I suppose we have come to the moment when I have to admit that Dan and I have been staying in something resembling luxury hotels. In our own eyes, this is not “us.” But through an accident of a chain of travel agents, this is how we have ended up.

And okay, it’s fun. Especially the welcoming cold face towels in this hot, humid weather.

So we are staying in the Sedona Hotel in Mandalay, a fine old British Raj type of building just across from the old palace of the king, which now houses government buildings we would prefer not to think about. Around this complex there is a moat. Around the moat there is a park with a walking path with exercise stations that people actually use.

And, on the cross street, just across from a busy local restaurant with a name written in an alphabet that we cannot decipher. And whose popularity we can observe from our hotel window and ultimately we can’t resist. And that serves delicious food with attentive service, which if we could only cross the street without dying of a heart attack (see: Motorbikes in Mandalay) we might patronize all the time.

But I am here to talk about breakfast. Breakfast is included in the hotel bill and is offered as an extensive buffet of all the things you might hope to choose from at breakfast, and more besides.

It’s the “more besides” that gets my interest this morning. There seems to be a whole sub-buffet devoted to an interesting… can it really be *soup*? For breakfast?

Yes!

It’s Burmese fish soup, the national breakfast dish.

Well, how long can a person stay in Myanmar without at least trying the national dish? Especially if that person has come to believe that Burmese cuisine just might be the most delicious on the planet?

But this is complicated. I have to engage one of the servers to explain it to me. He tells me the name is Moht Hin Khar (later found on the Internet as “mohingar”, and this is how it’s laid out. Behold:

I put together a bowl of this heavenly scented breakfast, adding the condiments that appeal to me. And scrape the bowl clean. And wish I had room for a second whole identical breakfast right on top of the first.

This is the best breakfast I’ve ever had. How have they kept this a secret in Myanmar for so long? Why has it not yet taken over the planet?

Here is an idea of what’s in the soup:

• fish
• lemongrass
• turmeric
• onion
• garlic
• ginger
• chilies
• shrimp paste
• fish sauce

This is in the soup itself. There are also, don’t forget, all those condiments. Add what you like.

Here are a few links to recipes:

• from hsaba.com
• from yum-oh.blogspot.com
• from bestoodles.com

I’m going to try to make this sometime. But given my difficulty in getting even the coffee right in the morning, maybe not for breakfast.