Mawlamyine Citrus Fruit Flakes

One of our favorite things about owning an international snack company is the variety of flavors and treats we get to experience.  Our last snack article was of the Top 5 British Chocolate Bars and today we are looking at something completely different.  We are excited to announce we are reviewing an item from our 31st country, Myanmar, previously known as Burma. 

The World of Snacks co-founder is actually Burmese and moved to the US when she was 13.  Why did it take us so long to review a snack from Myanmar?  Well, there are not many Burmese snacks to begin with.  In addition, there are not many (or any) Burmese stores in the US or out of country stores that ship internationally.  So, finding these foreign snacks is quite difficult.  In fact, this one was hand delivered from Myanmar directly!  So let’s take a closer look at these rare Mawlamyine Citrus Fruit Flakes.

Our snack under review comes in a strange package and to both of our American reviewers it resembles a small container of fish food.  The snack inside also resembles fish food.  Other than the expiration date, all the writing on this snack package is in Burmese and if we did not move on the taste test I would not have realized that this item is indeed a snack.  Luckily we have a fluent Burmese speaker on hand to translate.  This treat reads the name of Myanmar’s 4th biggest city, Mawlamyine up top.  Below the text translates to Citron Fruit Flakes, or Citrus Fruit Flakes.  Now we know what this exotic snack item looks like, likes move onto the taste test!

Well, this Burmese snack is interesting to say the least. Upon opening the package there is a strong fragrance that hints toward lemon.  It’s very overpowering, and lead me to believe this strange item is not fish food, maybe it’s potpourri?  Our 11 year old director of taste stated, “It smells like an antique store!” and personally, I agree.  We dove in and sampled the Mawlamyine Citrus Fruit Flakes anyway.  What we experienced was not what any of our American tasters expected.  We though the snack would be sweet and chewy.  It was not, the most potent flavor was salt, and the snack was hard and needed to be sucked before it fell apart and became edible.  It was a little shocking, and only slightly enjoyable.  We asked our Myanmar native to see if she enjoyed the snack.  She said, “It reminds me of my childhood, however I will only eat it again if I am bored.”  After being further question she too mentioned it was only slightly enjoyable.

Will World of Snacks offer the Mawlamyine Citrus Fruit Flakes from Myanmar?  Well, we don’t imagine we will anytime soon.  Recently the trade embargo has been lifted and we have toyed with idea of heading to former Burma to establish and American Snack storefront in Yangon.  Even if this far-fetched idea came to reality, we are not sure if the demand for Burmese Snacks around the world would justify us offering their treats in our international snack store.   If you’d like to stay up-to-date with the addition of other countries and their best cookies, cakes, sweets, chocolates, and chips to our inventory- be sure to leave your details to the right.  Keep on snacking world!

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