Mandalay @ City Hall

Peninsula Plaza at City Hall is also known as Little Myanmar for its concentration of Myanmarese shops and eateries. Princess and I went to try something different for the weekend – Myanmarese cuisine.

Nestled in the basement of Peninsula Plaza, Mandalay Style Restaurant is an establishment that never fails to draw long queues. Beyond boasting wallet-friendly prices, the menu is also extensive with a myriad of dishes that are unique to Burmese cuisine.

Olive Fried Rice သံလွင်ဆီထမင်းကြော်

First up, Myanmarese olive fried rice (sanlwin se htamainnkyaw). Tasted like my helper’s fried rice (she’s Indonesian) except for the bits of salted olives and leaves.

Pork Head & Intestine Salad ဝက်ခေါင်းနဲ့အူမရောသုပ်

Pork head and intestine salad (waat hkaunggnae auu m raw sote) is a typical tossed cold dish in Myanmar using meat from the boiled pig’s head and blanched pig’s intestines. Seasoned with chilli, sweet sauce, mint and some local spices, it was a refreshing appetiser.

Special BBQ Fish ငါးခဲပတ်ကင်

When the special BBQ fish (ngarr hkell paat kain) came wrapped in aluminium foil, you cannot hide the disappointment on my face. The choice of fish was the freshwater tilapia. It came lightly blanketed with pickled tea leaves and coriander. I wished there was more sauce and spices to mask the muddiness of the tilapia. Not recommended.

Pennywort Salad မြင်းခွါရွက်သုပ်

Pennywort has little to no odour and tastes fresh and herbal, with hints of cucumber, parsley, and wheatgrass. It borrowed all the flavours from the same herbs and spices that were used to dress the pig’s head and intestine earlier.

Fried Egg Rolls

We had to order something familiar given all the unfamiliar flavours and texture that we were experiencing.

OK, I wouldn’t say it was something memorable that I would come again anytime soon. As this was the first Myanmarese restaurant I had tried, I could not vouch for its authenticity. Given that 80% or more clients are Myanmarese, I think that’s a good sign. Service was polite (spoke very little English) and when the place got busy, could be tardy.

Mandalay Style Restaurant 
111 North Bridge Rd, #B1-01 Peninsula Plaza, Singapore 179098
Tel : +65 6962 8895

Visited Feb 2024