Shadowing Practice: Myanmar has DANGEROUSLY Good Breakfast! 🇲🇲 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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6 a .m in Myanmar.

How does Yangon start instead?

Well, with mohinga and tea.

We're diving deep into breakfast locals have been waking up to for generations.

From steaming bowls of noodles to decades -old tea shops, this is Burmese breakfast like you've never seen.

Good morning from Myanmar.

Today we are taking you on a breakfast tour here in Yangon.

When I spoke to Burmese people living abroad the thing they told me they miss most about their country

and their food was the breakfast we're gonna have the ultimate breakfast tour here in Yangon

so for breakfast this morning in Yangon we're having the national dish mohinga

you can't come to Myanmar without eating mohinga

so it starts with the base of garlic chilies onions cooked

down with a fish river fish cart until the meat just falls off the bone

and then they actually take the bones pound it into like a powder

and then they mix it back into the soup

so even the bones are in there they thicken it up with a chickpea powder

and then it's served with boiled eggs

and noodles rice noodles this massive pot of mohinga is boiling away on charcoal

and they are just selling out like by 8 30 every day we're here at 7 30

and it is just absolutely packed you can pick all your toppings as you wish

and they also have another dish here called ono khao sui

which is like a coconut milk base we're gonna try both

but just getting in the kitchen getting close

and seeing all the action that's one way to start your day here in Yangon.

Breakfast in Yangon.

This is mohinga and there are so many different types of mohinga.

I'm not even going to get into it from all the different regions across the country.

But today we've got our bowl which comes with a couple of interesting ingredients.

This

fried bottled gourd and then the banana stem which is very popular

and then we've got a whole onion it looks like there as well.

And then I've been told I should dress it up with a little bit of cilantro here,

a little bit more, and then some chili as well.

And this is gonna be my first taste of mojenga which is such a famous dish here.

Squeeze of lemon.

Let's give that a little mix.

Oh, that's looking super thick.

So it's thickened up with that chickpea powder and then just the bones of the fish, everything river fish

oh yum like fried bottle gourd in there

which gives it a nice crunch

and the noodles are super slippery just thin little noodles kind of like hanom jean in Thailand

and the flavor is not as like fishy as I thought

it's actually quite subtle really thick creamy broth like the noodles are just completely soaked.

There's so much going on in there.

Let me try this, which is the banana stem or like I guess the trunk of the banana tree.

It reminds me of lotus stem.

It's like almost nothing.

It's just like air and fiber really nice just a little bit of a crunch

and I'm eyeing this onion that they put in there whole onion you just take a biter the side of it

I thought it was gonna be like really strong seafood flavor

which for me 7 in in the morning is not like my cup of tea, but it's actually not.

It's really, really nice.

Creamy, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy now.

I've added the chilies, and then you can squeeze the lemon as much as you want for the sourness.

And that's awesome.

This style of mohinga is called meow -meah.

I'm not gonna get into it, like I said, because I don't know enough about it to talk about it, but it's a little bit lighter.

There's not fish paste in this one, So the seafood flavor is not as strong.

I'm just sitting right on the side of the street, watching them cook.

They're all cooking over charcoal too.

And like I said earlier, they're going to sell out real quick.

This is a popular breakfast spot.

Mohinga.

I love it.

It's actually so delicious.

Okay, second bowl of noodles.

We got the Ono Khao Sui, which they only sell on Saturdays and Sundays.

So I guess there's a debate.

It's similar to Khao Sui in Thailand, or maybe Khao Sui is similar to Ono Khao Sui in Myanmar.

Very similar coconut milk based broth.

This one is chicken, so no fish in this one.

Some onions, some crackers.

They gave us lots of bones.

I see the wishbone in there too.

And some noodles on the bottom there.

I'm going to again throw some cilantro on top here.

And this is also thickened up with the chickpea powder as well.

Let's see if we can get down to those noodles at the bottom.

There we go.

Mmm.

My gosh, super creamy because like it's already creamy from the coconut milk

that they put in there but then they thickened it with the chickpea powder

so it's like extra extra thick and it's not as spicy even though it has

that red color it's not very spicy and then another key difference here is that the noodles are actually wheat noodles.

This one's a lot sweeter than the mohinga really creamy really rich

I actually think I prefer the mohinga

this one's a little bit heavy for me for breakfast I order my mohinga with a duck egg in it

and I'm so excited to try I love it go straight for it

it's pretty good really good actually

Thank you to Mark and Sandy from Sabah tour for taking us to a really, really good spot.

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It makes me happy when I see

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Thai people enjoying the morning gaff.

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I don't think you're converted on the Onok house.

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I love it.

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One thing that makes traveling way easier for me is knowing I'm going to have data as soon as I land.

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106

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107

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So instead of buying a new SIM or figuring out a new data plan every time you cross the border,

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you can basically stay connected wherever you're going.

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Something else I really like is Olafly's always on feature.

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So for example, I'm traveling in Japan

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and I'm transiting in another country on the way home and my plan has just run out.

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Well, I have one gigabyte of backup data, which gives me enough time to renew my plan or grab a new eSIM for my next destination.

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So for me, it's really just taking the hassle out of traveling

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and having the peace of mind that I will be connected

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when I land so I can focus on the things that really matter when you travel, like the food.

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Use my code to get a discount on your next Olifla eSIM.

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So we spotted this stall on the side of the street making something they call ijiaqgwe,

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which is very similar or almost the exact same thing to Chinese yu tiao.

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So he's got this big thing of dough that he's cut into strips.

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He takes one of the strips, cuts it in half, and then presses them together with almost like a big chopstick.

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Then they go stretched right into the oil

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and then they've got more surface area

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that way since he's put two of them

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so they kind of pop up and then fried until golden crispy and then we're gonna dip it in tea.

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So this is a really creamy malari.

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Check out this giant cauldron of oil cooking away.

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Wow, so they take not very much time until they're completely golden crispy.

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He's got the biggest chopsticks I've ever seen

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and then once maybe just two minutes in the oil then they're ready to go.

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So we're going to order some up and then have it with tea.

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I said it was a stall

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but really it's just a table right on the street like not even on the side of the street

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we're like in the middle of the road

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so we got the ijiaqoe

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and then right beside them is another stall that's selling bay balata

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which is almost like roti but it's stuffed with beans

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and they've actually been here for 20 years in this stall here

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and we're gonna order both up

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and have them just across the street over here with some tea crazy

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that they've been here in this little cart for 20 years selling this it's amazing

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so at the tea shop that we're going to have all the snacks

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that we've been gathering they also make naan so they've got this easy tandoor oven that's like

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on an angle and it's just filled with charcoal

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so he stretches the dough over this little pillow

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and then sticks his whole arm in there slaps it on the top of the tandoor oven

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and then he's just grabbing it out with his bare hand

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and like the heat coming out of that thing is intense

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so real old -school looking shop we're gonna sit down now there's our naan with our fried dough

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and our palata and have it with teeth

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Okay, we've got our spread of different bread items and then we've just ordered up tea, but this is a special tea they call Ceylon tea,

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which has this beautiful thick top of milk curds and you're supposed to dip these guys in it.

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So I'm just going to rip this off and just go for a full submergent.

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Oh yeah.

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Oh, the tea's sweet and then this just soaks it up completely.

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It completely saturates it.

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Let's see if I can get some of those curds.

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There we go.

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Very good.

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Very rich, creamy.

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This is like a pillow, like a fried pillow.

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Okay, next up I'm going to try these beans with the naan and they call it be nanbia.

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So I'm gonna mix these guys up and then just pour them right in the middle here.

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And that naan's fresh out of the charcoal oven.

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Rip some of that off.

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And then grab some of these.

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They're sweet actually.

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I was not expecting that at all.

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I thought it was gonna be a lot more savory.

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And it was also the favorite dish of the godfather in Myanmar.

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Yeah, for John's favorite breakfast dish.

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You can actually see the little sprouts on these peas here.

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And yeah, like I said, a lot sweeter than I thought.

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This is how you really feel like a local in Myanmar.

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Sitting at the tea shop.

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This might take a little getting used to to wrap your head around the chunkies in there, the floaties

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but actually really nice.

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One more to try.

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This is the bay balata.

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So it's been fried with those beans inside.

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Just simple snacks, mostly fried.

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And then everything's complemented by the tea.

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Just sitting watching the city wake up, watching the naan being made, it's pretty amazing.

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Such a cool experience.

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This shop is just so old school.

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Like the signs on the wall look like, I don't know, they've been there for decades.

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That's about as local as it gets.

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It feels like stepping back in time in that tea shop. So cool.

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So we're just strolling through one of the many morning markets here in Yangon

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and we spotted this lady here who's selling the Banana stem

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that we had in the mohingya this morning really delicious ingredient really unique stuff

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Everybody's so smiley and friendly

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Check out all the wires here.

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They're just running every

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which way I feel bad for the dude whose job it is to have to replace one of those

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and it's an interesting sort of aesthetic here.

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The buildings weirdly remind me of like

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Hong Kong in a way.

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They're really derelict but it is really cool for photography.

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It's a particular type of aesthetic.

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This market is bustling.

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You can really feel the morning vibes here in Yangon.

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Thank you.

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Oh rats, big rats.

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So we spotted these friendly ladies selling another popular breakfast dish here in Yangon.

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So it's basically just black sticky rice.

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She sprinkles a little bit of sesame seeds

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that have been ground with salt and then it's just topped with some shredded coconut, fresh, freshly shredded coconut.

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Let's give it a little taste.

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Really sticky, sticky rice.

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It's quite salty.

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Good.

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Very good.

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It's a little bit salty.

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Quite a bit of salt.

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But the coconut kind of balances it out.

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Really chewy, sticky rice.

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It's pretty plain, but good.

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Thank you.

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Okay, our next stop is a total hole in the wall hidden gem

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and you'll only be able to find it

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if you go on a food tour with Sabah street food tours somewhere in here.

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So this hidden spot is serving puff pastries

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so you know Myanmar has a British colonial past

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so perhaps there is some influence here because we've got one kind

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that is like a curry goat but it's just like like a pie from England and you can see really fluffy,

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thin pastry with curry goat inside.

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And if you look down by my feet here, we've got some friends.

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Oh my gosh, they're all coming.

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They want some curry goat puffs.

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I'm going to try mine first.

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They're hoping I'm going to drop some.

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Oh my gosh, that is awesome.

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It's got a little bit of filling but the pastry is so flaky and buttery.

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A hint of curry from Super Tender Coat.

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Hi guys.

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So buttery, flaky, it's amazing.

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This is like French level pastry, seriously. So delicate.

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Yeah.

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Please don't pee on me.

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Oh my god.

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Oh my god!

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Like three months old.

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How many of them is there?

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Four?

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Canada's house.

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Four.

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Four.

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Four.

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Three of them.

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Okay.

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You want to come to Canada?

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Here, sit there.

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Oh!

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Oh!

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Okay, so we've got another pastry, puff pastry.

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These ones are sweet, filled with coconut.

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You can see a little bit of the coconut sort of pouring out the side there.

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Listen to this crunch.

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Mmm, oh my god.

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Oh my god.

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For me, this is like perfect breakfast.

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Sweet, buttery.

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Look at how airy the inside of that is.

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It's like so, so delicate and fluffy.

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That is phenomenal.

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Sweet coconut flavor, but also a little smoky.

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Really good.

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Wow.

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The crunch is like the next level.

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It's not greasy at all, actually.

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It's really good.

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I can't eat.

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I need to play with the cat.

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The coconut inside of that pastry is so good.

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You can tell that the quality of the coconuts here in Myanmar is so, so fresh and delicious.

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Not only just a little bit of sugar, so it gives it a sweetness.

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But everybody doesn't care about the pastries anymore.

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We're just worried about the cat now.

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You're not bringing one home.

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Have you ever heard of cat distribution system?

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Yeah.

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This is it.

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This is it.

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That was maybe my favorite bite of the day, that coconut puff pastry.

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So, so delicious.

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That's going to be it for our breakfast tour.

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Huge thank you to Mark and Sandy from Saba Street Food Tours.

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The link for their stuff will be down in the description box

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so you can have an awesome food tour and experience here in Yangon.

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And we will see you guys on the next episode of Chopstick Travel.

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Bye.

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117 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Myanmar has DANGEROUSLY Good Breakfast! 🇲🇲”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: breakfast, tea, coconut, mohinga, noodles. This video has 294 sentences and 2681 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:35. The speaker talks at a steady 137 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
coconut noun	/ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt/	A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed.
pastry noun	/ˈpeɪstɹi/	A baked food item made from flour and fat pastes such as pie crust; also tarts, bear claws, napoleons, puff pastries, etc.
fry verb	/fɹaɪ/	To cook (something) in hot fat.
dish noun	/dɪʃ/	A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle.
bone noun	/boʊn/	A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
powder noun	/ˈpaʊ.dɚ/	The fine particles which are the result of reducing a dry substance by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or the result of decay; dust.
onion noun	/ˈʌn.jən/	A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
thick adjective	/θɪk/	Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
delicious adjective	/dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/	Pleasing to the sense of taste; tasty.
stem noun	/stɛm/	The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.
flavor noun	/ˈfleɪvə/	The quality produced by the sensation of taste or, especially, of taste and smell in combined effect.
banana noun	/bəˈnænə/	An elongated curved tropical fruit of a banana plant, which grows in bunches and has a creamy flesh and a smooth skin.
curry noun	/ˈkʌ.ɹi/	One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce.
sticky adjective	/ˈstɪki/	Tending to stick; able to adhere via the drying of a viscous substance.
stall noun	/stɔːl/	A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
check out verb	To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
sell out verb	To sell all of a supply or stock of something.
fall off verb	To become detached or to drop from.
figure out verb	To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
get down to verb	To start focusing on doing something serious
look down verb	To lower one's eyes; to direct one's look downwards.
order up verb	To summon for military duty.
pop up verb	To come up with a "pop" sound.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Let's give that a little mix.
Let's give it a little taste.
I'm going to try mine first.
They're hoping I'm going to drop some.
Have you ever heard of cat distribution system?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have been waking · I've been using · we've been gathering
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've never seen · I've been told · I've added
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	I've been told · are just completely soaked · is called
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	stem which is · mojenga which is · this, which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 77 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thick /θɪk/, thin /ˈθɪn/, aesthetic /ɛsˈθɛ.tɪk/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, thicken /ˈθɪkən/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: dish /dɪʃ/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, freshly /ˈfɹɛʃli/
Long words — get the stress right: destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, unlimited /ʌnˈlɪm.ɪ.tɪd/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/, photography /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/, phenomenal /fɪˈnɒmɪnəl/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like coconut, pastry, fry.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Myanmar has DANGEROUSLY Good Breakfast! 🇲🇲 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?