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| - So imagine if you threw Indian, Chinese, and Thai food into a blender. Grossed out? Intrigued? Skeptical? Well, that's Burmese food for you.
When I first heard about Little Rangoon opening in the Valley some months ago, my immediate thought was "I need to head over there right now and devour some Beef Kebat stat!" As one who used to be a fervent patron of the much-debated-on-Yelp Burma Superstar and Mandalay back in San Francisco (I fully disclose I just dropped the SF bomb), I was really missing the unique blend of flavors that Burmese food was all about. I'll be honest and say I was completely surprised that a Burmese restaurant actually opened here, but then again I've been to Uzbek, Iraqi and Bosnian restaurants in Phoenix so I really shouldn't be. I'm not complaining, in any case.
All that ramble said, work had other ideas for the past several months and I never had the time to go to Little Rangoon until last week with some friends of mine who really know their southeast Asian food.
The setting is nice - albeit it looks like it used to be a fancy Italian restaurant or something once upon a time, with its roman columns and whatnot. The music selection was awesome, though. Imagine ChungKing Express, but not. I think we heard "She's Like The Wind" in Burmese. I am not kidding you.
We started off with two appetizers - the samosas and the crispy gourd (opo) fritters. None of us thought the samosas were that flavorful (even with the acknowledgment that they wouldn't be like Indian samosas), but we took a liking to the fried opo. Light and tasty, not too greasy, with a zesty dipping sauce.
Next came our entrees - a noodle dish and two curries. We were all looking forward to the Pan Tay Kauswer (egg noodles in chicken coconut curry), but the dish was kind of a let down in the flavor department. Edible, for sure, but none of us sang its praises. The two other dishes (the Traditional Chicken Curry and the Boneless Beef Shortrib Curry) were much better and had a lot of flavor - both veer somewhat towards to the Indian side of spice spectrum and I'd definitely recommend them. You could say they cook these flavors better than most of the Indian restaurants in the Valley.
I really wanted to end the meal with some falooda (rose-flavored milk with tapioca pearls and agar jelly strips) for dessert, but we were all about to burst so I held back.
All in all, my friends and I were pretty pleased with the meal, the service, and the overall experience (I mean, come on, Burmese Patrick Swayze?) and I'd give it 3.75 stars overall, rounding up to 4. Crowd was pretty light on this weeknight and I am hoping it picks up more business as a lot of people probably stick to their tried and true Chinese, Thai, and sushi restaurants. You can tell they're a little worried because they started adding dishes to its menu that obviously cater to risk-averse diners (chicken with orange sauce, I'm looking at you), but I'm hoping folks who go here experience what is traditionally Burmese. I plan on going back myself to get the Tea Leaf Salad, gold potato curry with paratha, and that elusive falooda (there's only so much one can devour in one sitting).
Hopefully I'll see you there.
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