Tourists come here as is the backpackers street of Yangon. Lively and entertaining 19 Street Yangon is where to eat and drink.
By day the street is a marketplace of products and goods in the Chinatown district of Yangon, but by night the street market is replaced by the many street food stalls and little restaurants that line this road in what is the most vibrant part of Yangon. This is the place to go for street food in Yangon; outside seating, bustling local life and a boozy night scene.
Places to eat can be found by simply wandering around the streets of downtown Yangon; Chinatown, centred around 19th Street and Mahabandoola Road, is a particularly good place to find restaurants and stalls selling dishes from all over Asia. You will find vendor after vendor of charcoal grills, cooking all sorts of meats, veg and marinades from shop house barbecue restaurants.
At one time 19th street Yangon was the only place to go boozing. Past regulations on alcohol and group congregations it was Chinatown which the government were most reluctant to crack down on mainly due to the Chinese population and culture in the area. To date, this has not changed and 19th street still makes the perfect place for a meal, barbecue and drinks.
This is the place to be if you are looking for cheap beer and a friendly chit chat with the locals or other travellers. Try the Myanmar beer, one can cost you less than $ US 2, and a full meal from $US 2-6.
Double Happiness Bar is the place to be for cocktails and meet other travellers, with a cool bar vibe. A Mandalay Mojito or Caipirinha less than $ US 1 each, making a beer the most expensive option, a night here won’t cost you much and is the extreme value (while it lasts), but beware after having a few too many!
See my video of Yangon which features the Shewdagon Pagoda →