Ice Plum Soda: The Burmese Street-side story we couldn’t leave behind
How a refreshing pickled soda drink from the streets of Burma found its way onto our Thingyan menu
by
Team Burma Burma
Sometimes, inspiration arrives in the most unexpected places. Not in bustling markets or famous restaurants but on a roadside where you find a vendor serving chilled soda over fruit that's been patiently pickled for weeks. There's no elaborate presentation or some secret recipe being guarded. Just a familiar ritual that's been enjoyed for generations. It's these everyday discoveries that often travel home with us. One such discovery eventually became our Ice Plum Soda, a limited-edition beverage that made its debut during our Thingyan, Burmese New Year Festive Menu, earlier this year.
For many of our guests, it was an unexpected favourite. For us, it was a memory from Burma, poured with love into a glass.
A Refreshment Found on the Streets of Burma
Burma has a long tradition of preserving seasonal fruits through pickling. Sweet, sour and gently salty all at once, these pickled fruits are enjoyed in many ways - as snacks, alongside meals or often as a refreshing street-side treat. One of the simplest ways to enjoy them is with chilled soda as a refreshment on a hot day in the summer.
A spoonful of pickled fruit, a little of its brine, plenty of ice, all topped with a crisp soda. The drink is fizzy, tangy, lightly sweet and wonderfully refreshing. It's a drink designed for the weather, the moment and the joy of slowing down. During one of our research trips through Burma, our team stumbled upon exactly this. Watching fruit meet fizz, we were struck by how effortlessly refreshing a simple drink could be. The idea stayed with us long after the trip had ended.
From The Streets Of Burma To Our Burmese New Year Festive Menu
When we began creating our festive menu for Thingyan, the Burmese New Year, we wanted every dish and drink to capture the spirit of Burma's New Year celebrations. Thingyan is a festival of water, renewal and relief from the summer heat. Refreshment naturally became an important part of the menu. Inspired by the memories of that unforgettable street-side drink, we created the Ice Plum Soda.
Tangy pickled plum met honey, black grass jelly and sparkling soda to create something that felt both nostalgic and entirely new. The familiar sweetness of fruit balanced the gentle tartness of the pickle with the grass jelly added another layer of texture to every sip.
Every limited-edition menu has a few surprises. Sometimes it's the dish everyone photographs. Sometimes it's the dessert that steals the spotlight. This time, it was a drink. As we celebrated the Burmese New year, we couldn’t help but notice our guests discover the Ice Plum Soda with curiosity and leave pleasantly surprised by its unexpected balance of flavours. Sweet met sour and fruit met fizz to create a refreshment that was nostalgic, even for people tasting it for the very first time.
It reminded us that some of the simplest ideas are often the most memorable.
The Stories We Bring Back From Our Travels
Every journey through Burma leaves us with stories way beyond just food and recipes. It leaves us with conversations, ingredients, rituals and little moments that deserve to be shared. Sometimes, these memories become a chilled glass of sparkling soda inspired by a roadside vendor who probably never imagined their everyday drink would travel across borders. These are the stories we love bringing to our tables. And the story of pickled sodas doesn’t end here. If you happened to try our Ice Plum Soda during Thingyan, you may want to keep an eye on what's brewing at Burma Burma in the coming months. Let's just say that one refreshing discovery from the streets of Burma might be opening the door to a few more.
FAQ
1. What is a Burmese pickle soda?
A Burmese pickle soda is a refreshing drink made by combining pickled fruit with chilled sparkling soda. In Burma, it's common to find street vendors serving seasonal pickled fruits topped with fizzy soda, creating a drink that's sweet, tangy and incredibly refreshing.
2. How are fruits pickled?
In Burma, seasonal fruits are traditionally pickled by preserving them in a mixture of salt, sugar and sometimes natural acids or spices. Over time, the fruits develop a distinctive sweet, tangy and lightly salty flavour while retaining much of their natural texture. These pickled fruits are enjoyed on their own, paired with meals or mixed with chilled sparkling soda to create refreshing street-side drinks.
3. Why are pickled fruits used in Burmese sodas?
Pickled fruits have long been enjoyed in Burma as snacks and accompaniments to meals. During the warmer months, they're also mixed with ice and sparkling soda to create refreshing drinks that balance sweet, tart and savoury flavours, making them a popular street-side treat.
4. What made Burma Burma's Ice Plum Soda unique?
Our Ice Plum Soda was inspired by the pickled fruit sodas we discovered during our travels through Burma. It brought together tangy pickled plum, honey, black grass jelly and sparkling soda to recreate the refreshing flavours of a traditional Burmese street-side drink.
5. Are pickle sodas common in Burma?
Yes. While recipes vary from region to region and vendor to vendor, pickle sodas made with seasonal pickled fruits are a familiar refreshment in Burma. They're especially popular during the warmer months, when a chilled, fizzy drink offers a delicious way to cool down.
