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Agence France-Presse

From boiled catfish soup to spicy fried frog, an eight-year-old in pyjamas and a chef’s hat is delighting Myanmar with her culinary prowess in a nation still being told to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Moe Myint May Thu’s mother posted a video online at the end of April showing off her daughter’s skills as the youngster threw together some spicy fried prawns.
With her wide gap-toothed grin, the video has bounced across social media and brought stardom to the child along with an online moniker: “Little Chef”.
She now sells dishes to order – and is counting the dividends.
“I just love cooking,” she said, during a break from the kitchen in her family’s Yangon flat.
“It’s made us happy cooking together in the lockdown,” she said, adding she wants to translate her childhood passion into a career when she grows up.


In her most popular video, which has nearly 200,000 views, the young star wears a unicorn-themed T-shirt as she gives instructions on how to make Myanmar breakfast favourite Mohingya, concocted with boiled catfish.
Moe Myint May Thu has mastered 15 dishes, including tomato fish paste curry, pork stew and spicy fried frog.
Each meal sells for a flat-rate of 10,000 kyat (US$7.20) and is delivered by the family at the end of each day, the whole operation under the guidance of the experienced hands of her social influencer mum, Honey Cho.
Singaporean food photographer helps restaurants survive lockdown online
The business venture is clearly paying off.
One posted video shows the youngster feeding a pile of 10,000 kyat notes into her musical money box, cash she hopes to put towards a puppy.
“It makes me very happy to see so many people from Myanmar and other countries sharing her videos,” said her mother, adding that her daughter’s self-confidence has increased.
The celebrity chef’s clips were initially posted on her mum’s social media pages, but have now gone live on her own Facebook account, gaining 8,000 likes in just four days.

“She is so adorable that I keep losing attention and have to watch her videos again,” fan Pohnt Pohnt comments.
Moe Myint May Thu plans to keep cooking until school starts in August, two months later than planned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Commercial capital Yangon is returning to normal despite authorities still urging people to stay at home.
Myanmar has recorded 228 cases of the virus with six deaths.


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Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus lockdown cooking classes bring Myanmar girl, 8, online fame and fortune

Moe Myint May Thu (R) and her mother cooking while filming a video at their house in Yangon. Photo AFP

This photo taken on May 21, 2020 shows Moe Myint May Thu (L) and her mother Honey Cho filming a cooking video at their house in Yangon. - From boiled catfish soup to spicy fried frog, an eight-year-old in pyjamas and a chef's hat is delighting Myanmar with her culinary prowess in online classes to a nation still told to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Ye Aung THU / AFP)

Eight-year-old Moe Myint May Thu has delighted Myanmar with her culinary prowess. Photo: AFP

Life in coronavirus quarantine in a camp on the Myanmar-China border

Volunteers conduct a daily temperature screening of those in quarantine at Je Yang internally displaced person camp near Laiza, Myanmar. The camp, with a population of 8,700, is the largest of Kachin’s IDP camps. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 3 - inside the empty quarantine facility shared by five returnees from the city. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 6 - From quarantine, Chinese border patrol soldiers can be seen across the stream which separates Myanmar from China. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 2 - quarantine facility in Je Yang camp. Photo: Ring Nu Awng;

Photo 5 - Those in group quarantine pass idle time in Je Yang camp. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 8 - A girl packs her belongings to relocate to a new quarantine facility in Je Yang camp. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 7 - A girl packs her belongings to relocate to a new quarantine facility. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 9 - new arrivals reach the quarantine center and unpack their belongings. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 1 - A station to monitor who goes in and out of the camp during the pandemic. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

Photo 10 - A boy prepares his bed in a classroom on top of school benches. Photo: Ring Nu Awng

India looks to cash in on global jackfruit ‘superfood’ craze

Varghese Tharakkan preparing ripe jackfruit at an orchard at his farm in Thrissur in the south Indian state of Kerala. Photo: AFP

This photo taken on January 12, 2020 shows a worker at Varghese Tharakkan's Ayur jackfruit farm displaying jackfruit dishes in Thrissur in the south Indian state of Kerala. - Green, spiky and with a strong, sweet smell, the bulky jackfruit has morphed from a backyard nuisance in India's south coast into the meat-substitute darling of vegans and vegetarians in the West. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-food-health-Kerala-lifestyle,FOCUS by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

This photo taken on January 12, 2020 shows a worker at Varghese Tharakkan's Ayur jackfruit farm preparing a jackfruit dish in Thrissur in the south Indian state of Kerala. - Green, spiky and with a strong, sweet smell, the bulky jackfruit has morphed from a backyard nuisance in India's south coast into the meat-substitute darling of vegans and vegetarians in the West. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-food-health-Kerala-lifestyle,FOCUS by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

This photo taken on January 12, 2020 shows Varghese Tharakkan preparing ripe jackfruit at an orchard at his Ayur jackfruit farm in Thrissur in the south Indian state of Kerala. - Green, spiky and with a strong, sweet smell, the bulky jackfruit has morphed from a backyard nuisance in India's south coast into the meat-substitute darling of vegans and vegetarians in the West. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-food-health-Kerala-lifestyle,FOCUS by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

This photo taken on January 14, 2020 shows Jackfruit 360 director James Joseph speaking during an interview with AFP in Kalady, some 46 kms from Thrissur in the south Indian state of Kerala. - Green, spiky and with a strong, sweet smell, the bulky jackfruit has morphed from a backyard nuisance in India's south coast into the meat-substitute darling of vegans and vegetarians in the West. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) / TO GO WITH India-food-health-Kerala-lifestyle,FOCUS by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

Healthy vegan jackfruit tacos, just one of the many meat substitutions the fruit is being used for. Photo: Shutterstock

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‘Little Chef’ Moe Myint May Thu has mastered 15 dishes, including tomato fish paste curry and spicy fried frog
She now sells dishes to order and wants to translate her childhood passion into a career when she grows up



‘Little Chef’ Moe Myint May Thu has mastered 15 dishes, including tomato fish paste curry and spicy fried frog.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Myanmar

Food and Drinks