). All dosas are served with sambar (lentil-based vegetable stew) and coconut chutney; they make a great and inexpensive lunch item for those with a small appetite. Indian Tadka imports all its rice and flour from India, and you can taste the difference in their naan (go for garlic naan). Use naan to scoop up Mutton Rogan Josh, a deeply rich and flavorful braised lamb in a hearty curry. PRICES Starters: Most dishes under 4,000Ks Dosas: 2,000 -3,000Ks Mains: Most dishes between 3,000Ks to 6,000Ks FINAL THOUGHTS Yangon finally has an authentic and affordable Indian restaurant! I’m truly pleased with the result, and I’ve had many Indian moms cook amazing homemade food for me. If you’re new to authentic Indian food or haven’t had it in a while, keep your meal simple as the spices and thick curries may need getting used to. Once acclimated, a great way to experience Indian Tadka’s variety is during their upcoming Sunday lunch buffet. 7A Pyay Road, 6 1/2 Miles Hlaing township Tel: 09420187010 Opening hours: 11 am to 11 pm

February 2015 / InDepth

HEALTH 27

Your Body on Sugar Sugar is found in everything from cakes to potatoes to Thai green curry. Mimi Wu examines the health costs of over consuming sugar and highlights Myanmar’s own jaggery as an alternative to white table sugar.

t was the Papua New Guineans who first domesticated sugar cane around 8,000 BC, but we must thank the Indians, who developed a process to crystallize sugar in 350 AD. In this form, sugar was traded from East to West and glorified as “a most precious product, very necessary for the use and health of mankind” (chronicler William of Tyre, late 12th century). Yet recent science has shown that sugar is the most harmful food in our diets. Sweet flavors often indicate high-calorie foods, necessary for survival. Having a preference for them was an evolutionary aid to tilt the odds in your favor. However, even as we’ve evolved and food has become readily available, our sweet tooth hasn’t waned. Realizing this, the food industry concocts dangerously delicious combinations of fat and sugar, packages them, and calls them the Oreo. Frighteningly, sugar isn’t easy to avoid; all carbohydrates break down into simple sugars, and sugar hides in unexpected foods like low-fat yogurt and beef jerky. Our excessive (and most times unknown) consumption of sugar has led to countless health problems and a search for alternatives. A Simplified Biology of Eating Sugar When we eat sugar – typically the white, crystalline table sugar – and carbohydrates, our bodies break them down into glucose and fructose. Glucose is found in all living cells and is the preferred energy source for our brain and muscles; our bodies produce glucose when it is absent from our diet. Fructose is naturally found in fruits, honey, and most root vegetables, but the fiber in fruits and vegetables aids sugar absorption and use in our bodies. We get into trouble because many snacks and sodas contain added fructose (such as high fructose corn syrup), which does not serve any biological need. Sugar levels in our bloodstreams are managed by insulin, which is produced by the pancreas. Insulin acts as the body’s blood sugar manager and tasks the liver and muscles with storing glucose as glycogen. When we need to run or think or laugh, glycogen is converted back to glucose to provide us energy. As for fructose, the liver is the only place to process the sugar, which is immediately converted into glucose, glycogen, and fat.

The problem occurs when the liver reaches maximum storage capacity of glycogen (roughly 2,000 calories); excess glucose is converted into fat. Add that onto the fat already formed by fructose, and is it any surprise that there is a strong relationship between heavy sugar consumers and obesity? Hello, jelly belly! The Crash and Burn Over time, fructose overload kills the pancreas’ ability to produce enough insulin to counteract sudden sugar spikes in our blood stream. In addition to messing with insulin production and promoting fat storage, overconsumption of sugar – especially of fructose – causes a lot of nasty health problems. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Tooth decay Bad mood Fatty liver disease Insulin resistance Diabetes Heart Disease Cancer

Your Brain Is Hijacked by Sugar When we eat sugar, our brains release a wave of dopamine, a chemical that signals reward. We begin associating sugar with pleasure, causing cravings that if fulfilled, reinforce the reward. A habit is born. Studies show that sugar hijacks our brains in the same way cocaine or heroin does: we need ever more amounts of sugar to maintain our happiness, and we experience withdrawal when we’re without it. It’s scary to compare sugar, which is readily available and completely legal, to cocaine, but have you ever tried cutting out sugar? It’s a hard addiction to break.

Jaggery: Two lumps please!

For those of us who can’t possibly give up cupcakes, go ahead and treat yourself but do it infrequently. After all, they are treats, not breakfast. Jaggery - a healthy alternative Jaggery, or palm sugar, is the least processed sugar and makes a good substitute for white sugar. Locals also call it Myanmar chocolate, and it’s available in virtually any market you visit. Myanmar’s jaggery is made from unrefined (raw) and unbleached palm sap from toddy palm trees. The sap is boiled down, and then cooled as bricks, discs, or nuggets. This unprocessed sugar retains its vitamins and minerals: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, and trace amounts of zinc, copper, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. White sugar has none of these, hence why it’s said that to drink soda is to drink empty calories. The best aspect of jaggery is its low glycemic index (35 to 40 compared to table sugar’s 65 to 68), which indicates how quickly the body breaks down glucose. The higher the GI, the quicker the blood sugar level elevates. Jaggery is a complex carbohydrate that absorbs in the body slowly and releases energy over an extended period of time, making you feel fuller longer and allowing you to maintain a consistent level of energy.

We can overrule dopamine and train ourselves to enjoy less sweet things.

This sugar supposedly also treats respiratory infections; aids digestion; pulls out dust and other toxins from the respiratory tracts, lungs, stomach, and intestines; and reduces constipation.

► Gradually use less sugar in your coffee ► Halve sugar in recipes and add cinnamon, vanilla, or other flavors to your food ► Temper your cravings with a piece of fruit, which has fiber that slows down sugar release in the body ► Eat more protein, which also digests more slowly ► Keep an active life style, which helps your body tolerate sugars much better than sedentary people as active people require more energy to burn

Jaggery has a fantastically complex, caramel flavour that’s hard to resist eating straight from its package. Despite its rich aroma, when cooked, it merely lends sweet robustness without altering the dish’s final flavor. Use it in Thai curries to balance the spiciness and saltiness. In baked goods, jaggery provides a subdued sweetness compared to white sugar’s one-noted, pervasive taste. Do note that cupcakes made with jaggery may result in a slightly flatter cupcake. Avoid this by thinly grating jaggery and mixing it well into the fat. g

28 INNOVATIONS

February 2015 / InDepth

HOW A SIMPLE PHONE APP CAN TRANSFORM YOUR DINNER Mimi Wu breaks bread with Min Zeya Phyo, founder and director of Code2Lab, to discover how his technology product can improve our dining experiences and what it took to develop it. Code2Lab’s product streamlines the restaurant process of waiters taking orders, the kitchen fulfilling that order, and the cashier handling the bill. “We actually value add the front line staff because they’re focusing on the customer instead of taking orders and running around.” As one would expect, though, developing such necessary software didn’t come easily. “During that time, the Internet was expensive, phone SIM cards were expensive, everything was expensive; it was really crazy… no power, sometimes the water didn’t work.” This made providing and using the service incredibly difficult. “If you want to start a business [in Myanmar], you have to plan for a, b, c, d, maybe even e and f.” Since the company housed central servers for all his customers and the servers constantly need to be online, stable power was critical. It’s from here that he learned to always have a backup plan: the office had a main power connection, a battery, and a generator. If that wasn’t challenging enough, Zeya had to adjust to the working culture, which he found quite relaxed. Young entrepreneur: Min Zeya Phyo Photo by The Pictureman

e’ve all been there: An evening dining out in Yangon can go from thrilling to frustrating in a matter of moments as you desperately try to catch one of the 20 servers’ attention. “Orders get mistaken or they are never served, and the bill takes forever,” lamented Min Zeya Phyo, founder and Director of Code2Lab. “I started Code2Lab because I was trying to solve my own problems and realized there was a market need.” Zeya grew up in Myanmar until a family vacation to Singapore turned into a 22-year residence overseas. As an adult in Singapore, he worked as a senior software engineer, but when a product his team was developing didn’t work out and the company restructured, he took a leap of faith and moved back to Myanmar. “When I first came back here, I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t have any contacts or any context point.”

A lot has changed in the three years since repatriating. Zeya originally provided software servicing, but the inefficiency and over employment at restaurants sparked an idea. The problem was that restaurant staff didn’t have a good procedure to share information and help stay organised. He switched gears to develop a product – a software system – that would fully automate cashier and order systems at food and beverage outlets. This would minimise errors by connecting all staff from the frontend to the kitchen. “One of the reasons why our clients use our system is because it saves a lot of time, money, and even headaches.” With relatively cheap labor, it’s easy for food and beverage establishments to over employ staff. But as they say, too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup. Over employment comes with the responsibility of managing more staff than necessary and any chaos that may ensue. “Our system evolved to reduce the main head count.”

“People are not pressured to keep working, so to change jobs is not a difficult decision.” For that reason, Zeya doesn’t only look for software engineering talent; he seeks employees who are open to learning, being creative, and working hard. To retain his staff, Zeya has developed a working environment that encourages his 15-member team to think and develop freely, while at the same time setting a common goal to achieve. And along with training opportunities, karaoke nights have helped staff bond and unwind. Such camaraderie reinforces the team’s resilience as they research, develop, test, and tweak the product. “In software development, [engineers] develop a product and stop. The customer then has problems, ‘I need this feature, I want that.’ We wanted to be sure we could service them well and correctly, so we’ve done a lot of testing. I’d say we’re still in the development phase.”

February 2015 / InDepth

INNOVATIONS 29 promotions

It’s a bit modest, but Zeya has kept a low profile for the last three years to make sure his product is user-friendly and versatile for both fine dining establishments and tea shops. Code2Lab has just over 30 clients, including all eight locations of Shwe Palin Tea Shop, Happy Noodle Restaurant, My Garden, KTV bars, and even Hotel Shwe Gone Daing, but the product has spread organically by word-of-mouth. “We’re only developing a marketing team now.” There’s little wonder why Zeya has been successful without formal advertising. Code2Lab’s automated solution helps restaurants reduce costly errors, increase staff productivity and organization, and improve the customer experience. It’s a system many restaurants are keen to use. Zeya and his team are currently in the process of creating their second software. In the past, potential clients saw the intrinsic value of Zeya’s software but were put off by the installation price. Though the product itself was not expensive, power instabilities required a back up power system and redundancies, which pushed up overall costs.

Code2Lab’s product streamlines the restaurant process of waiters taking orders, the kitchen fulfilling that order, and the cashier handling the bill. Now, with more consistent electricity and more network providers, Code2Lab is able to cut down those costs. “In this version, we’re making things more simple. First is the cloud component. Instead of individual stores having local servers running – because right now, we have local servers running and everybody connects to it – we’ll have a smaller server gateway terminal that will connect back to our cloud.” And as long as you have Internet connection, “[owners] can push information to the cloud, and they can monitor it any time they want on the road, on a smart phone, or on a tablet.”

Moment of Love & Romance at Sunset Terrace

Valentine’s Day Special Set Dinner including a bottle of Wine (Red/White/ Sparkling) for US$ 140 per couple. Complimentary Valentine’s Chocolate Praline, Rose Posy and many more gifts. Complimentary Cupid Cocktail at Club Rizzoli. 14th February 2015

Chinese New Year Promotion at Tiger Hill Chinese Restaurant Enjoy Chinese New Year Festive dishes Yee Sang (Raw Sea bass or Raw Salmon) at US$ 25nett/US$35nett, 9-course prosperity set menu at US$35nett/ US$50nett and win lucky An Pong from tree of fortune. 5th ~ 25th February 2015

Club Rizzoli

Every Friday – Latin Spirit, Last Friday (27th Feb) – Funky Friday Music by DJ Bay Tar and Dancer Gisbert, Enjoy buy 1 get 1 on Myanmar Draught Beer. Every Saturday – Smirnoff Nite – 50% Saving on Smirnoff Bottle and 2 Plus 1 offer on Glass Every Sunday – Karaoke Nite – 2 Plus 1 offer on Karaoke Room Charges For reservation, please call 951 544500 Ext 6294 or fb.chry@chatrium.com

Code2Lab has also developed additional app modules for clients that have complex processes and need more than just the basic application platform. In this way, the product is tailored, whether the client wants to build an online mobile store, table reservations page, or warehouse. With a market-ready product and a good understanding of servicing demands, Zeya is ready to shed his low profile approach. In 2014, Code2Lab participated in Lithan University College's Startup Bootcamp Myanmar and was filmed for a Channel News Asia startup competition series. The company was crowned the Myanmar champion and went on to compete in the final round in Singapore. The series will debut in early February, and Zeya aims to coincide it with the launch of his new software. Zeya is primarily focusing on the food and beverage industry, but retail shops have approached him. Perhaps, but not yet, he says. For now, he’s sticking to the food and beverage industry and seeking countrywide expansion. His first voyage outside of Yangon is with Sane Let Tin, the food centre and rest stop halfway to Kyaiktiyo Golden Rock. “Within the next three to five years, we’ll have quite a big product line. We’ll create an ecosystem where businesses can rely on us. We hope to be the next big thing in terms of a startup in Myanmar and then go regional,” eying countries with both high and low technology infrastructure. Until then, Zeya is proud to have built a missing product from the market and to provide unparalleled service. And that’s what keeps him going: “Every time you hit a road block, there’s a silver lining. People actually value what I made, and you build energy from that.” g

• Private offices • Meeting rooms • Short-term leases • Hot desks • Fast Internet T: +95 1 441 3414 E: 608merchant@hinthabusinesscentres.com w: www.hinthabusinesscentres.com

February 2015 / InDepth

30 HOROSCOPE

Myanmar

Horoscope Tetkatho Soe Moe Naing is an astrologer, philosopher, traditional medicine practitioner and author who looks to the celestial bodies to predict what lies ahead. He has a degree in Science, with a major in Mathematics and Applied Psychology. In Myanmar astrology, star signs are determined by which day you were born on. Each sign represents its own day, cardinal (utmost importance) direction, planet (celestial body) and animal.

SUNDAY

Adventure Time You are interested in adventure and travelling. You can’t afford to neglect your work. You will intend to go ahead full steam. You will announce your success. Excellent for short trips or long distance travel. Love – Single and married people will enjoy a romantic period during the first three weeks. Business – Best to finish up outstanding work before beginning anything new. Matters of law will force you to make some changes. Be certain to obtain legal advice if threatened with a lawsuit. Lucky number – 3.9.6 Lucky colour – Green , White

MONDAY

Advice -Romance Advice from experienced people should be heeded. Combine realism with your natural optimism. Avoid stubbornly insisting on your own

ideas if shown why they have not worked in the past. Outstanding for romance in the wee hours. Love –The first ten days of this month are auspicious for romance. Someone new in the scene is apt to become an important part of your love life. Business – Seriously consider ways to reduce your tax bill. Keep careful records of deductible expenditures. Invest money where you know it will be safe. Lucky number – 3.9.5 Lucky colour – Orange, Red

THURSDAY

Property-Bonus Best to postpone property deals. Also unwise to buy anything costing over $50. Work steadily; what you accomplish today is apt to lead to a bonus later in the month. An important message may not be relayed to you, or mail could be lost. Love – Both married and single people will be happiest treating those they love to special treats, such as a candlelit dinner or an outdoor theatrical performance. Be generous in giving your love. Business – Take advantage of training opportunities offered through your present work. Learning more from knowledge associates will be invaluable; ask questions without worrying about showing ignorance of a technical matter. Lucky number – 7.1.2 Lucky colour – Dark, Black

TUESDAY

Behind The Scenes Good month for secret negotiations. Work behind the scenes. Contact people who may be willing to support you privately. The risk of deception is great, however. Do not be open about your plans. Keep children from worrying. Love – For singles, this can be a particularly happy and exciting month. The month is also favorable for an engagement except during the second week. Business – An excellent month to draw up business plans for the future. Be sure to consult your mate or partner for their input also. You will have some assumptions, and begin to act on them. A secret deal will work out very well. Partnership is favored. Lucky number – 2.5.8 Lucky colour – Yellow, Purple

WEDNESDAY

Straight Thinking Review plans to be sure you are thinking rationally and realistically. Do not expect much help from outsiders. You can rely on friends and family members, however. Carefully follow instructions; do not skip steps. Love – Love and marriage will not be paramount in your life this month. The last week will be memorable for singles. Business – Use your working hours to catch up and pay up. Be generous in giving advice, but only if asked. Take advantage of opportunities to step in and finish a project; higher-ups will notice your effort and reward you. Lucky number – 2.4.7 Lucky colour – Deep golden

FRIDAY

Future Plans Concentrate on plans for the future. Look ahead, analyze your needs, plot what must be done. Keep detailed notes. You may want to consider returning to school to obtain advanced training. Love – Ongoing relationships can be strengthened, perhaps leading to marriage if that is your desire. Business – This will be a notable month for you. Unexpected income will be a great boost, allowing you to pursue goals that had seemed unattainable. Lucky number – 2.5.0 Lucky colour – Blue, Grey

SATURDAY

Teamwork-Love You will be kind and patient. Good month for attempting to achieve mutual cooperation through teamwork. Remain positive even though you have some secret doubts. Distant contacts are not reliable now. Love – A pleasant month for those of you who are in love or who want to be love. An ongoing relationship can be strengthened through shared activities. Business – Self-confidence will be the key to getting ahead, whether you are employed or in business for yourself. Sharpening current skill and developing new ones should be a major goal this month. Lucky number – 3.6.8 Lucky colour – Strawberry

Organisations in Partnership with the MYANMORE Card:

MYANMORE CARD

DEALS

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RESTAURANT -

50TH STREET BAR

20% off on total bill between 11am to 3pm every day. You will also get 10% off on main course for dinner servings.

999 SHAN NOODLE HOUSE

Enjoy 10% off on total bill and get one dish of Myanmar salad or seasonal fruit for 4 people and above.

CHATRIUM HOTEL @ KOHAKU JAPANESE RESTAURANT

15% off on A La Carte menu at Chatrium Hotel’s Japanese Restaurant Minimum 2 people Mon to Thu Booking required

CHATRIUM @ LOBBY LOUNGE

20% off on Hi Tea Special from 3pm to 5pm at Chatrium Lobby lounge. Mon to Sun

CHATRIUM HOTEL @ THE EMPORIA RESTAURANT

15% off on international buffet dinner at The Emporia Restaurant in Chatrium Hotel. Advance booking required Mon to Sun 4 persons per card

CHATRIUM HOTEL @ TIGER HILL CHINESE RESTAURANT

15% off on A La Carte Menu at Chatrium Hotel’s Tiger Hill Chinese Restaurant Minimum order 2 person Mon to Thurs Advance booking required 4 persons per card

EDO ZUSHI JAPANESE RESTAURANT Enjoy 20% off on total bill between 11am to 5pm every day at Edo Zushi Japanese Restaurant. You will also get 5% off on dinner seating.

ELIQ RESTAURANT

10% discount on total bill anytime Cannot be used with other promotions Unlimited number of people Advanced booking required

ESCAPE GASTRO BAR

Enjoy 40% off the total food bill and 10% off on the drinks between 11am and 6pm during the whole week. This offer can be used together with the two-for-one beer offer on Sundays.

GEKKO

Enjoy 20% off on lunch 11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and Sunday’s all day.

GINZA TEPPAN-YAKI @ OCEAN SHWE GONE DINE Enjoy 20% off your total bill on Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm

GOLDEN KITCHEN TORI

Enjoy 2 for 1 drinks from 6pm to 8pm, every day.

HOUSE OF SINGAPURA

Enjoy 10% off on total bill Monday to Friday for dinner (from 5pm) and 20% off on food Saturday to Sunday all day.

KOKKINE BAR & RESTAURANT

1 free cocktail or long drink from the menu when you order one European main dish ordered at this bright restaurant and bar with outdoor seating by the pool.

L’ALCHIMISTE FRENCH RESTAURANT Enjoy discounts every day at this French dining restaurant which is located at the bank of Inya lake. It’s a great

place to eat and celebrate birthday party and dinner party. Mon, Tue: 25% off Wed, Thu: 15% off Fri to Sun: 10% off *All discounts on total bill 4 persons per card

Not valid for promotions and set lunch/ dinner. No discount for cakes.

SWENSEN’S

Weekday - 20% OFF on Super Sundae Weekend – 20% Off on Kids Sundae

THAI 47

LA MAISON 20

Enjoy 20% off your total bill This deal is valid for the cardholder and up to 8 pax only.

L’OPERA ITALIAN RESTAURANT AND BAR

Enjoy 10% discount on the A La Carte bill (not valid for set menu, business lunch and promotions), valid only for cash payment. *Maximum of 8 pax * Valid Monday to Sunday, for lunch or dinner

MONSOON RESTAURANT AND BAR YANGON Enjoy multiple discounts at this southeast asian restaurant located in a colonial building. Food & drink: Total Bill 10% off (Mon to Fri: 10am to 5pm) Afternoon Tea Set: 9,000ks ++ , 15% off, 2pm to 5 pm, 4 pax Cooking Class: 50,000ks/person, 15% off, 2 days advance booking (everyday except Tuesday)

PADONMAR RESTAURANT

Free glass of wine or beer with lunch or dinner. Must order a minimum of two main dishes per person. Not valid on Set Menu. Two person per card.

PEPERONI PIZZERIA

10% off on total bill. Everyday.

PORT AUTONOMY

20% off on your food bill. Free alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink when ordering food. (Small print) Limited to one drink per person.Excludes wine. Minimum of one dish per person.

SEDONA @BRASSERIE

Enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion. Deal is valid everyday. Only valid for cardholder.

SEDONA HOTEL @LOBBY LOUNGE

Enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

SEDONA HOTEL@ORZO ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

SUMMIT PARKVIEW HOTEL @ DAGON LOUNGE

Enjoy 5% discount on Food and Beverage @ Dagon Lounge. Not including outside catering. Not valid for promotions and set lunch/ dinner. No discount for cakes.

SUMMIT PARKVIEW HOTEL@ PARKVIEW CAFE

Enjoy 5% discount on Food and Beverage @ Parkview Cafe’. Not including outside catering.

THE MANHATTAN FISH MARKET Enjoy Free serving of “Garlic Herb Mussels” with minimum spending of 50,000 Kyats.Maximum party size of 4. Not valid on Saturdays, Sundays, and Public Holidays.

TITUS INDIAN BANANA LEAF

Enjoy a free dessert upon presentation of the card. No conditions. 1 card per person per day. Choose among desserts like Gulab Jamun, Kulfi and Halwa.

TOBA RESTAURANT & CAFE

Night Birds Promotion!!! 30% discount on normal menu price of total bill Offer is valid from 12 am to 5 am Monday to Thursday Only!

UNION BAR AND GRILL

Get 20% off lunch time, 11am to 4pm, at Union Bar & Grill, a popular and relaxed spot in downtown.

VINO DE ZANOTTI

Enjoy 15% off total bill for lunch A la carte, food and beverage.

BAR & CLUB

BELMOND GOVERNORS RESIDENCE @ KIPLING BAR

2 for 1 on drinks at the Bar from 18:00 – 22:00 during the week.

CHATRIUM HOTEL @ CLUB RIZZOLI

MOJO BAR

Enjoy 2 for 1 drinks from 2 to 7, every day and 2 for 1 on all food items on Sunday, all day.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

10% off all drinks anytime at this Café/ Bar in downtown Yangon, created for independent travelers to meet and exchange updated information on traveling in Myanmar One person per card. No booking required.

BARISTA LAVAZZA

10% off of total bill at the exclusive seller of Lavazza brand coffee in Myanmar. Available every day.

EASY CAFE & RESTAURANT

10% off total bill with a minimum spending of 6,000 Kyats in a single receipt. Only applicable from 5 pm onwards.

VESTIGE MERCANTILE & RELICS

Get 10% discount on total bill. Discounts can only be claimed at: Vestige Flagship Store, Yangon Vestige Flagship Store, Nay Pyi Taw Vestige Kiosk, Avenue 64 Hotel.

ACTIVITY HOLA

Enjoy 15% discount on F&B when doing a private event at Hola Bar & 15 min private lesson sampling or 1 hour group lesson trial

CALIFORNIA SKIN SPA

Enjoy 20% off any treatment and services. Max 3 persons per card.

D’LAX SPA

10% discount for 1 person and 15% discount for 2 person visit (at least 1 card holder) on Weekdays happy hours ( 1100-1500 on Mon-Thu) For Weekends: Fri-Sun – 5% discount for 1 person and 10% discount for 2 person visit (at least 1 card holder) Advance Booking required.

TRAINING/EDUCATION MWS BEVERAGE ACADEMY

Enjoy 10% discount on any WSET wine courses

HOTEL BUSINESS ALLIANCE HOTEL

15% off on any room type at this hotel, strategically located in the heart of Yangon City and the ideal place for your business and leisure needs.

INYA DAY SPA

15% off SPA SERVICES or 10% off THAI FULL BODY MASSAGE. Mon – Fri.1 person / card

PHOENIX SPA

10% Discount for one person. 20% Discount for two person for facial treatment only. Wednesday & Tuesday a week & 2 person per card Please kindly book the session.

Sense Spa

20% discount for all available spa services Mondays - Sundays Advance Booking Required : Advanced booking preferred 1 person per card

ORCHID HOTEL -

15% off on all published room rates Applicable from Sundays to Thursday Only Advance booking required One person per card

THAHARA

A. 5% off the published rates (www. thahara.com) for all package booking in high season ( Oct to April) B. 10% off the published rates (www. thahara.com) for all package booking in Green season (May to September), please note that all the properties are closed in annual renovation and maintenance.

SERVICES

THAYA DAY SPA

15% off SPA SERVICES or 10% off THAI FULL BODY MASSAGE. Mon – Fri, 1 person / card

BALANCE FITNESS

15% discount for: 6 months or a one year membership contract Monthly package for classes of $120 for 10 classes Discount apply to Silver, Gold or Platinum membership Discount cannot be added with other promotions

CHATRIUM HOTEL @ HEALTH CLUB 10% off on daily rate/Mon – Sun

HINTHA BUSINESS CENTRES

One hour free wifi + a cup of coffee once a month per card.

- K & H TRAVELS CO.,LTD -

Buy one get 10$ off second guest on any mini getaway tour.

BUY YOUR MYANMORE CARD HERE! MYANMORE Office -

DAILY MART

Free Delivery for Purchase of 10,000 Kyats to 29,900 Kyats for MYANMORE Card Holders 5% off for Purchase of 30,000 Kyats and above for MYANMORE Card Holders Everyday & One person per card!

ELEGANT GEMS JEWELLERY & SOUVENIR

15% off on selected items Excluding Pearl, Jade, Loose gems and 18 K Gold

MONUMENT BOOKS

10% discount on any purchased superior to 50,000 ks,Mon – Fri,1 people / card

PATRICK ROBERT THE GALLERY Enjoy 10% discount on any product

1st Floor, Annex Bld, Strand Hotel, 92 Strand Rd, Kyauktada Tsp 01-375680

50TH STREET BAR -

9/13, 50th Street, Botahtaung Township | 01-397 060

Balance Fitness (Avenue 64 Hotel)

SHOPPING

SEDONA HOTEL @ ICE BAR

Enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

For each purchase of a watch you get a Food voucher worth 20,000 ks to be used at House of Singapura, Peperoni and Ya Kun.

FROZEE

GYM

20% off on total bill from 10pm onwards in the bar of Chatrium Hotel. Saturday and Sunday. Up to six people.

CAFE -

SEVEN FRIDAY SWISS WATCHES

Monday - Friday (Opening Till 6 pm) Buy 1 Get 1 Free (80g gelato cup/160g gelato cup)

SPA

THE PIZZA COMPANY

Weekday – 20% off on Pasta Weekday – 20% Off on Large Pizza

15% off total bill at this pioneering Cafe & Bistro Chain with outlet at Kandawgyi Lake. Cannot be combined with other discounts or promos. Monday to Friday. No booking required. Up to four people on each card

DESSERT

Enjoy 15% off in all outlets (restaurants, lobby and ice-bar) excluding cover charge and deli + festive promotion.

SEDONA HOTEL@ DUFU CHINESE RESTAURANT

Enjoy 30% Off total bill (Mon to Thu) Enjoy 15% Off total bill (Fri,Sat & Sun) Enjoy 2 for 1 drinks from 7pm onwards Note: Advanced booking require on Fri,Sat & Sun

NERVIN CAFE AND BISTRO

64 (G), Kyaik Wine Pagoda Road,Yangon | 01-656 916

Monument Bookstore -

150, Dhamazedi Road, Bahan Township, Yangon

Inya Day Spa -

16/2, Inya Rd, Yangon | 01-537 907

Padonmar Restaurant -

No.105/107, Kha-Yae-Bin Road, Dagon Township, Yangon Between Pyin Daung Su Yeik Tha (Halpin Road) and Manawhari Road/Ahlone Road. Tel/Fax : +95 1 538895, +95 9 73029973, 73108606

Orchid Hotel -

91, Anawrahta Road, Pazundaung Township | 01-399930, 01-704740

Savour the thrill of dynamic handling while maximising comfort at all times – your XF’s Adaptive Dynamics system monitors and analyses speed, steering and body movement 500 times a second, adjusting the car’s suspension to suit your driving style, the conditions and the road surface. As your pace changes, the steering optimises the level of power assistance to provide the perfect balance between control and responsiveness, bringing XF to life in your hands. Discover more about what makes every XF feel so alive.

Make an appointment for your test drive today, call +95 (0) 1 966 9034 or email sales@jaguarmyanmar.com

HOW ALIVE ARE YOU?

CAPITAL AUTOMOTIVE LTD

No. 3, Ward 12, Insein Road, Hlaing Township, Yangon, Myanmar Tel. : +95 (0) 1 966 9034 · JaguarMyanmar.com or visit us on facebook at JaguarMyanmarMM

NOW FROM

154 MIL KYAT

DRIVEAWAY