The World in 202 Meals

This will sound horrible, but it was the Burma cyclone that inspired our Burmese meal in May. I knew nothing about Burma, I realised, aside from the anger-inducing stories that had been coming out of the country for months; they were now peaking, with grim post-cyclone photographs in every paper. So when a visit to a Burmese restaurant was suggested, I was curious. I wanted to learn something positive about Burma, to find out a bit about the culture that the news stories and devastation had been hiding.

We ended up at Mandalay, to our knowledge the only Burmese restaurant in all of London. It’s a small place on Edgware Road, a little bigger than your standard takeaway joint, run by the Ally family, a friendly, Norweigan-speaking Burmese clan that also runs a Paddington hotel. When we arrived, the restaurant was packed.

It’s a shame Burmese restaurants aren’t cluttering up the streets the way their Indian, Chinese and Thai counterparts do. Burma, bordered by these countries, has a cuisine that draws inspiration from all three–combined in a way that’s refreshing to even the most jaded eater of Asian foods.

Mandalay’s fritters (a-kyaw) were like bhaji-tempura hybrids–shredded onion and greens encased in a fluffy, crispy batter containing chickpea flour and glutinous rice flour. They were served with a pan-Asian trio of mango, chilli and soy sauces, and were most delicious dipped in the latter.

Two soups proved tasty–a chicken, shrimp and lime soup (kyet-tha/bazun/tanbaya) was like a more interesting Thai hot and sour, while dozen ingredient soup (sett-na-myo hin-cho), with its simple, clear broth and mix of meat, vegetable and egg, was more Chinese. (“The 12th ingredient is the water,” our waiter laughed as we bent over the soup to count.)

Reading the rest of the menu was a fun game in spotting more Indian, Chinese and Thai shout-outs. Rice was chicken-fried and egg-fried, pilau and coconut; veggies were stir-fried with coconut and soy; chicken, lamb and seafood were cooked sweet and sour, in curries, and with ginger, tamarind or lemongrass.

Lamb in tamarind (seit-tha and ma-gyee-thee) was tender, boneless, rich and yummy, as was house speciality twice-cooked fish curry (nga hin), which featured a tangy red sauce. Noodles, important enough to have their own section of the menu, were served with chicken and prawns in a soupy, mild coconut sauce, like laksa without the spiciness. Desserts were heavy on banana and coconut; faludas also made an appearance.

Much as I love Indian, Chinese and Thai dishes, I sometimes get bored half way through eating them. I did not have that problem with Burmese. Until my neighbourhood has its very own Burmese takeaway, it will be worth the journey to Edgware Road to visit Mandalay.

In summary

Mandalay Burmese Restaurant
444 Edgware Road, London, W2 1EG
020 7258 3696
Open daily, noon-2:30pm and 6pm to 10:30pm (Evening reservations recommended)

More Burmese

Bintang on Kentish Town Road is a Malaysian-Indonesian-Singaporean type of place, but it serves “Burmese-style vegetable pakoras with dips”. They were heavy and dry compared with Mandalay’s yummy fritters, and my squid in lemongrass and basil sauce was a little tough. But the restaurant’s garden is so lovely, its bring your own bottle policy so tempting, and, according to Time Out, its sea bass so delicious that I will have to give it another chance.