Burma SuperStar

What a name!
It truly is a superstar. Where else can you find Burma imported tea leaves folded into a salad to create a tea leaf salad?

Burma Superstar, an apropos name for a restaurant with such rock star status. I've been hearing this name for quite some time, almost like a mantra incessantly chanted in my ear. Many pseudo-Burma SuperStar's have opened in hopes of catching some slivers of stardom from it, but none even come close. A paradigm in its own realm.

Welcome to Burma Superstar.
On a side note, although he is a rock star, don't expect him to be adorned in flashy leather pants or studded belts. He is modest, choosing to be dressed simply-- choosing not to detract from his true talent. With no fancy decor, only wood tables and a dingy exterior, there is only one focus, the food.

Here we have the renowned Tea Leaf Salad:

The grated black tea leaves lay demurely on the lettuce, reminding me of bird dung at first. But then the server buoyantly tosses the salad and explains each ingredient on the dish, emphasizing that the bird dung is actually imported tea leaves from Burma. What a surprise! The bird dung tea leaves exude a subtle bitter flavor but offsets the tartness of the dressing perfectly. What makes this salad exceptional is the crunch from the plethora of assorted nuts and toasted garlic.

Now comes the Nan Gyi Dok:

This dish entails a light coconut chicken curry with rice noodles topped with an egg and toasted shallots. What god hath created for men, the Burmese hath bestowed the Nan Gyi Dok.

I'm impressed by the seemingly trivial action on the server's part, preparing the food tableside. Food prepared with care and love always makes the fare more appealing.

As this meal draws to an end he brings us our final dish, supposedly a Burma SuperStar special curry, aptly named: Burmese Style Lamb Curry.

 I'm really digging this curry, slightly different from the Indian curry, evocative of a fair-skinned cousin. The use of less spice and non-existent curry powder makes Burmese curry lighter and milder. Paired with the aromatic coconut steamed rice? A match made in heaven! To separate the two would be unorthodox. Sacrilegious!

It's pretty obvious that I'm enamored with this place. My infatuation stems not only from the curry, but the bouncy rice noodles, the fragrant coconut rice, and the zesty tea leaf salad. It is an ethnic restaurant like this that motivates people to travel around the world in search of cooking that imbues tradition and culture. Burma here I come! 

Burma SuperStar

309 Clement Street

San Francisco

http://www.burmasuperstar.com/