YKKO's Kyay Oh: A 38-Year-Old Myanmar Noodle Tradition, Now in Bangkok

The original Kyay Oh is built on a clear, well-rounded broth, slow-simmered from bones and meat for a naturally sweet depth of flavor. It's served with soft rice vermicelli that soaks up the broth, plus a choice of toppings — meatballs, fresh vegetables, tofu puffs, chicken egg, and quail egg. You can order it two ways: Classic Kyay Oh (served wet, in broth) or Kyay Oh Sichet (dry-tossed with seasoning and fragrant garlic oil), and adjust the heat with the restaurant's own green and red chili sauces.

YKKO is short for "Yan Kin Kyay Oh." It started as a small restaurant at 24 Yankin Road, Yangon, in 1988, before growing into one of Myanmar's most recognized restaurant brands with more than 45 branches across 9 cities. Expanding into Thailand in 2024 marked the first time the chain brought its noodle soup beyond Myanmar's borders.

We visited YKKO ourselves. The storefront had a "Hello!" welcome sign for the SF Town zone, with a display case showing sample bowls and grilled plates before you even walk in. The green menu book inside confirms the same 3 branches the brand lists: MBK Center, Phra Khanong, and CentralWorld.

The Classic (wet) Kyay Oh we got had a clear broth that was richer than expected — naturally sweet from the bones, good enough without adding anything. The soft rice vermicelli soaked up the broth nicely, and the bowl came loaded with sliced pork, tender offal, meatballs, tofu, and a boiled egg. It's served with a sweet red chili sauce and a green chili-garlic sauce on the side to adjust to taste.

The dry-style Kyay Oh (Sichet) is a different experience — noodles tossed with fragrant fried garlic, generously topped with crispy garlic bits. The clear broth comes in a separate cup to sip alongside, plus a seasoning caddy with sugar, sweet chili sauce, and green chili sauce to mix in yourself. If you like building your own heat and sweetness, this version is the one to get.

Another highlight: a build-your-own topping bar where you pick your own bowl. Rice noodles, egg noodles, two broth styles, sliced pork, offal, meatballs, tofu, quail eggs, and fresh greens were all laid out to choose from — good for adjusting portions yourself, or for letting kids pick their own toppings.

The appetizers are worth ordering too. The pork satay is fragrant with spice and tender, served with a well-balanced peanut sauce and pickled cucumber to cut the richness.

The grilled pork meatballs were firm with good bounce, not mushy, and went down easily with the sweet chili dip — a solid order-for-the-table starter.

The grilled chicken wings in a sweet, fragrant glaze were tender without drying out, with slightly crisp skin, served with a sesame sauce and grilled pineapple and sweet pepper to balance the richness — another easy one to share.

Based on the menu book we photographed, appetizers and grilled items range from 85 THB (grilled meatballs) up to 640 THB (the fish/prawn Mix Grill Platter), with drinks at 65 THB. The Kyay Oh bowl's own price wasn't shown on the pages we saw, so it's worth asking in-store.

"YKKO was built around Kyay Oh, the noodle dish that's been central to the brand since 1988. We started as a single small neighborhood restaurant before growing into a chain with branches nationwide. We're proud to bring this food heritage and culture to Thailand," said Minn Htet Khine, Yoma F&B executive, at the event.

Aye Myat Maw, Managing Director of the Yankin Kyay Oh Group, added: "Kyay Oh isn't just YKKO's signature dish — it represents the roots and food heritage of Yangon that we've carried with us all along. Expanding into Thailand today lets us bring the original flavor and the story behind Myanmar food to Thai consumers."