Page 299 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

DRINKING • ENTERTAINMENT MANDALAY AND AROUND 297
place in which to sample Burmese food (mains K5000– can bag a table with a view – arrive very early or book), and
6000), prepared with below-average levels of oil and spice, the food, featuring a mix of Thai, Chinese and Burmese
and with good vegetarian options as well. The extensive dishes, isn’t bad, albeit overpriced (mains K10,000–14,000).
drinks list includes local Red Mountain wine from Inle Lake Traditional puppet and dance performances are staged every
(see box, p.256). Bring mosquito repellent after dark. Daily evening. Daily 11am–3pm & 5.30–9.30pm.
11am–2pm & 5–9pm. Unison 38th St, at the corner of 87th St; map pp.282–
Mandalay Kitchen (formerly Mya Nandar) Strand Rd 283. This round-the-clock operation is surely the largest
T09 444 977 971, Wamazing-hotel.com/mandalay teahouse in Mandalay, housed in an octagonal thatched
kitchen; map pp.282–283. In a prime position by the pavilion and serving up a good range of salads plus a few
Ayeyarwady, this vast tour-party favourite (seating well over noodle and rice dishes (K1500–2000), along with French
five hundred people) in an ersatz Burmese wooden complex fires, grate fruit and coat (we think they mean coke) –
has about as much traditional atmosphere as an airport although tea and coffee is a rip-off at K600 per not-very-
terminal. The river views, however, are superb (assuming you generously-sized cup. Daily 24hr.
DRINKING
Don’t expect nightclubs (or, indeed, anything with a dancefloor), but Mandalay does have its fair share of decent, low-key 7
places to drink. As well as the following, most of the restaurants listed in the Eating section (see p.295) serve alcohol; you
could also make use of any number of identikit beer stations dotted liberally around the city.

Ayar Sky Bar Ayarwaddy River View Hotel, Strand Rd, when draught beer is three-for-two and cocktails are two-
at the corner of 22nd St T02 64945; map pp.282–283. for-one. The soundtrack is Western and chilled out, and the
Open-air rooftop bar with gorgeous views out over the river food includes pizzas (K4000–6000), burgers and barbecue.
serving up (given the location) reasonably priced drinks, Daily 3–11.30pm.
with cocktails from around K6000 and beers for K3000. Mann 83rd St, between 25th and 26th sts
Daily 5.30–10pm. T02 66025; map p.288. Spit-and-sawdust drinking
Central Park 27th St, between 68th and 69th sts; map hole attracting an eclectic mix of locals and tourists
pp.282–283. Looking a bit like a beach bar without the with cheap beer, Mandalay rum and other cut-price
sand, this place draws a crowd of young locals and expats. tipples – although the food is best avoided.
They tend to show up in time for happy hour (6–7.30pm), Daily 10am–10pm.
ENTERTAINMENT
There are a few great shows to catch in Mandalay, with all of the acts listed below having found fame – or actually
performed – overseas. It’s just a pity that they all take place at precisely the same time.
Mandalay Marionettes 66th St, between 26th and (though the one in Nyaungshwe is smaller still), colourful
27th sts T02 34446, Wmandalaymarionettes.com. puppets re-create scenes from the life of the Buddha. Given
Controlled from behind the tiniest stage imaginable the subject, the hour-long show is actually quite

THE MOUSTACHE BROTHERS
It’s not easy to criticize the military authorities in Myanmar, especially in public – but this is
precisely what the internationally famed Moustache Brothers (see p.298) have been doing
for decades, playing on the edge of what was acceptable to the former regime and now,
post-democracy, to their army successors and business cronies. This comic dissidence has,
inevitably, landed them in trouble – in 1996 the three brothers performed at Aung San Suu
Kyi’s compound in Yangon, after which two of them (Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw) were sentenced
to six years of hard labour. Undeterred, they resumed their show in 2002; barred from
performing in any public area, they decided to do so at their Mandalay home instead, satirizing
national politics under the watchful gaze of the authorities. Officialdom then decreed that
they weren’t allowed to perform there either; the brothers then decided to do the same act
without costumes and make-up, since it then couldn’t be called a “show”. Somehow, this ruse
worked, and they’ve been performing ever since. Sadly, Par Par Lay died in 2013, but the two
remaining performers have carried on. Lu Maw (the only English-speaker) is always happy to
chat to those who pop by during the day.