The Exciting 19th Street, Chinatown, Yangon

Unlike the gentle and quite atmosphere of Bagan, Yangon is a busy, crowded city with full of activities, excitements. This lively city, is where tourists can enjoy fascinating nightlife, food and beverages. And which place is far more fascinating than the 19th Street, Chinatown of Yangon? Thus here we are, let’s discover the Amazing 19th Street, Yangon Chinatown.

When it comes to Yangon, 19th Street will surely be one of the most recommended places to visit. It is well-known, firstly for its food and drinks, especially barbecues, and secondly, the nightlife.

How to get to 19th Street?

In case you’re wondering, 19th street locates between Anwratha Street and Mahabandoola Road in Chinatown. That being said, 19th street is not hard to find (except during night-time, the entire Chinatown can get pretty crowded). Probably all taxi drivers in Yangon know the place, since so many, many people come to this place at night. You can also ask your hotels, hostels, or resorts for the location.

The Street of Barbecue

First thing to come in mind when travelers get to 19th Street  is the barbecue. Stepping onto the street, visitors will be greeted with tons of outdoor restaurants and food stalls. These commonly offer cheap beer and barbecues all over the place. So, let’s come in and just grab a table, choose some barbecue skewers, sit there and enjoy the life of the street. One thing should be noted though is that most restaurants here will not give you menus unless you ask them.

The barbecues are extremely diverse, from chicken, beef, mutton, pork to mushroom, tofu, and more. Prices are very cheap, around 150 kyat for vegetables and 300 kyat for meats, 600 kyat for a mug of beer. So basically you can have a huge meal with 8 $USD per person in total.

Besides barbecue, 19th Street offers a wide variety of dishes, still it’s mostly known for Chinese-Burmese cuisine. In case you are tired of too much barbecues, there are other dishes to try. Most customers choose fried fish or crab, while others may choose something more refreshing like Japanese bean curd.

Nightlife of 19th Street

Eating is just one side of 19th street. The street is also known for its full-packed of nightlife. Back to few years ago, 19th Street, or Yangon in general, didn’t have this much activities at night when they just went to sleep and call it a day. But now, night-time is the time for this colorful street to shine.

Locals and tourists from all over the world come here and have fun at bars or drink stations, have beverages. Occasionally you can see strangers invite each other and drink. You may also get invited by the locals, and sometimes they even insist on paying the bill for you. One of the best suggestion for bars is Kosan bar, or Kosan café for more delicated atmosphere.

In the end, 19th Street is an exciting paradise for barbecues and night beers. Though some people may concern about the hygiene here, until there hasn’t been any reported case about health from this street.