Little Myanmar @ Peninsula Plaza near City Hall MRT ● Home Away from Home

Little_Myanmar_Peninsula_Plaza_City_Hall

Always knew there is a Little Myanmar in Peninsula Plaza but never stopped to take a real close look until now. Over the past one year, I am delighted to discover that Little Myanmar is a wonderful enclave with so much to see, eat and learn. It's a little gem of authentic Myanmar in Singapore.

Little Myanmar / Burma

Address: 111 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179098 (Peninsula Plaza)

Nearest MRT: At City Hall station (use exit D)

It's a dated old block between Coleman Lane and Coleman Street (built in 1980). Just 5 minutes walk from City Hall MRT station (use exit D).

Entrance at Coleman Street. There's another entrance at Coleman Lane.

Nothing to see here, it looks like any older shopping centre in Singapore (so it seems, on the surface).

Inside, the spaces are wide, open and clean. The first thing that strikes me of Little Myanmar was a subtle smell of fermented bamboo shoot hanging in the air.

There's a basement and five levels of shops and restaurants. Towering above is a 30 storey office stack.

For the over 21,000 Myanmese who study or work in Singapore as professionals, health care personnel, labourers or domestic helpers, Little Myanmar is home away from home. Every weekend since the 1980s, they come here to shop for groceries and clothing, taste authentic Myanmese food cooked by Myanamese chefs, get services like remittances, or simply to hangout and catchup with friends.

At the basement of Peninsula Plaza, there's Jiu Fu Food Court. They have a few Myanmese and Thai food stalls inside.

I like the mohinga at the no name stall here. The rice noodles in a thick savoury fish stock with spices is Myanmar's national dish.

The nasi biryani at Jiu Fu is also very popular with a queue every time it is ready.

Next to Jiu Fu is Yanant Thit Myanmar Chinese Food. We were here a few times because the food is tasty, affordable, ambiance is simple no frills, and folks are friendly.

Yanant Thit is a chup chai png (mixed vegetables economic rice) kind of set up but with Myanmese dishes.

I usually have the fried catfish, spicy pork and spicy split peas, plus some new dishes to try (try to discover new favourites).

In the basement, there's Inle Myanmar Restaurant and Mandalay Style Restaurant. Mandalay Style also has a branch across Coleman Street in Peninsula Shopping Centre which is connected to Peninsula Plaza basement by underpass. They have fish, salads, and noodles like Yanant Thit but sports slightly more upmarket ambiance.

At the upper levels, there are over two dozen grocers, boutiques, several services shops (remittance, money changers, delivery, mobile phone dealers, travel agents, etc) and more restaurants.

The grocers have everything any Myanmese food lover need.

You can get many brands of ready to eat, pre-packed lahpet thoke. Lahpet thoke is one of Myanmar's national dishes. It is pickled fermented tea leaf salad with nuts, dried shrimp, oil and fish sauce.

After spending time in Little Myanmar, I've gone a little crazy over lahpet, pickled fermented tea leaf. It is the unique Myanmese way of eating tea. The tea is fermented, then pickled with raw garlic, chili pepper, salt, lime juice, oil, etc. It tasted and smelled unfamiliar at first but now I must have it with every meal with rice 🤭🤗

Fried split pea cracker, a popular snack and essential with mohinga.

Banana stem is also essential in mohinga and other Myanmese dishes. I love it. It doesn't have much flavour of its own but sponge up the stock or sauce it is cooked in.

When I was a child, I was fascinated by this fish with a snout like an elephant's trunk. I still find it very intriguing today. These are actually spiny eels unique to Myanmar's Irrawaddy River.