My visit to Rangoon occurred on an inauspicious day, but the venture into Chinatown was worth the trek through the pouring rain. Service was friendly and pleasant, and the quaint atmosphere was conducive to conversation.
The restaurant is located in Chinatown -- at 112 N. Ninth St. -- but its Burmese cuisine provides a respite from the glut of Chinese and other Asian-style restaurants primarily found in the neighborhood. Items offered are close enough to Chinese and Thai-style dishes, but exhibit a different character.
My guest and I were first overwhelmed by the choices, but the menu, wholly in English, was easy to navigate. Our hostess, who is Burmese and co-owns the venue with two others, aided us with recommendations, and we were not disappointed with our family-style meal.
To start, we tried the thousand-layer bread, which turned out to be the highlight of our meal. The homemade bread ($4.95) was served with a chicken curry dipping sauce, which presented a deliciously subtle flavor.
We also ordered the shrimp lemon grass soup ($6.50), whose elements were combined in a hot and sour chicken broth. The soup was more than enough for two. My guest fittingly described the experience of one spoonful as "a kick to the back of your throat." The onions were crunchy, the shrimp small but plump and the gingery taste was pervasive.
We also had the spinach salad ($5.95), which was served in a melange with sesame-fried onions, dried shrimp and lime juice. Every bite was pleasing many times over, as the tongue savored so many flavors simultaneously. Responding to my struggle to capture it in words, my guest proclaimed, "How can you describe it? It's just damn good!"
The preceding procession of tasty appetizers left the main courses wanting. We were served the Northern Burma fried noodle ($7.95), which includes shrimp, chicken, scallions, bean sprouts and spicy seasoning, and the spicy kung pao chicken ($9.95), which is stir-fried with ginger, onions, scallions and dried chili. The menu indicated both as spicy -- we were prepped with a generous portion of white rice and a large pitcher of water -- but it was not so. In this respect, the dishes are very tolerable. Though appetizing, they were slightly oily and did not have much impact.
To accompany the meal, my guest ordered the tamarind juice. I was hesitant to try it, but after a sip of hers, I promptly ordered my own glass, a surprisingly tasty complement to the varied flavors of the meal.
Toward the end I overheard a man behind us suggest to his date, "Let's wrap up this meal with the coconut rice," which is precisely what we did. The sweet but not too sweet coconut milk that passed through my teeth as I chewed the rice cleansed the palate and left a smile on my face.
