Mandalay

4344 California St

San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Friday night dinner date before watching IRON MAN 2(which I totally fell asleep on ='/). 5.7.10

Tea Leaf Salad(Lap Pat Dok)

imported Burmese tea leaves, lentil seeds, grounded shrimps, fried garlic chips, peanuts, sesame seeds, green pepper, chef's special dressing.

The flavors were amazing. I loved biting into the lentil seeds because they were crunchy and very flavorful. The texture as well as the flavor of the tea leaves were divine and the fried garlic chips are definitely memorable. I've had this dish before at Burma Superstar and I must admit that I like it better at Burma, both are good, but portion size at Burma Superstar was a little bit more generous.

After all the ingredients are mixed together. This is only good to serve about 3 people, where as at Burma Superstar we could have served up to 5.

Moo Hing Nga

Burmese style fish chowder with ground catfish served with cilantro and lemons

This was amazing! I loved the rice noodles they had in it. Flavor was superb and delicious! After I was done with my bowl, I thought...where are the seconds? It's not too fishy due to the fresh flavors of the cilantro and lemon juice from the lemons. This is a dish that is definitely worth a try!

Burmese Lamb Curry

Portion size isn't that big. Enough to serve about two people. There were a total of about 5-6 pieces of lamb with about 4-5 pieces of potatoes. Lamb was decent, not too dry nor too chewy, which I am not fond of. Flavor was decent but they lacked in sauce. They barely gave us enough sauce to lather over our meat and potatoes, how the hell were we going to have enough for the Palada we ordered with it? That makes no sense. We asked for more and they gave it to us free of charge. Well, I think that should be a given anyways. Comparing it to Burma Superstar, their meat is definitely better, but they lacked in the amount of sauce they put in the dish.

Palada

Burmese pancake

You could add this for only $3.50 more to the lamb curry. Portion size is definitely generous, but I found myself nostalgic for Burma Superstar's Palada. I thought it was good here, but not as great as Burma's. The bread seemed a bit more buttery and less fluffy. Since we ordered it with the curry, we didn't need any rice. This was the filler for our stomachs. It's good for the price.

Burma Superstar

309 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Catchup and dinner with bAbiE Tiff and Jenna! 4.29.10

Samusa Soup
It was a little spicy with a hint of tang in it! Loved the chunks of samusa in the soup. I thought it was a nice little starter for us. Tiff didn't feel the same though. She thought the soup was just okay, not great.

Platha and Dip
It's so simple, but it's soo good! The platha has a nice puffy and chewy texture. It's like a burmese pancake and tastes nice and buttery. I drizzled the coconut chicken curry sauce on top and it was full of amazing flavors. You've got the buttery pancake with the sweet coconut sauce as well as a little bit of spice. Everything from the flavor to the texture to the aroma made it so much more appetizing and addicting.
Burmese Chicken Salad
Salad with cabbage, fried chicken slices, fried onions, cilantro, and our dressing with a garlicky kick
The chunks of chicken had a little bit of crisp on the outside and were spicy and sweet. It was not only refreshing but full of flavor. Loved everything from the fried onions, which added a crispy texture when chewing to the refreshing taste of the cilantro. Sesame seeds definitely added a kick to it. I personally don't remember tasting garlic in it, maybe it was subtle in taste.

Pork Curry with Potatoes
Pork chunks were very dry. Potatoes were delicious. Broth was a bit too salty. Overall, I didn't think it was that great. Wasn't the best dish we ordered. Next time I would choose another curry.

Burma Superstar

3324 Steiner St
San Francisco, CA 94123

Occasion: Bday dinner with the fam bamz! March 5, 2010.

Tea leaf Salad (before they mix it)
#17 on BIG EAT SF 2009: 100 things to eat and drink before you die

Tea Leaf Salad all mixed together

I thought it was pretty good. Wish they served more though. Loved the flavors of all the ingredients combined. Sesame always makes things taste better and I like the aroma of it. The sunflower seeds definitely added a kick to it. Overall, I enjoyed this. It was light, flavorful and a tad bit spicy.

Burmese Samusas

Burmese raviolis hand wrapped and filled with curry spices, potatoes, deep fried, and served with our house special sauce

I had to order this. I love love love fried things and this is definitely included in the fried foods that I like to eat. Love dipping it into the sweet sauce. I was just recently introduced to samusas and have loved it ever since. It's not the skin nor is it the filling, but the overall product that I enjoy. Biting into somthing that is crunchy at first but as your teeth sink itno it, its soft and mushy because of the potatoes which I enjoy a lot. Egg rolls have somewhat similar skin, but i dont' like egg rolls. Anyways, take my word for it...it's good.

Eggplant with Garlic SauceSauteed eggplant with garlic, chili sauce, and scallions

All the authentic burmese dishes were indicated with an asterisk next to the name of the dish. I wish I had paid more attention to that fine detail before placing my order because I would have ordered everything authentic. I'm at a burmese restaurant, I should. I love eggplants, therefore I ordered it. It was really good, but just not enough. I'm used to going to chinese restaurants where they have a lot per portion. I did not regret getting it because like I've mentioned, I love eating eggplants, but I feel like it would have been better if I had ordered everything burmese. I mean I can always eat eggplants. Oh well. Next time.

Garlic Noodles with duck and broccoli

Flour noodles with fried garlic, scallions, duck, and broccolli

Honestly, there was nothing that special about this dish. I ordered it because garlic noodles sounded really good and I wanted a noodle dish. I wish I didn't waste an order on this, so not worth the space it took up in my stomach.

Burmese Style Curry with beef

Burma SuperStar's special curry. Braised until tender with potatoes.

LOVE LOVE LOVED it, despite the fact that it was spicy. Beef was really tender. Loved the sauce with my coconut rice. yay potatoes, but too bad there were too few.