I still dream of my first time trying Burmese food (at the original Burma Superstar location soooo many years ago) and falling in love with Burmese Tea Leaf Salad. We’ve since had Burmese food a number of times, whether it’s at the new Burma Love or catered to my workplace years ago.
Since we were back in SF, my fond memories of Burma Star crept in and I started to pine for Burmese food. So, after some online research, we decided to go to Mandalay, which supposedly has a great tea leaf salad.
Mandalay is recommended by the Michelin Guide and is a James Beard Award winner 2024. Some have lauded San Francisco as being one of the best cities in the US to enjoy Burmese food, and Mandalay is one of the best (and the oldest one right now!).
The Mandalay menu includes traditional Burmese food and also Chinese food. I wish I had read reviews before ordering, since it turns out that reviews recommend ordering off the Burmese side of the menu, not the Chinese side. I agree, as the Chinese dishes were quite mediocre and we were a bit disappointed. The Burmese dishes were much better.
Mandalay's Famous Tea Leaf Salad
Mandalay’s tea leaf salad is different from others in that they don’t use lettuce. Their version is supposedly closer to the traditional version served in Burma. The resulting salad is much “heavier” in that it becomes dominated by the seeds, nuts, and other ingredients.
Some people like this more intense version of the salad, but I personally like the more "innovative" version at Burma Star, which has a bigger variety of textures due to the crisp lettuce interspersed with the nuts, seeds, and tea leaf “pesto.”
Mixed Noodle Salad
The mixed noodle salad (flat noodles and crispy chow mein noodles tossed with cilantro and dressing) was interesting and pretty tasty.
This was also tossed table-side by the server.
The Orange Chicken was Average
But, the orange chicken was pretty average and didn’t stand out.
So, we came away with mixed feelings. The Burmese food is tasty, and I am guessing their Michelin inclusion and James Beard award is due to their Burmese dishes, not the Chinese dishes.
Still, it's fun to try more traditional versions of Burmese dishes. The fact that this restaurant has been around since 1984 is a great testament to its quality and popularity.
Mandalay San Francisco
4348 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94118
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