The menu at the Mandalay has all the classics people will remember. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
For too many years, there’s been a sad absence in Braddon’s nightlife. The Mandalay Bus – a Canberra icon – has been sitting idle since the pandemic closed the doors. But now, it’s back with the same Asian-Australian fusion menu, street food classics and late night eats.
Stewart George Kyaw Thaung is the son of the Mandalay’s original owner, Kyaw ‘George’ Thaung, whose long life was richly storied. He came to Canberra after the Second World War to work at the Burmese Embassy and spent many years as the shearer’s cook for the Yarralumla Woolshed.
He started a food trailer in 1969, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Stewart George Kyaw Thaung says the Mandalay Bus is his father’s legacy. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
After George died in 2019 and the pandemic slowed business, Stew made the difficult decision to shut up shop for a while. But he knew it wasn’t permanent.
“I’d never given up … I always said that we would reopen. This is my father’s legacy and it’s in my blood,” he told Region.
“Even when I was a kid, I remember riding on the top level when dad drove the bus into Braddon … there’s so much history in this bus, and everyone’s got stories.”
I shared my own memories with Stew of coming to the Mandalay after rehearsals with a jazz band or at the end of long shifts working at local restaurants. It was one of the few places where you could get a good feed late at night. Stew says he’s seen plenty of musicians and shift workers coming back to the bus since opening a few weeks ago, along with late-night partiers, students and even families.
“We’re starting to see the next generation of people coming through and bringing their kids!”
The menu remains broadly the same, so Canberrans can relive classics like the satay chicken roti with kimchi and bean sprouts, which he describes as “a flavour bomb in every bite!” This dish was my favourite – along with the Burmese coconut noodles – back in my early 20s when I was a regular at the Mandalay, and the taste takes me straight back.
The roti with satay chicken remains the favourite of this long-time Mandalay aficionado. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Chilli cheese balls have replaced the jalapeño poppers – they have less of a tendency to explode all over patrons, Stew explains – which are crispy on the outside with oozy insides studded with pieces of spicy jalapeños. No explosions, but a tonne of flavour.
George’s Burmese heritage is celebrated across the menu, with plenty of multicultural twists. Which is appropriate, Stew said, considering Myanmar sits on the border of so many different counties. And in George’s early days in Canberra, many people mistook him to be Chinese, “so he just made his own versions of Chinese dishes”.
“Back then, it was a lot of fried rice and noodles, but now it’s more Australian and Asian fusion with a twist.”
Just a few weeks after opening, the Mandalay is enjoying a resurgence of popularity from nostalgia seekers and new customers alike. And this corner of Braddon feels more alive with the yellow bus shining like a beacon.
The Mandalay Bus is located at the Haig Park Carpark on the corner of Lonsdale and Girraween streets. They are open from 6 pm until 1 am Wednesday to Saturday. Follow The Mandalay Bus on Facebook and Instagram.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Riotact.
