After eating local food for days in Myanmar, we were really craving some western food. Luckily we were in Bagan and a friend told us about Weatherspoon’s delicious burgers.

Weather Spoon’s is a small family-owned place by the side of the road. It is ranked #1 in Bagan restaurants not because of the ambiance, but because of the quality of their food. I have to agree… we ate in more expensive, nicer, air-conditioned restaurants with nice views, but the food here is good old comfort food served by the very friendly owners.

Young Win Tun, the owner of Weather Spoon’s Bagan, served us ice cold Myanmar Beer, and told us that he spent some time in the UK studying balloon piloting and, though his place is not related to the UK pub chain Wetherspoon’s, he was inspired by his time in the UK to put up a pub in Bagan that served decent burgers.

The burger was heaven after days of local cuisine. The patty was thick and juicy with generous veggies, and the beer battered fries amazing. I wish we had time to come back and try out the Thai and other dishes that people are raving about in the other reviews. As you can see the walls are filled with scribbles of happy customers.

It was a quiet night when we went, and I wonder if you will find it this quiet nowadays that its ranked #1 on tripadvisor?  

I want to share with you a cautionary tale. This is not to turn anybody off from eating in Weather Spoon’s but rather a cautionary tale for anyone visiting Myanmar and wishes to prevent an upset stomach.

The evening we were in Weather Spoon’s there was a blackout (Does this still happen in as often in Bagan till today? I’d love to know!) and to apologize for the inconvenience Win Tun gave us a big bowl of fruits for dessert. He was being so nice, but because it was dark we did not notice that the fruit pieces (even the banana slices) had been washed and were swimming in water. Had there been enough light then we would have noticed. So we happily ate the fruits and it gave us the very worst… let me put it delicately… food poisoning ever. Our theory is that the fruits were washed with tap water and not with mineral water. This would really explain it because locals are able to drink tap water which comes from the river, but tourists have not built up a tolerance to their river water and it is not recommended to drink anything but bottled purified or mineral water while in Myanmar.

If I were to go back to Bagan, I would still love to go back to Weather Spoon’s, but I will stick to my rules of refraining from raw fruit or vegetables that is swimming in water. And eating mostly cooked items to prevent any tummy upsets. These rules apply also to the more high end restaurants in Myanmar and even in places like Jakarta where the water quality isn’t great.

 

Have you ever eaten in Weather Spoon’s Bagan? Drop me a line, I would love to hear your favorite dishes there! 

 

Weather Spoon’s Bagan

Restaurant Row, Yarkinthar St, Nyaung Oo, Bagan, Myanmar map
+95 9 430 92640
open everyday 09.00 – 22:00
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