If you are looking for the place where all the cool kids go to party in Yangon, then it would appear that the place to be is THOR, or rather The Heart of Rangoon (Thor you get it).
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Finding Thor in the Yangon Nightlife
Before coming here I had actually not heard of the place, instead discovering it accidentally after leaving Yangon Central Railway Station. Walking past it looked like a huge complex, which indeed it was, but not initially like a bar, until I saw the fateful words “pub”.
This was at around 4pm I will add, but despite this on trying to go in I was asked if I had a reservation, which I did not. This slightly shocked me when I got in and saw the place was empty, but as it was Friday night the cute waitress explained that after 6 it would be gangbusters in the place.
What the THOR Yangon?
So it would appear that there are three main parts of THOR Yangon, all done in Greek god style fashion. The upstairs main bar and restaurant that also serves food and plays live music. This area remained me of similar style places in the Philippines, whilst also having a very unique Myanmar twang to it.
After this there is the outdoor area, which had drinks and self-contained street food provided by Thor. I did not sample this, but overall it looked pretty ace.
And lastly there is the VIP lounge, which we were had only just been opened and had a minimum service charge of about $50 to get in (consumables). There was also a DJ area, as well as a huge dance floor essentially making this part of the Yangon Nightlife/Yangon Nightclub scene.
Eating and drinking at THOR Yangon
The menu here is not only huge and pretty epic, but also while expensive for Myanmar very cheap when compared to similar places in Cambodia for example.
The food menu at Thor has a bunch of Myanmar food, other southeast Asian fare, as well as decent western menu. This included fried chicken and decent looking burgers.
I personally went for something a bit niche, doing salmon sashimi and raw shrimp. Why raw shrimp? Because this is a bit of specialty in these parts, but also to prove that I do have a street food guy stomach of steel. These idles cost $5 and $7 each and did not disappoint. The raw shrimp had been cured in a vinegar a bit reminiscent of how it is done in Cambodia, whilst the salmon was not only fresh, but had zero ice particles in it. And the wasabi? It hit me hard enough to make the staff laugh.
Drinking at THOR
I was also drinking of course, with the fully equated bar and drinks menu at Thor Yangon reminded me somewhat of a German style beer garden. I of course did my usual quality control test on a Long Island Iced Tea. So, how is a Long Island Iced Tea in Yangon? Well at Thor at least it was very good, not too strong and not too weak. And at just $4.50 a true bargain when you take in the ambience of the place.
Overall a great discovery, and when you combine a night at Thor Yangon with drinks and food at 19th Street, then you truly have the makings for a truly great night out in Yangon.
Will I be back? Absa-fucking-lootaly with part of my reasoning for coming here being that I wanted to research bringing tourists here for Young Pioneer Tours. As things stand I will hopefully be adding Myanmar to YPT’s South-East Asia program.