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Roadside Toddy Shop · Palm Sap Wine

Htan Yay

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The same sap is sweet and non-alcoholic at dawn but naturally ferments into a tangy, mildly boozy drink by afternoon — served from clay pots at roadside 'toddy shops.'

Htan yay is sap tapped from the flowering stem of the toddy palm by climbers who scale the trees barefoot each morning. Fresh, it's a sweet drink; left to sit, it ferments into a lightly alcoholic, effervescent palm wine served in clay cups at open-air toddy shops around Bagan and Mandalay.

Why it's made this way: Toddy tapping is a generations-old rural trade in central Myanmar, and toddy shops remain a classic gathering spot for sharing drinks and grilled snacks.
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