Burma’s cuisine has remained relatively off the map for the past 50 years or so – so your trip to Burma will give you a chance to taste something truly unique. Some of the dishes and flavours used may well remind you of those found in the likes of India and Thailand but when you get to the centre of it – you’ll find a very different cuisine waiting to be sampled. Shan-style rice is a must try and combines rice cooked with turmeric and squashed up into a disk shaped ball with a variety of toppings – such as flakes of freshwater fish and garlic oil. The most famed of Burmese cuisine is the Tea Leaf Salad (Laphet thoke) which is a salad made-up of pickled tea leaves, shredded cabbage, deepfried beans, nuts, peas, chilli, garlic and tomatoes – though don’t eat too much of this as the Burmese say that eating too much can prevent you from sleeping. You’ll note that Burmese cuisine is resplendent with deep fried foods – these include everything from spring rolls, samosas, deep fried breads and even deep fried garnishes, generally served with a sour/ sweet or savoury dip made from tamarind and bean powder.