Pardon The Punctuation...After being bombarded by people begging me to check out Burma Superstar in San Francisco, I finally took the plunge last week. First off don't be deterred by the about an hour and a half you'll have to wait for a table. Go grab a drink at a near by bar... it's worth the wait. Also no reservations here. This place will transport you to another part of the world. Burma shares borders with China, India, Thailand, and Laos. Talk about a clusterf**k of different cuisines all balled into one...and an amazing clusterf**k it is. Just imagine the influence of of all those bordering countries on Burmese food. From ingredients to spices to cooking styles, Burmese food takes the best of it's neighbors and rocks it out on it's own.
The menu has tons of choices and I shit you not when I tell you that everything looks good. Our server "Aggie" was patient, awesome, and happened to be Burmese. She was able to recommend some of her favorites along with some gluten-free options for my friend. If you happen to be gluten-free they have a bunch of delish options for you. Also the service was amazing...much better than expected for a place that is so busy. It won't break the bank either with the most expensive dish being $16.95. So here is what we had.
Lychee Mojito: Sweet, strong, yummmy, and can sneak up on you and knock you on your ass.
Tea Leaf Salad: Shipped in from Burma and fermented underground, and mixed with fried garlic and peanuts. The flavors and textures are like nothing I've had in the past. Could eat it every day and this is one dish you have to try if you go. I think I'll be burying tea in my back yard til I figure out how to make it on my own. I'm sure that'll smell great...
Braised Pork Belly: with pickled mustard greens. It's pork belly so it's going to taste good. The wine sauce is a nice touch and you can't go wrong with sweet garlic.
Burmese Style Lamb Curry: Their special curry with potatoes and braised until it falls apart on your fork. Just af**kingmazing...so good I could eat it with scrambled eggs in the morning.
Garlic Chili Shrimp: cooked in a wok with garlic infused oil and toasted garlic. the freshest ingredients and the right amount of heat. Perfection on a plate.
Nan Gyi Dok: This is a coconut rice noodle curry with eggs, spilt yellow pea, and fried onion. A wonderfully executed dish but it just wasn't to my taste. Not because it was bad but because the texture didn't work for me. Everyone else at my table loved it.
Coconut Rice: Usually I don't talk about side dishes but this one is stellar. Jasmine rice cooked with coconut milk and covered with fried onions. Sticky and the coconut is not overpowering. This is another dish you must order if you go and it's only $2.50 per order. Done and done.
Flourless Ginger Chocolate Cake: infused with ginger and served with candied ginger on top. Great flavor and gluten-free. That was a win win situation for us.
Coconut Pudding Fritters: with coconut ice cream. A solid dish. If you don't like coconut this is not the dish for you.
Jackfruit Banana Spring Rolls: Lightly fried, stuffed with chocolate and served with coconut ice cream...let me guess..they like coconut in Burma. This was yummy.
Food and service make Burma Superstar stick out above the rest. There are only a handful of places in the world that I've been to where I'd wait an hour and a half for a table and this is one of them. If in the bay area take the time to make your way over to them for an experience you'll be craving for the rest of your days.
