Beyond the Classics: Club Rangoon Explores New Possibilities for Burmese Cuisine

Nearly two years after introducing contemporary Burmese cuisine to Singapore, Club Rangoon is pushing the conversation in a new direction, with a refreshed food and cocktail programme that moves beyond traditional interpretations and explores how Burmese flavours, ingredients and culinary influences can be reimagined through unexpected formats, techniques and combinations.

Helmed by Executive Chef "Noom" Charrinn Singdaechakarn and newest member of the Club Rangoon team, Bartender & Mixologist Khai, the latest menu reflects Club Rangoon’s most playful and experimental expression of Burmese cuisine to date. Drawing inspiration from flavours found across Myanmar home kitchens, teashops and communal meals while embracing influences beyond its borders, the programme challenges conventional expectations of what Burmese food and drink can look like today.

Rather than recreating familiar dishes, the new menu takes a more exploratory approach, drawing from the flavours and ingredients that have long shaped Burmese cuisine while allowing them to evolve in new and unexpected ways. From ngapi and balachaung to fermented tea leaves, curry pastes and pickles, these ingredients appear throughout the menu in forms that feel both recognisable and surprising.

"When we first opened, we wanted to introduce Burmese cuisine to Singapore. Two years on, we're excited to explore where those flavours can go next ," says Co-Founder Susan Htoo.

"Burmese cuisine is incredibly diverse, and we don’t believe it needs to be confined by expectations. This menu gave us the opportunity to experiment, play with the flavours we love and explore different ways Burmese ingredients can be experienced. Some of the ideas are unconventional, some are unexpected, but all of them reflect the spirit of curiosity that has always been at the heart of Club Rangoon."

From the Kitchen: Reimagining Myanmar's Dining Table 

Mutton Croquette, Tomato Ngapi-Chet Labneh

The new line-up begins with a selection of starters that showcase Club Rangoon’s increasingly playful approach to Burmese flavours. The Tomato Ngapi-Chet Labneh ($18) pairs creamy labneh with a Burmese-style tomato chilli relish, transforming one of Myanmar’s most distinctive flavour profiles, usually made with fermented fish or shrimp paste, tomatoes and chillies, into something both familiar and unexpected. 

The Mutton Croquette ($14) reinterprets the warmth of Burmese spices and aromatics through a snack format, while the Kyet Thar Hin Skewers ($16) take their cue from hin — the Burmese word for curry. Familiar flavours are presented in an unexpected form: a traditionally rice-based dish transformed into a skewer designed for sharing.

Burmese Style Bone-In Beef Short Rib Curry (left) & Kyet Thar Hin Skewers (right)

The larger plates continue that spirit of reinterpretation. The Kyet Thar Dan Bauk ($28), Myanmar's answer to biryani, reflects centuries of Indian influence on Burmese cuisine, serving Fragrant chicken rice alongside pickles and balachaung. Taking centre stage is the Burmese-Style Bone-In Beef Short Rib Curry ($58), a rich and deeply comforting dish that captures Club Rangoon’s approach to the new menu, transforming a familiar comfort dish into a richly flavoured centrepiece for sharing.

Wet Thar Nangyi Thoke (left) &  Pone Yay Gyi Fried Rice (right)

The menu also introduces dishes that demonstrate the versatility of Burmese flavours beyond their traditional formats. The Wet Thar Nangyi Thoke ($20) layers thick rice noodles with curried pork, toasted chickpea flour and pork crackling for a dish rich in texture and flavour, while the Pone Yay Gyi Fried Rice ($20) reimagines fermented horsegram in a format that feels at once familiar and entirely new.

Malai Tiramisu

Desserts continue the theme of looking beyond convention. The Malai Tiramisu ($14) brings together South Asian influences and Italian technique, while Coconut Ice Cream with Black Sticky Rice ($12) offers a contemporary take on flavours that feel both comforting and familiar.

“For this menu, we challenged ourselves to think differently about Burmese flavours,” says Executive Chef “Noom” Charrinn Singdaechakarn. “Some dishes started with a familiar ingredient, while others began with a flavour combination or technique that we wanted to explore. The goal wasn’t to recreate traditional dishes, but to ask what else Burmese ingredients could become when viewed through a different lens.”

From the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by Burmese Culinary Traditions

Club Rangoon Latest Cocktails

Alongside the new menu, Bartender & Mixologist Khai introduces a cocktail programme that embraces the same spirit of experimentation. Drawing inspiration from commonly found across Burmese kitchens, the drinks explore how ingredients such as shallot oil, fermented tea leaves and pickled produce can be transformed through contemporary bartending techniques such as pickling, preservation and tea-making.

Priced at $22 for all cocktails, highlights include the Shallot Oil Sour, which takes kyet thun si (shallot oil), one of Burmese cuisine’s most distinctive flavour-building ingredients, and reimagines it through a cocktail built with Colombo Gin, lemongrass and fino sherry. Elsewhere, the Pearl Jam showcases house-pickled pearl onions through a savoury and aromatic serve, while the High Tea explores the versatility of fermented tea leaves through a bright combination of laphet orange oleo and citrus. Rather than simply incorporating Burmese ingredients, the programme explores the many different ways they can be adapted, combined and experienced beyond their traditional applications.

Bartender and Mixologist Khai

“For us, we weren’t interested in simply adding Burmese ingredients to cocktails,” says Khai. “Whether it’s through ingredients, flavours or the way people gather and share a drink together, we wanted the menu to feel connected to the same spirit that drives the food. The goal was never simply to create cocktails with Burmese ingredients, but to capture some of the experiences and influences that make Burmese hospitality so special.”

Nearly two years since opening, Club Rangoon continues to challenge perceptions of Burmese cuisine—demonstrating that while its roots remain important, its possibilities are far from fixed. Through this latest menu, the restaurant invites diners to experience Burmese flavours not only for what they have been, but for what they can become.

Reservations available via clubrangoon.sg 

*All prices are subject to a 10% service charge and prevailing GST.