Min Thein Kha - Mano Maya Thai Restaurant

Red bean soup and fish maw soup

One day, my friends and I arrived at the farm in Mayan Talin Taw, on the outskirts of Mawbi, where I lived. | I sat them down under a cashew tree and made tea for them to drink.

Because I said I was going to have breakfast, I had to send my young student, Maung Aung Nyunt, to the Mawbi market.

I offered them tea. After they drank the tea I offered, they praised me in various ways.

One person said, "Even though Ko Aung Htun is getting older, he still has a knack for making tea. He's still the same as when he was young," and he praised him deeply.

"Now, my people, tell me. Is it just a joke?"

I asked, and my friend Ohn Myint said,

“Today is Wednesday, so you have a day off. So I thought you would be busy, so we went out. Yes, we can go out. But we have our own little matters. The first matter is that my youngest son has applied for a job at a company and has to go for an interview at the beginning of next month. He asked me to go to his father and ask him to bring me a room for the interview, so I came,” he said.

Then I said, “This is easy. Pick up a small, clean white pebble, wash it thoroughly with water, hold the pebble in your right hand, hold it near your mouth, and say, “You must recite the Loka Vidyut. How many times should you recite it? You must recite it 16 times with a 108-bead rosary. Then, sprinkle some incense on the pebble and take it with you when you go for an interview.” Ko Ohn Myint also wrote in his notebook with trembling hands.

"That's why it's easy"

He said. Then, Ko Ko took a three-pack of cigarettes from my cigarette pack, lit it, and inhaled.

"Phoe Aung Tun, even when he's in the forest, can still eat three fish. Heh.. heh.. I have to talk about my own business. Now I've retired from work and have nothing to do."

I don’t have any money. So I took a course from a Vedic teacher and started doing Vedic readings at home. I didn’t do this job like Aung Htun and others, so I didn’t know much about it. There, a little girl the same age as my granddaughter came and asked for a Piya amulet. So I found out how to make Piya amulets not only in Burmese but also in English. It was easy. The little girls also said, “If you come this time, I will give you one, father.” They said, “If you can’t give it to me next time, it will be difficult. Do that,” said U Phoe Aung Htun. Then I said, “Do this, Oko Ko. Pick up a clean white pebble, wash it with water and purify it, and hold the pebble in your right hand, put it to your mouth, and recite the mantra. There is one thing. The number of times you recite it is different. For Sunday children, recite it twice. For Monday children, recite it three times. For Tuesday children, you should recite it four times. For Wednesday children, you should recite it seven times. For Thursday children, you should recite it eight times. For Friday children, you should recite it once. For Saturday children, you should recite it five times. For Rahu children born on Wednesday afternoon, you should recite it six times.” When he said this, U Ko Ko said, “Since I am a Piya, I understand the Metta Sutta. I can imagine that the number of times varies depending on the day of the week. If you can explain it, please tell me.” He said, “This is how it is. It is arranged in terms of karaka. “ There are eight types of karaka. Karaka, paikarakaka, sapakarakaka, etc. This matter is related to paikarakaka, so it has to be arranged in this way.”

When I said that, Ko Ko said, “Why is it so difficult to explain this?” and laughed. At that moment, Maung Aung Nyunt returned from the market, so I also opened the market basket and looked at the items I had bought. I picked up a small, silvery fish and looked at it. Then I said to Maung Aung Nyunt, “Aung Nyunt, this fish is the same as Ko Sein Myint and Ma Nyein’s ‘Nyein Fish Market’.” I asked. Maung Aung Nyunt said, “Yes, father. I bought it. U Sein Myint and Daw Nyein gave it to me for free so that I could eat it.”

"So I sat the guests down under the cashew tree and then started cooking."

The fish was cooked in oil. There was also a cup of red bean soup. To relieve the pain, I added a little bit of ginger and garlic to the pickled mango and fried it in green oil. The toppings were tangy, cucumber, lettuce, and green beans. I boiled the three-spice fish paste that came from the Bawle Island area. Then, I crushed the green chilies, garlic, and ginger and put them in a small bowl. I used a skewer to remove the seeds from the chilies that were roasted on the stove and crushed them. When the fish paste was boiling on the stove, I put the dried yams in the fish paste pot and poured the hot fish paste into the small bowl that had previously been filled with the crushed chilies, grilled fish, garlic, and ginger.

Then I prepared a meal for my guests under the cashew tree. The guests did not eat the fish sauce properly. They only ate the fish sauce and the fish sauce. They also drank the red bean soup “slurp”. Sweat was dripping from their faces. Then my childhood friend Ko San Aung said.. “Phoe Aung Tun is getting old, but he has not lost his cooking skills. If you do not become a writer, and then become a fortune teller, and sell rice, you can become rich at once.”

He said. When they finished eating, I treated them to hot water.

I put the tea in a large earthenware pot, added some glutinous rice, and roasted it over a hot coal. I put the tea in a kettle and poured boiling water over it. Then I crushed about (5) tamarind seeds in a mortar and pestle, placed them on a plate, and sprinkled sesame seeds on top.

My guests drank my hot water. “What kind? This hot water smells like sticky rice. The palm kernel is not solid. It’s powdery. It’s not just a paste. It has a salty taste. It’s a great appetizer with hot water,” said Ko San Aung.

“When drinking hot water, the palm sugar is not good. The palm sugar is not good when you bite it once. If you bite it unevenly, the taste is often inconsistent on the tongue. And people's tongues usually like sweet things. They prefer sweet things to be combined with other tastes. That's why I sprinkled sesame seeds on it.”

When I said that, Ko San Aung nodded his head and listened. . .

“The rice is also good to eat. The hot water is also commendable. But I have a problem. Please do this. I am very busy these days. Please give me a small box that will open up my wallet,” he said. “This is what you should do, Ko San Aung. Pick up a small, clean, white pebble and wash it in clean water. Then hold the pebble in your right hand, place it near your mouth, and say, “Arah-ham-si.” “Arah-ham-si, I will recite it. The chanting should be done with a 108-bead rosary for 27 full weeks. Then, Ko San Aung, please rub your desk and office with that pebble.”

"I said that, and the guests burst out laughing. Then Ko Hla Pe...

“Ise is using pebbles. I will send a lorry full of pebbles from my work site,” he said with a laugh. “I have already mastered the recitation of the Buddha’s words. It is already fully effective. Pebbles are “2” and “3”. “R” is 4, so when you add them together, you get 9. The ancient masters said, “It increases the karma of nine-win.” So I will tell you how to arrange the pebbles that have nine-win as a amulet. Don’t think that I am doing it.”

When I said that, my friends burst out laughing.

Then they said goodbye to me and left. As they were about to leave, my friend Ko Myo Nyunt...

“The pebbles have also reached Aung Tun, and they are falling like diamonds. It is becoming a necessity. Please give me a little pebble next week. It is difficult for me to go abroad.”

I laughed again because he said that.

Then, I happily picked up the little Manomaya rice ball from under the cashew tree in my yard.