Do not eat the street food!
Before moving here I was excited to eat all the street food. I love street food. I've eaten it Thailand, Mexico, and a few countries in Europe. I've never had a problem. It's authentic, delicious and often the best buy for your money.
When we first got here we tried a bit.
We immediately got sick. Not just a little tummy trouble and a few bathroom visits, but serious, seek medical attention, OMG I'm going to die, trouble.
To be fair, this can happen at any restaurant, and has, but it's much more likely to happen at a food stall.
Some street food stalls are temporary. I feel like these are a bit more safe if you really want to risk it.
Some people live and spend their days at their food stall. They also don't have any bathroom facilities. No running water to wash hand and no where to use the toilet.
They will go right there. Right next to or behind the food stall and then get right back to feeding customers.
I've witnessed it happen. A man pulled up his longyi, squatted, took a dump, and went right back to work.
It makes a certain amount of sense if you think about it from his perspective. He has no where else to go. He needs to make a living.
Coming from my clean western upbringing, I swore off all street food immediately after seeing this.
Food safety standards here are not what they are in the west. We've been sick a few times eating at popular restaurants. I think that's just the risk you take coming to Myanmar, but I am interested in limited the risk to myself and my family. We use lots of hand sanitizer and often go back to places we feel safe eating. If you do find yourself violently ill, you can go to the pharmacy, point to your tummy and ask for antibiotics. They know exactly what you need.
There are many great places in Yangon to eat real Myanmar food.
And when you get tired of it, there are lots of new things to try too.
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