Le Planteur manager Boris Granges (above) has planned a seven-course feast to mark the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.

WITH the monsoon over, the best of Myanmar’s weather is now before us. What better way to celebrate than a culinary cruise through Yangon’s fine dining establishments?

A great way to start is L’Opera’s Sunday brunch at their Marina Residence establishment – for US$18 per person, it includes champagne and a sumptuous spread of the very best Italian in town.

The restaurant also plans to reopen the garden – badly damaged in Cyclone Nargis – at their Inya Lake premises on November 1, allowing diners to again feast al fresco with views of nearby Inya Lake.

With an Italian chef and quality imported ingredients, L’Opera has been operating in Yangon since 1997. Despite some changes in ownership it continues to attract a wide range of local and foreign clientele and a popular option is the all-you-can-eat pizza and wine/beer special, offered on Fridays and Saturdays between 6pm and 10pm ($18 with beer and $20 with wine).

Signature and El Garden Bistro on Kandawgyi Lake are other dining options for a gastronomic Sunday. For now, the two restaurants share a western-style menu but from next year each will have its own distinctive flavour, according to the owners.

Signature is an overly grand affair, while El Garden Bistro features a pleasant gazebo dining area next to Kandawgyi Park, overlooking the lake. Meals average $7 and the restaurants have wireless internet access and sofas, making them ideal for lazing away those Sunday afternoons.

L’Opera and El Garden Bistro certainly aren’t the only restaurants that offer outside dining. With a balcony overlooking Shwedagon Pagoda, House of Memories is another Yangon restaurant mixing fine food and beautiful views.

The restaurant sets itself apart from most of its competitors by offering an authentic Myanmar-style menu, with dishes ranging in price from K5000-18,000.

The restaurant has buy-one-get-one-free drink deals from Thursday to Sunday, which should get you in the mood to enjoy the live piano music (no cover charge) from 8-10pm, also Thursday to Sunday. If that isn’t enough to tempt you, UN and INGO workers also receive a 10 percent discount. House of Memories opened just two years ago and has a mixed clientele of locals and NGO and embassy staff.

Another relatively recent arrival to Yangon is Manis. If you’re looking for funky décor, more Shwedagon views and – from next month – dishes whipped up by an Indonesian chef, then Manis is the place for you.

This bar/restaurant seems to have a promotion almost every day of the week so be sure to check what the deal of the day is. Monday and Tuesday 6-9pm is buy-one-get-one-free cocktails and beer and on Wednesday all drinks are 50pc off. On Friday Manis has a pasta promotion, with a range of pasta dishes for just $5.

It’s worth perusing the special offers, as things can get a little pricey – one cocktail often leads to the next.

If you’re getting tired of eating pasta, looking at Shwedagon or sipping cocktails, then Le Planteur should definitely be your next port of call.

The restaurant offers the very best in French dining, from frogs legs to foie gras, without the often-accompanying snobbery.

The restaurant imports its wine and ingredients direct from Italy and France. The dishes and drinks are certainly worth paying a few extra dollars for and there are still some very reasonably priced offerings.

The restaurant is this month celebrating its 10th anniversary with a grand, seven-course feast on November 8. The modern French menu will be accompanied by wine bottled specially for the occasion – at $50 a head, it’s more than value for money. The night will begin with cocktails at 7pm.

The 10th anniversary dinner is not all management has planned. From the start of November, Le Planteur will be operating a barbeque in their refurbished garden, which, like L’Opera, was hit hard in the cyclone. With a separate, cheaper menu, the outdoor barbecue is sure to be hit when the cooler nights come around.

The establishment will also open a wine bar and wine cellar in coming months, where clientele can buy and drink local and imported vintages at retail prices.