Lahpet Thoke, or Burmese Tea Leaf Salad in Bangkok, Thailand by Asian Taste by Mhway Mhway Lay

Lahpet Thoke, or Burmese Tea Leaf Salad

by Asian Taste by Mhway Mhway Lay, Bangkok, Thailand

One of the great things about living in Bangkok, Thailand is that you can find amazing international cuisine from all around the world. One of my favorite lesser-known cuisines is Burmese food, and there are a number of really good Burmese restaurants to be found around the city. I discovered Asian Taste by Mhway Mhway Lay near Victory Monument the other day and decided to visit for lunch.

I started by ordering lahpet thoke, one of the most iconic Burmese dishes. Lahpet thoke, or tea leaf salad, is a dish made from pickled or fermented green tea leaves served with peanuts, garlic, sesame seeds, tomato, beans, corn, and other fresh ingredients. It's one of the few dishes in the world where you actually consume the whole tea leaf as a vegetable.

The fermented tea leaves have a deep, earthy bitterness with a slight tangy fermented taste, and the crunchy peanuts and fried garlic add richness and a nutty depth. It's a really flavorful, complex, and super delicious dish that can be kind of hard to find outside of Burma.

lahpet thoke, or Burmese tea leaf salad

For an appetizer, I also ordered a plate of fresh, juicy sweet tomatoes filled with a bit of the fermented tea leaves and a pile of crunch nuts and beans and a bit of spicy green chili.

tomatoes stuffed with fermented tea leaves, garlic, nuts, and chili

For the main course I ordered the restaurant's specialty: phat hta min.

Phat hta min, or banana leaf rice, is a Burmese comfort food often eaten on long train journeys because of its convenience and ease of packing and transporting. The dish is made from rice wrapped in a grilled banana leaf which imparts a mild sweet flavor to the soft, steamed white rice while also providing a sort of plate on which the dish can be eaten, even when on a moving train.

Phat hta min is a very regional dish, and the exact ingredients can vary wildly from place to place influenced by local preferences and regional cooking practices, but it's often served with a sweet, rich curry (I ordered the chicken curry), a variety of lightly pickled vegetables, and an herbal soup.

phat hta min, or banana leaf rice with chicken curry

More

If you enjoy delicious, authentic Burmese food, also check out Inle Restaurant in Bangkok's Huay Kwang neighborhood. It's one of my favorite restaurants in the city!

Location

Asian Taste by Mhway Mhway Lay is located at Victory Monument, Phahonyothin Rd, Khwaeng Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. It's close to Victory Monument BTS station and the traffic circle, and also just a 10 or so minute walk to BTS Sanam Pao station. The restaurant is open daily from 10:00am until 8:00pm.