Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine (Pioneer Point)

Have been on a hunt for Myanmar cuisine that is located at different parts of the island apart from those situated in a specific neighbourhood in Clementi and at Peninsula Plaza ever since we had checked out a few of such locations within West Coast, Balestier and Bugis — and this search had pretty much brought us out to the far West in the industrial estate of Soon Lee. Located within the Kim San Leng coffeeshop in Pioneer Point facing Soon Lee Road, this isn’t the only location that one can find Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine in Singapore; their other outlet is located at 90 Boon Lay Place which is slightly more accessible, being housed in a coffee shop in the former Savoy Theatre. Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine is very much like the typical Myanmar cuisine stall that one can find at some locations like Mother's House Myanmar Cuisine in Woodlands and Agape Authentic Myanmar Cuisine in Bukit Panjang; a stall that serves up both Myanmar-style mixed economy rice as well as some cooked dishes; the dishes which they serve for mixed economy rice are displayed prominently at the counter, while one can refer to the menu on its signboard for the cooked food that include rice, noodles and fried fritters.

It is always the noodle dishes that seemingly catches our attention when it comes to Myanmar cuisine; skimming through the signboard for the noodle dishes that they have to offer, it does seem like Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine has ceased offering some of its noodle dishes at the Soon Lee location. For the uninitiated, the Nangyi Thoke is essentially a Burmese chicken chili noodle salad — though Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine does not describe the elements that come with the Nangyi Thoke, some sources does mention that the noodles comes with elements such as chickpea flour, sliced onions and hard-boiled egg which can all be observed within the portion of noodles that we were being served with. Other elements that we did also noted in the Nangyi Thoke at Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine would include chunks of chicken and coriander. “Nangyi” in the dish’s namesake refers to the thick, round rice noodles that is being served up with the dish; think something a little similar to that of laksa noodles but broader — considering how this comes tossed in chili oil, this makes the noodles all the more slurpier. Since the Nangyi Thoke is essentially a salad dish, it is served at room temperature. The chickpea flour that has been mixed into the noodles adds an earthy note with a slightly starchy texture similar to that of finely-mashed potatoes; the chicken chunks being especially tender. The fried chickpeas provided the dish with an extra element of crunch which was a good contrast to the bouncy and slightly chewy noodles; the coriander cutting through the savoury and carb-y feel of the dish – the Nangyi Thoke also does come mildly spicy and should be manageable even for those whom have lower tolerance to spiciness in general.

The accompanying soup was one that we found really intriguing; despite coming in a colour that does not suggest a use of cream in the preparation process, it does come with a sweetness and flavour profile similarly to corn potage with a lightly peppery note. Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine’s Soon Lee location may be a little far out for most, though those residing around the Boon Lay Place neighbourhood do have a location to head to if they are curious on what Kay-Tu Myanmar Cuisine is all about. For folks like us whom work in the Central Business District, a trip to the far West can be a little bit of an excursion that is refreshing to do once in a while.