A taste of home: Burmese friends open cafe in Bras Basah selling authentic Myanmar cuisine

If you've recently walked past the lane of F&B options at the School of the Arts (SOTA), you may have noticed a new eatery called Avenue'J Cafe. 

The cafe opened in January this year and specialises in authentic Burmese fare. 

Owner Andrew Aung, a 33-year-old Burmese-Singaporean, co-founded the business with his family friend Kaung Minn Khant, 25, who too hails from Myanmar and moved to Singapore in 2024. 

While the restaurant is new to Singapore's food scene, it isn't to Myanmar's. 

From Myanmar to Singapore 

Andrew, who became a Singapore citizen in 2013, flew back to Myanmar in 2018 to open Avenue'J's first outlet in Yangon with his family. 

He explained that when he was living here, he'd spent plenty of time studying in cafes, something that was not as common back in his home country. 

"I realised the Burmese don't have a cafe culture and I wanted to share that with them," he told us. 

He added that during that period, Myanmar had liberalised its economy further and the influx of overseas coffee franchise further spurred him to start something of his own. 

The first outlet opened in 2020 and despite being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the business survived and flourished. 

"We hit the market pretty well and helped change trends in Myanmar," said Andrew. 

After its success, Andrew decided to launch a second outlet in 2022 specialising in entremets, which are layered desserts, and pastries.

For a long time, he dreamt of opening a branch in Singapore but hesitated as he would have to do so alone.

Till he met Kaung. 

Andrew's aunt and Kaung's mother were high school best friends and would often meet up. It was during one of these get-togethers a year ago that Andrew and Kaung met. 

As they got to know each other, they realised that they both shared a passion for F&B and decided to become business partners in Singapore as Kaung is pursuing his undergraduate studies here.

After four months of hunting for a place to set up shop —which included locations like Duxton, City Hall and Clake Quay — the duo found their current space at the School Of The Arts. 

Apart from its high footfall and proximity to Dhoby Ghaut and Bencoolen MRT stations, it was also convenient for Kaung, who is a part-time student at the nearby Singapore Management University. 

He attends a full day of classes on Saturdays and during the rest of the week, he juggles his time with Avenue'J Cafe as well as his family's rice export business, which has an office in Singapore. 

Nostalgic flavours from home 

If you visit both Avenue'J's outlets in Myanmar and Singapore, you'd notice that there is a stark difference in their menus. 

The Myanmar branches sell European-style dishes catered to the locals' interest in foreign cuisine.

On the other hand, the Singapore outlet sells Burmese food so that Singaporeans can experience authentic Myanmar fare. 

The establishment is a cosy one and upon stepping in, you'll be welcomed by the warm lighting, rattan furniture, and walls lined with paintings of landmarks in Myanmar. 

"Burmese people love rattan," Andrew told AsiaOne with a smile when we visited the cafe on a weekday afternoon. 

While Myanmar is home to a plethora of dishes, there are some overlaps with other cultures such as Thai, Indian and Chinese cuisines. 

So when curating the menu for Avenue'J's Singapore branch, Andrew and Kaung wanted to focus on dishes that were more unique to their home country. 

"We tried to replicate the signature dishes of the country's different regions," said Kaung. 

"In northern Myanmar, the scenery is beautiful with many mountains, and the weather is cold. In the middle of the country, the weather is hotter with a desert-like climate. The south has more rivers as well as the sea, so there are plenty of beaches, similar to Thailand's climate." 

There is Shan Kout Swal ($12) which comes from the Shan state of Myanmar in the north where the weather is colder. 

The dish features soft rice noodles tossed in a savoury sauce that is topped with chicken. A vegetarian option is also available. 

Mohinga ($15), an aromatic fish noodle soup that's Myanmar's national dish, is found mostly in the southern part of the country thanks to the area's proximity to rivers and the sea. 

A popular dish in the middle region of Myanmar is Nan Gyi Thoke ($12), a thick rice noodle salad that's paired with chicken curry, boiled egg and fresh herbs.

Kaung shared that one of the more important components of this dish is bean powder. 

"Most of the beans and pulses are grown in the middle region of Myanmar due to the hotter weather," he explained. 

Kaung added that this also happens to be his favourite dish because while he was born in Yangon which is located in the south, many of his relatives are from the middle region of the country and he grew up eating plenty of Nan Gyi Thoke. 

While curating the menu, the duo also considered the diverse taste preferences of both their Singaporean and Burmese customers. 

Prior to opening the cafe, they hosted tasting sessions for friends and family from various cultural backgrounds to gather feedback. With that, they tweaked the flavours of their dishes.

"Burmese people love strong spicy flavours but not all Singaporeans can take such spicy food," said Kaung. 

So, they created spicy and non-spicy options to suit their customers' varying taste palates.

If you're new to Burmese food, the pair recommend that you try Mohinga, which also happens to be Andrew's favourite dish.  

We got to have a taste of it and loved how the soft noodles, crispy fritters and chewy fishcake provided varying textures to the light but aromatic dish. 

Another dish we sampled is called Lahpet Thoke ($10), a tea leaf salad that can be found throughout Myanmar. 

The dish consists of a medley of ingredients such as fermented tea leaves, crispy garlic, roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, dried shrimp, shredded cabbage, cherry tomatoes and a dash of lime juice. 

It was unlike anything we'd ever tasted before — a unique blend of crunch, zest, and heat. 

The duo explained that the traditional salad is often served to guests at home.

As a side nibble, we had Burmese Stuffed Fish Cake ($8) — little handmade balls stuffed with cabbage, crispy garlic and shallots. 

We washed everything down with a cup of fragrant Ceylon tea and were intrigued to find shreds of milk skin inside the drink, which provided an interesting texture.

Avenue'J Cafe will soon be introducing a weekly menu as well as some new dishes. 

We were invited to sample a plate which featured dried lamb meat paired with rice, egg and crackers.

The savoury, chewy strips of lamb were extremely addictive, and we couldn't stop reaching for more.

The ups and down of F&B 

While business was slow at the start, it has picked up in recent months, said the owners, and Avenue'J Cafe see a good mix of Singaporean and Burmese customers every day. 

Despite this, Andrew and Kaung admit that running a business not just in Singapore, but also Myanmar, comes with its own set of challenges. 

In Singapore, cost is one key factor, especially when it comes to rental, operational expenses and product imports.

As their aim is to serve authentic Burmese fare in Singapore, the duo had to meticulously source for fresh, authentic ingredients that would do justice to their food and drinks. 

"It's been hard for us to find the right suppliers for some ingredients, for instance, the noodles," Andrew explained. 

Importing Burmese coffee beans for their in-house brews is also expensive, added Kaung. 

As hiring employees in Singapore is costly, they have fewer staff here than they do at Avenue'J Cafe's Myanmar branches. 

With a lean team, Kaung shared that the cafe struggles with the workload during busier times of the day. 

However, Andrew revealed that back in Myanmar, they too face challenges when it comes to manpower and sourcing for ingredients. 

As the menu there is European-themed, they have to import various ingredients that are not readily found in Myanmar, such as cheese and syrups. 

However, "supply chain issues" make this difficult and at times, expensive. 

There are different kinds of manpower problems there too. 

"After training our staff in Myanmar, a lot of them resign shortly after because they move overseas or have to serve in the army," Andrew explained. 

This leaves the team scrambling to find a replacement. 

Something else that's also hard to do in Myanmar is increase menu prices, which affects profits when imports get expensive.

"The imported products increase in prices due to the exchange rate but within the country, we cannot increase the prices in the menu too much because it'll be too costly for our customers," Kaung elaborated. 

Despite the challenges, Andrew and Kaung feel that the past few months of being new cafe owners here have been mostly plain sailing.

"When opening an F&B establishment in Singapore, there is a set of criteria you have to follow. Just do that and things will be smooth," Andrew said. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com