If you are looking for the city’s answer to Little India, make your way to Anawrahta Road where you will find sweet shops selling gulab jamun and jalebi and casual cafeterias serving dahl and vegetable curries. Specialising in Southern Indian thali-style dishes, the marble-topped tables and polite waiters at Bharat Restaurant make it a smart addition to the area around Sule Pagoda, while Nilar Biriyani serves excellent lassis—from raspberry or mango to plain.
Sandwiched between Strand and Mahabandoola Roads, and running from 13th to 25th Streets, Chinatown is all about baskets of dumplings in the mornings (try All One Dim Sum) and barbecue in the evenings. Once the sun has set, take a walk down 19th Street and you will find plenty of street-food stalls and draft beer stands.
Bharat Restaurant Mahabandoola Street, at the corner of Seikkantha Road
Nilar Biriyani, 216 Anawrahta Road, between 31th and 32th Streets
All One Dim Sum, 90 Sinn O Dan Street