Thingyan special: Sample the best of Burmese cuisine at this vegetarian Kolkata restaurant

Burma Burma is back with its limited-edition Thingyan menu, which marks the Burmese New Year. Much like Thingyan, this menu too leans into the spirit of abundance and togetherness, and recreates the easy conviviality of Burmese lunch houses with a focus on shareable rice bowls. These hearty bowls have comforting rice, vibrant curries, stir-fries and crisp sides which reflect the layered flavours of Burmese home-style cooking. The menu also includes street-style small plates, special festive desserts and refreshing seasonal beverages.

Try the Thingyan menu at Kolkata's Burma Burma

We sat down with some chilled Mango Picante, which pairs ripe mango with chilli skin, coriander and a savoury brine. Your lips are greeted by a spicy rim as you sip into the chilled concoction. We paired this with the savoury Palata Sando, which offers a spin on a regular sandwich and features flaky palata filled with a flavourful mock-meat and radish salad.

If you love jhol momos, you will appreciate the Street-style Rice Crêpes with fresh pea shoot salad, peanut-coconut sauce and chilli oil, which are perfect for summer. At the Thingyan lunch, you should opt for at least one salad for the table. Crunchy Shiitake & Radish Salad with batter-fried mushrooms, radish, onions and tamarind chilli oil are best for dinner, and the Summer Salad is a bright combination of grapefruit and sweet lime with pea shoots, pickled ginger and plum dressing and is great for brunch.

Bowled out at Burma Burma

There are quite a few rice bowls on the menu, and each curation tells a slightly different story. The Mohinga-inspired bowl stands out for its fragrant base; it has jasmine rice perfumed with lemongrass and ginger, paired with a comforting pumpkin and peanut curry that feels both hearty and nuanced. The Hawker’s Bowl, on the other hand, lines up rice tossed with chilli oil, tamarind &

crisp fried onions, served with spiced tofu curry, asparagus & red-skin peanut stir-fry, black-eyed beans with chilli tomato & soy stir-fry, along with crunchy parcels filled with spicy corn & caramelised onions, bamboo coconut chutney and tomato peanut chutney

For those who prefer deeper, smokier notes, the Rustic Bowl delivers with charred aromatics and earthy lentil curries that echo slow, open-fire cooking. It has jasmine rice tossed with charred tomato, garlic & onion and is served with split pea & mock meat curry, broccoli stir-fried in ginger scallion sauce, broad bean with brown onion & butter stir-fry, fried oyster mushroom shells, pounded chilly mushroom chutney and pickled radish with tamarind & roasted peanuts

The Pickled Roselle Bowl is perhaps the most intriguing; its tangy, fermented edge offers a refreshing counterpoint to the heavier elements on the table.

The desserts were curated to fit into the summer memo. Banana Bliss has a banana mousse layered with a rich banana caramel & sponge cake, and it's served with chilled coconut milk. Mango Sesame Cake features a soft palm jaggery & sesame cake with mango, coconut & hibiscus, and is inspired by the flavours of traditional Thingyan sweets.

Hot tip: 1. One of our favourite appetisers was the New Year Parcels, which were soft tofu pockets with soy-seasoned cabbage & sprouts salad. Pair this with a Pandan Tamarind Fizz, where tangy tamarind pulp meets tender coconut water and fragrant pandan.

2. Try the in-house popsicle station with a fortune spin wheel. Buy a treat, spin the wheel, and you might win another, echoing the spontaneous charm of market games.

Thingyan Festival: May 1-31, 2026,

Average meal for two: ₹1800 ++

Address: 18 M, Ground Floor, Stephen Court, Park St, Kolkata, West Bengal 700071

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.