Healthy homemade breakfast for low-income households

Tea shops decorated with grand teak furniture are commonly seen and strategically located around the corner of the streets of every ward and the markets across the commercial hub Yangon, where low-income households are located.
The majority of the Yangonites come to tea shops as they offer delicious breakfast foods. Most of the families enjoy breakfast at the tea shop on the weekdays and during the weekends.
In the suburban areas of Yangon city where low-income people live, the small shops still offer a reasonable price for each food item.
“If a family of three or four goes to a restaurant, it costs K5,000-K8,000 at least. It does not mean the food can fill their stomach. Nangyi salad (thick rice noodle) made with chicken curry is sold at K1,800-K2,000 per dish at the restaurant, while the roadside shops around the corner of the street offer this at K1,000. As far as I am concerned, the location and decoration of the restaurants cause the price gap,” said Ko Aung Tun Oo from Ahlon Township.
Street food vendors offering Myanmar popular breakfast foods (Monhinga, Coconut noodle soup, salad) can be found in the wards and markets. They have their own customers depending on the taste. Even some restaurants cannot keep up with them in sales.
“How low one earns, they spend K3,000-K4,000 on breakfast at the tea shops. Some buy Myanmar snacks such as steamed sticky rice, boiled peas and other traditional delicacies and eat at home in the morning. Whatever they eat, they spend K1,500-2,000 on breakfast,” said Ko Khin Ohn from North Okkalapa Township.
When the country was stepping up the COVID-19 prevention and control measures in the previous year, the tea shops were directed to ensure a three-feet social distance with plastic partitions. At present, the vaccination has been covered across the country. The COVID-19 rules are eased.
“Adults can control themself not to eat out. Yet, the children are satisfied with only the snacks offered at the tea shops. As the restaurants hiked up the prices of the food items, the small vendors and shops in the wards also raised the price a bit accordingly. Myanmar popular breakfast foods (Monhinga, Coconut noodle soup, salad) are priced at K700 per dish at the roadside shops as well,” Daw Mu Mu from Mingala Taungnyunt Township elaborated.
Although the restaurants serve many foods at a single place, poor hygienic practices are still found.
“We can see poor hygienic standards in the restaurants; personal hygiene of waiters, dirty dishes and kitchen utensils and accessories and unhealthy ingredients. Sometimes, unwanted things are found in the plate,” Daw Mu Mu continued.
Factory workers and blue-collar workers always calculate the food prices with their income and they fill their stomach with the fair and cheap foods for breakfast.
“We can eat a good and nutritious meal for lunch when we can cut the cost of our breakfast. The restaurants use unhealthy oil as well. My family rarely eats out. We eat fried rice with peas at home. We buy instant coffee mix sachets. We spend our income effectively. We make healthy and nutritious homemade meals instead of eating out,” a housewife Daw Wah Wah Nwe shared her opinion.
Translated.