There is so much to love in MiMi Aye's wonderful Mandalay: Recipes & Tales from a Burmese Kitchen but, even before I got on to the recipes, I felt that a book that told me that in Burma people greet each other by asking whether they've eaten yet, belonged in my life... I am so grateful to Mimi Aye for a really loving and hungry-making introduction to a fascinating cuisine. * Nigella Lawson *
Knowing next to nothing about Burmese food, it's a glorious revelation. Autobiography, history and recipes all rolled into one magnificent whole. A brilliant, beguiling book. * Tom Parker Bowles *
Real insight into a cuisine I don't know nearly enough about... and a delicious love letter to Burma. * Marina O'Loughlin *
A gorgeous book full of narrative and recipes, with an unignorable cover in the brightest of yellows and the deepest of crimsons. It schooled me lightly in a culinary Burma, a country whose food is influenced by its proximity to China, India and Thailand, but which is much more than simply an amalgam of that. For example, the repertoire includes a profoundly developed interest in fritters. Apparently, the Burmese love deep-fried stuff. This is something we can all get behind. -- Jay Rayner * The Guardian *
Aye is a gifted recipe writer and opinionated champion of the food of her family... This is a book to read as well as cook from, packed with evocative imagery. * Observer Food Monthly *
It's rare to come across a book that opens up an entirely new cuisine to us and Mandalay does exactly that. Burmese recipes that combine the deliverable with the authentic, written with calm authority leavened with personal touches from an engaging personality. Buy and learn. -- Tim Hayward * Financial Times online *
A readable, personal collection of stories and recipes from a country [MiMi] refers to as 'home'... Enlivened with family snaps and beautiful food photography, it's a brilliant introduction to Myanmar's food culture. * Delicious Magazine *
MANDALAY is an utterly charming, enlightening collection of food and stories, written with authority and a clear sense of the author rarely seen in the 'cookbooks by region' shelves of a bookshop. * The Caterer *
Mandalay: Recipes and Tales from a Burmese Kitchen by MiMi Aye offers surprises and inspiration with its accessible recipes. It isn't intimidating but just pushes culinary boundaries down a tasty road to Mandalay. * Mostly Food and Travel Journal *
Held close to one's chest and handed down along bloodlines, woman-to-woman, recipes carry great weight in Burma... Aye's account of Burmese food is invitingly personal, interspersed with family photos and stories of travels. It's also highly educational, with sections devoted to eating and serving customs, staple ingredients and alternatives, and Why MSG is A-OK. * nationalpost.com *
In her beautiful book Mandalay, MiMi brings fresh flavours right into British homes. * Great British Food Magazine *
