It’s a very special moment when you arrive someplace, look around at a vista that is clearly, awe-inspiringly fantastic and realize: “Holy ****! Almost no one else has SEEN this!”
It’s a very special thing for a TV series to show you something you’ve never seen before. You may not have even heard of Myanmar, the largest land-mass in SE Asia, due to a brutal military regime lasting 50 years. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, didn’t open their borders until 2011. Anthony Bourdain’s film crew were one of the first Western filmmakers to document the splendor of Myanmar in the inaugural episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown TV series.
Parts Unknown‘s Myanmar episode opens up with some grainy black and white archival footage, detailing a half-a-century of oppression under the Burmese military. The intro also shows former U. S. President Barrack Obama visiting Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi, a local politician who’s risen to prominence after the fall of the military dictatorship. The first few minutes of Parts Unknown captures both Myanmar’s past, as well as where it’s heading.
Of course, the archival footage and background information set the stage for Bourdain’s travelogue. Like most things Bourdain had a hand in, Parts Unknown largely deals with food. And people. Parts Unknown‘s Myanmar episode tracks down the country’s most iconic dishes, meeting some fascinating people along the way. Anthony Bourdain truly offers us a taste of life in Myanmar, in every way imaginable.
Anthony Bourdain starts off in Yangon, the capitol of Myanmar. He tours the local thaw tea shops, which are not only a hot-bed of delicious-looking Myanmar salads, pastries, and sweet tea, served however you may like it. He meets U Thiha Shaw, the head of Myanmar Journalism Institute, who fills him in on the heavy censorship under the military and how tea shops served as an important hub of putting together real news from the official newspapers. Shaw ended up doing prison time for his journalistic pursuit of the truth. This sets the trend for the rest of the episode – nearly everyone Bourdain meets while in Myanmar had served time in prison under the dictatorship.
Bourdain meets up with friend and fellow chef Philippe Lajaunie, the owner of Brasserie Les Halles, where Bourdain worked before striking it big with Kitchen Confidential. The pair attend the Full-Moon Festival, a three-day religious ceremony and street fair. “Like a New York street fair, but with infinitely better food.” Bourdain and Lajaunie watch in stunned disbelief as giant Ferris wheels are operated sans electricity, each one operated by a troupe of acrobatic Ferris wheel spinners.
They go on to 19th Street, the center of Yangon’s nightlife, where the meet local punk band Side Effect. The band fill them in even further what it was like being artists and musicians under the dictatorship, where even lyrics would have to be approved (and sometimes improved upon) by the censors. We learn that they even think Creed is the worst band in the world in SE Asia.
Finally, Bourdain and Lajaunie decamp for a harrowing 10-hour (more like 30 hour) “kidney-softening” train ride to Bagan. Bagan is home to some 3,000 Buddhist temples, built over the short span of 250 years between the 11th and 13th Century. Bagan is one of the crown jewels of Myanmar’s rising tourist industry, as part of what they call “the tourist triangle.” He also discovers Sarabha, Taunghi Village of the Nyaung Oo Township, which Bourdain calls “the best restaurant in the country.” He gushes over the slow-simmered chicken curry and roselle leaf soup, as well as the staggering array of side-dishes and salads. Everything is made to taste, in Myanmar, with every bite being different and highly personalized.
They even discuss the origins of Myanmar’s lavish food scene. During the regime years, there wasn’t much to do, so everyone would gather and eat. Parts Unknown offers an insightful look into the local cultures and history of the places it explores without succumbing to the documentarian’s distance. Anthony Bourdain is in it. You are too, taken along on a fly-on-the-wall tour of one of the most remote and unknown places on Earth.
Personally, i can’t wait to try some Myanmar food, while learning more about their deep history and eventually visiting SE Asia. I’d take a bumpy, life-threatening train ride to see 2000 year old Buddhist temples and eat delicious curry any day!
As i’m sure you’re all aware, Anthony Bourdain took his own life last week, for still unknown reasons. I’m taking this opportunity to celebrate his work, his affable spirit, his exquisite taste. I’m endlessly inspired by his willingness to fall off the map and explore obscure regions of this Earth, but without the tourist’s detachment. I’m also highly inspired by the way he thinks and talks about food, which will be a running theme on this blog, as well.
Life is rich with detailed language and in-depth cultural analysis. It penetrates the haze of an automatic digital existence, making our environment come to life with sights, sounds, textures, and tales. You can practically taste the crispy fried game birds from the Yagong street fair. You can nearly feel the thump of your head hitting the top of a train threatening to fly off the rails at any moment. It’s a thrilling ride that elicits a deep sympathy and an intense curiosity about this previously-clouded SE Asian country.
Parts Unknown is available to stream on Netflix. We’ll continue to explore the series and the locations he explores over the coming months to come. We hope to inspire you to fall off the map and explore, with our travel and food writing!
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