Tucked away in the bustling Kalaw Town Market is the small but mighty Kanbawza Shan Noodles shop. This little street food stall may be easy to miss among the many vendors selling produce and spices, but it's worth seeking out for its fresh, handmade Shan noodles.
The noodles are made right at the stall, so you can watch as the dough is quickly stretched and sliced into long, bouncy noodles. The standard option is a bowl of chicken or pork broth with rice noodles, topped with your choice of chicken, pork, or tofu. What makes it stand out is the ultra-flavorful broth, simmered for hours with an ideal blend of garlic, onions, soy sauce and aromatic spices. Each bite of the chewy noodles dipped in the savory broth is simple but satisfying comfort food.
For those wanting some extra flavor, they offer condiments like lime, diced onions, cilantro and Chinbaung chilli paste on the side. The prices are extremely reasonable - around 2,000 kyat for a bowl - making this a popular lunch spot for locals and tourists alike.
The small family-run stall has just a few stools and a shared table, so be prepared to grab a spot wherever you can or take your noodles to go. The service is no-frills but friendly, with the cook's wife and daughter dishing up piping hot bowls as quickly as they are ordered.
Overall, Kanbawza Shan Noodles offers an authentic local noodle experience you won't find anywhere else in Kalaw. For a cheap, tasty meal with classic Shan State flavors, it's a must-try when visiting the market. Just follow your nose to the aromatic broth and be transported to noodle heaven with the first slurp!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Price per person
K 1–5,000
Food: 3
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 3
Recommended dishes
Sticky Shan Noodles
I do recommend this for Shan traditional breakfast at Kalaw. It's located inside Kalaw Market, which is also an amazing place to visit.
The food is really good and authentic. Cheap and amazing. Service is also good.
Happy to share it.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Food: 5
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4
t is in the kalaw myoma market. The name of the shop is kanbalza. You should eat when you arrive. Only 1000 kyats per game.. The taste is very good..
Food: 4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Look for this noodle shop in the Kalaw Myoma Market, food stall section. Almost every Shan noodle shop is good but this shop a little bit bigger in size. They sell Shan traditional menu for breakfast and rice & curry for lunch. There are round about 10 dishes in breakfast menu and we tried almost everything cause they were so delicious yet very cheap (only 500 MMK for any breakfast dish).
Recommend to try all if you go with your friends or family. The more people, the more dishes you can try. All my pictures are Shan traditional dishes; Shan noodle, Mee-shay, Tofu thick-broth noodle, Fish paste rice, Fermented pork rice, Fermented chicken rice, Hin-htoke (rice flour with spring onion), Fried tofu. All are only 500 MMK per dish.
This shop is in Kalaw Market. Taste is very good and prices are cheap than other shan-food Shop.
Too many crowded , not enough seats.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
Recommended dishes
Chicken Rice
Too much MSG in noodles and can't handle for peak traffic for group of people. But fried Tofu is pretty good. Wrong orders and service is pretty bad. The one beside the Kanbawza (Sein Yadana) is pretty good taste and better service.
Food: 2
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 4
Kanbawza diner is still serving the delicious and plenty of regional foods and Shan cuisines to the old and new customers coming from everywhere for many decades at this place. Sometimes we must be patient waiting for our order to come when crowded.
I used to like this shan noodle very much back in the days. But I no longer enjoyed it last time as much as I did before which was in early 2020. The shop owner is a very friendly lady. The price is surprisingly cheap too. I've eaten here since it's 300 kyats per shan noodle bowl.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Breakfast
The Shan Noodle is tasty but oily. It is like traditional Myanmar style of food which is oily and salty. The Shan fried toufu is really good and tasty, even this is on too oily side of the scale. The riddish pickle is refreshing and taste without added any sugar thus it is slightly more sour then normal sweet pickle but more refreshing.
One of my favourite places to get Tofu Nwe and hin thoke in Myanmar! The lady is nice and the portions are generous - come early to get the spot as she runs out of the good stuff pretty quickly!
