Hi, my name is Cormac Brown, and Jinn and John have invited me to do a guest post. I took the family to The Burma Tea Leaf, also known as Pagan Restaurant, and I decided to do a review of it.
When you think of the "Burma Road," you probably think of the crucial supply route in World War II that both sides fought so hard for. I think of that connotation, and also of how Burma is the culinary fork in the road when it comes to Asian food. If I were to describe Burmese cuisine, I would tell you that it is an amazing confluence of Chinese, Indian and Thai flavors.
Yet, it is unique enough to be wholly distinct from those aforementioned countries. Do I contradict myself? Yea, and verily. Because Burmese food is a cooking contradiction, a provision paradox. Burmese is sui generis and derivative at the same time.
When you think of the "Burma Road," you probably think of the crucial supply route in World War II that both sides fought so hard for. I think of that connotation, and also of how Burma is the culinary fork in the road when it comes to Asian food. If I were to describe Burmese cuisine, I would tell you that it is an amazing confluence of Chinese, Indian and Thai flavors.
Yet, it is unique enough to be wholly distinct from those aforementioned countries. Do I contradict myself? Yea, and verily. Because Burmese food is a cooking contradiction, a provision paradox. Burmese is sui generis and derivative at the same time.
I chose the hot ginger tea for a beverage, and it really added a layer of flavor to all of the dishes. When I described this to my son, he dubbed it "Inception Tea."
Here is a Burmese relief on the eastern wall.
This is the wall that faces the west.
The combination appetizer plate had:
Vegetarian samusas, which are little savory pastries filled with curry-infused potatoes and peas. Unfortunately there was only one samusa to split three-ways.
Fried squash sticks. Plus, eggplant and onions, that were shredded and deep-fried. All this was served with a slightly sweet chili dipping sauce. Note the killer iced-coffee in the background and the Burmese use a lighter roast than the Thai version.
This is the curry chicken that came with the Burmese roti platha. Burmese curry tends to be more savory and not as heavy on the hot spices, curry or coconut milk as its Asian counterparts. I say this with the caveat that this has been my experience of what I've had of it in restaurants in America. The Burmese might do it up differently for themselves.
Think of roti plata (alternate spelling "platha") as a layered bread, but it's not. It's not a pastry, either or a quiche, though the egg in it will remind you of challah. I would love to show you an example other than this picture, but the Internet only has the Indian or Indonesian representations of roti, which are more naan or crepe-like.
The Burmese biriyani (a.k.a. danpauk) had raisins, peas, cinnamon, saffron, dried coconut and what I'm guessing were boiled cashews. It was made with more a neutral flavor, so as to compliment the various dishes instead of overwhelming them.
The sesame chicken is not on the menu that’s online, but it is on the regular menu and is a definitely a must-have. It is crispy, yet succulent. It’s sweet, yet spicy.
This was the pumpkin pork stew. It was fall-apart pork made with the Kabocha squash, a.k.a. "Japanese pumpkin." Wikipedia describes the Kabocha as having a "strong yet sweet flavor and moist, fluffy texture, which is like chestnuts."
Bun tay kauswer is a flour noodle dish with a chicken coconut curry sauce, egg, cabbage, cilantro, onions and fried crunchies on top (my guess would be wonton skins).
The pea shoots are not listed on the online menu, but they are on the regular menu. With slightly sweet, yet salty bean sauce, these are done in a style that echoes the way they serve it in San Francisco Chinese restaurants.
Now John’s fiancée’ Jinn, is a vegetarian and the beauty of Burmese food is that most of the dishes have perfect flavor profiles that are just as suited to vegan ingredients, like with Indian cuisine. Burma Tea Leaf has wonderful vegetarian fare, but I wonder if the kitchen would make some of the other dishes without meat if requested. Unfortunately, I didn't ask.
My lone complaint with this restaurant is that some of the music sounds like bad, cheesy Burmese karaoke. The service was exceptional and the kitchen understands pacing better than 99.5 % of restaurants. Everything was given the proper interval for us to enjoy each dish, and that is rarest of all experiences when it comes to dining.
Burma Tea Leaf is wonderfully unique experience, which again, has a touch of the familiar.
4 comments:
You are so right about the music in these places! What the heck?
GREAT review Cormac!!! It sounds like a wonderful place to dine and you've made me hungry with the descriptions...
I want that iced coffee! It reminds me of Thai Tea.
Thanks you two, for the opportunity to write again and to be inspired enough to actually do more than a paragraph. As to the music? I wonder how they would feel about Motown, Country or Kenny G. when they go to American restaurants. I'd ask, but I don't want to banned for life.
Jin, you'd love it and John, they don't use as much condensed milk as the Thais, but with a mellower roast, it isn't necessary. I've had some Thai teas that a spoon could stand up in 'em, with all that sugar and condensed milk.
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