MODERN TRIBUTE TO A BURMESE ORIGINAL
Amanda Saxton finds a cuisine full of idiosyncrasies in Wellington
My first bite of tohu kyaw was revelatory. “This is the best tofu I’ve ever tasted,” I gushed, then gobbled down more. Its texture was so springy! That of a rich, baked custard. Not spongy, thank God. These socalled tofu fritters ($12) at Mabel’s, Wellington’s only Burmese restaurant, are golden, almost nutty, and taste fabulous with or without tamarind sauce.
Marlar Boon, the restaurant’s co-owner, later told me it wasn’t the best tofu I’d ever tasted, because it wasn’t tofu at all. Tohu, hailing from Myanmar’s Shan state, is a substance in its own right made with chickpea or gram flour (besan), not soybeans.
Burmese food is full of idiosyncrasies, pickled lemon, shrimp paste, and coriander. The national snack is laphet, tea leaves grown at a certain altitude, in specific soils, picked young, then buried in a pit until thoroughly fermented. It’s served in a tangle of finely chopped cabbage, spring onions, tomatoes, tiny dried shrimps, peanuts, and more. This is the dish that stuck with me after visiting Myanmar in 2011. Thank you, Mabel’s, for returning it to my life (laphet thoke, $18). Thanks also for the complimentary Kopiko coffee candy, another taste of Myanmar (though from Indonesia), available at the counter in lieu of mints.
Myanmar borders India, China, Bangladesh, Laos, Bhutan, Thailand and the Andaman Sea. Its cuisine contains hints of these neighbours, but is distinct (and delicious) enough to warrant more attention than it gets. At Mabel’s you can sample a sizeable swathe, with mains falling broadly into curry (hin in Burmese, $22-$29) and noodle (kauk swe, $22-$24) categories. I love mohinga ($23): rice noodles in a thick fishy broth, invigorated by lemongrass, chilli, and citrus. It comes with a jammy egg and onion fritters.
Boon, 33, owns Mabel’s with her husband, Ian Boon, and their business partner Dan Felsing.
Ian Boon and Felsing already owned the cocktail bar Crumpet, hence the new restaurant’s own tantalising cocktail menu. The trio founded Mabel’s as an homage. Most obviously to Boon’s paternal grandmother, Mabel San Nyein, who migrated here from Myanmar in the 1970s and established Monsoon, New Zealand’s first Burmese eatery. But it’s also a tribute to Boon’s wider family, Burmese culture, and all plucky migrants doing the hard yards for a better future, Boon explains.
While Boon grew up in Wellington, her parents — both ethnically Burmese — had a house and relatives in Yangon that the family visited often. On these trips “home”, Boon’s favourite treat was falooda — a joyful concoction of rose milk, Indian icecream, custard, jelly, jaggery, and basil seeds. Always from the Golden Prawn falooda shop, which was reached via a ride in a rickshaw. Falooda at Mabel’s ($12) is Boon’s take on the Golden Prawn original. She describes it as “Turkish delight meets bubble tea”.
Boon was last in Myanmar in 2017, for her maternal grandfather’s funeral. She came back hoping someone would open a Burmese restaurant in Wellington. She’s lost more family members over there since, and says the deaths made “celebrating my family’s Burmese identity really important to me”. Her own Burmese restaurant seemed the most sensible way to do it, and Myanmar’s brutal military coup d’etat in 2021 cemented Boon’s resolve.
“I really, really wanted to share our culture, to encourage a little more interest, a little more empathy. Myanmar is the biggest country in Southeast Asia, but under-the-radar and experiencing a lot of hardship.”
The building housing Mabel’s has the same faded colonial aesthetic and exposed brick interior as many in Yangon. Its pistachio-coloured window frames and candle-light vibe are what you find in that city’s old-timey eateries. Burmese textiles and handicrafts hang on the restaurant’s walls, but are understated enough to avoid accusations of kitsch. Mabel’s is both spacious (seating 150) and intimate, with a homey sophistication encouraging diners to linger.
Boon likes to have “context and a story behind everything”. Some of the textiles are longyi — sarongs worn by Burmese men and women — that belonged to her late uncle. A sesame-infused rye cocktail ($19) is named after her grandfather’s house in Myanmar: Neville Lodge. Mabel’s is just around the corner from where Mabel herself used to fundraise for the Buddhist Monastery in Stokes Valley (her postmonsoon passion).
Monsoon closed before Boon was born but her grandmother kept on cooking for family, friends and Myanmar’s diaspora. Each Burmese New Year, Mabel made traditional noodles to share with Wellington’s Burmese community at her home.
Burmese New Year was this week, incidentally, ending today. Boon had wanted to “do something massive” at Mabel’s to mark the occasion, but canned plans when a key staff member got Covid-19. Now she’s playing it by ear.
“Either we’ll be doing something special — on a smaller scale — or we’ll be closed,” she laughs. “Please call ahead to find out.”