Eating out as a food blogger is always pretty monotonous. There are only a certain number of times that you can be impressed with nitrogen overflowing from dishes or bastardizing a cuisine with it’s Indian counterpart. But during all that drudgery, one small place springs up, literally holds you by the palate and shakes things up. The newly opened Burma Burma in Select CityWalk, Saket draws you in with a vibrant atmosphere with some small Burmese dolls sitting on a shelf on the wall.
The setting is a typical weekday lunch in a South Delhi mall filled with kitty going aunties touring designer labels, the food is vegetarian but the cuisine is Burmese. In a style typical of a Small Asian country, the cuisine borrows heavily from its neighbours.
What we started off at Burma Burma?
Being a Bengali brought up in North India, I have been a fan of the Samosa since times immemorial. But here at Burma Burma, I find my lovely little Samosa dunked in a soup (Samuza Hincho) with all the heat and acidity from the South East flavours behind it. I decide I need something to cool off and I don’t have to look further than the selection of Bubble Teas on the menu. Built on a base composure of Black Tea, milk, maple and Tapioca balls, it offers me the triple comfort of liquid,cold and sweet.
Their salads have already become the talk of the town with their tea leaf salad (Mandalay Laphet Thoke) taking the honors. It is pretty interesting to note that although Burma (now called Myanmar) was used for producing large quantities of tea for the British colonial masters, more than 80% of the tea produced today is utilized in making the salad. I order myself a trifecta of the tea leaf, raw mango and the sunflower salad and immediately fall in love with the sidekick, the raw mango salad. Although all three of the salads impressed with their characteristic crunchy taste, it is the added acidity of the that makes it the winner. Just before moving onto the mains, we are venture along to the fluffy, melt in your mouth steamed buns (Paukse). Exactly opposite to me, it has a crunchy inside made of tofu. The juxtaposition of the crunch between the slimy and soft is a mouthful.
The mains included a China Town noodles along with Ngayokthe Kala Hin curry that lets us explore the flavours of the vegetables in it. But it is the desserts I have been waiting for and totally fall in love with. The Oh Ho Na Nat Thi comprises of a chilled coconut custard which reminds me of the cream inside a tender coconut. It is coupled with some candied pineapple which adds a layer of sweetness while the pineapple foam adds some acidity. The shot of toffee on the corner adds some earthy flavour to the mix and it is one dessert I can’t have enough of.
The flavours at Burma Burma are surprisingly new yet combined with textures that beddazle you is something that should be a perfect place for a date or a casual meet up with friends.
