In today’s installment of “What Did Spencer Eat For Lunch?” I visited Rangoon Bistro, a new Burmese restaurant (2311 SE 50th Ave). They have limited hours, just dinner 3 nights a week and then open longer on the weekends (and for lunch). I had been hearing good things about their food, and fried chicken in particular. The first time I ate Burmese food was years ago at Top Burmese in NW and I fell in love with the flavors and style of cooking, especially tea leaf salads. That was a real revelation to me. I love all kinds of salads, and the tea leaf salad is such a different take. This place was cute, small and cozy. Staff was attentive. I knew what I wanted ahead of time, and will be back to try some of the other dishes.

I got 2 things: Laphet Thoke (tea leaf salad) and fried chicken (1/4). Let’s start with the chicken. While I’m not quite prepared to put it in the top fried chicken category, it seems close to greatness. The style reminded me of Hat Yai’s chicken, just 1 step down in terms of perfection. It was just a bit too crunchy. Otherwise it was great. They say it’s marinated in lemongrass, curry leaf and red peppers, and I wish that would have come through more in the flavor (lemongrass especially). The sauce was fantastic, I would put that on everything. Again, it reminded me of Hat Yai’s sauce. I want to personally thank them for buttering their rice! I don’t know if that is traditional or not, but I like my rice buttered. I wish more restaurants did that. I do want to get this again in the future, just to see if they have the crisp on the chicken dialed in a bit more. Wonderful presentation as you can see above.

The tea leaf salad, pictured below, was tasty. I am a fan of these, and will order them every time I see one on the menu. They offer 4 different salads, and I definitely want to try the other 3. This one featured: tea leaves, fried fava beans and chana dal, tomato, shredded cabbage, garlic oil. Very light and refreshing and tasty. Certainly a nice compliment to the chicken. Food here is meant for sharing. Portions are a bit small, but everything is executed well and with care, and the ingredients are quality. It was definitely good enough to come back to, and I want to eat my way through the rest of the menu. Happy eating.