Arrive Magazine - September/October, 2010

Burmese tofu is made from powdered lentils mixed with turmeric and salt. The fried tofu is crunchy on the outside but marvelously soft and creamy inside, and the chili sauce it is served with keeps things interesting on the flavor front.

Naturally, biryani (“festival rice”) is the first item in the rice section of the menu. However, unlike Indian biryani, which is a mixture of rice and meat cooked together, the aromatic, slow-cooked mixture of meat and vegetables at Rangoon is served on a separate layer of rice.

Burmese cuisine reflects influences from neighboring India, Thailand and China. This means you will come across familiar flavors in new guises as you work your way through the bewildering array of dishes. Southern Burma fried noodles, with its mix of sweet and sour, will remind you of pad Thai, whereas Shan rice noodles, a northeastern dish, has the deep flavor of fermented soybeans.

The Rangoon night market noodles, on the other hand, have the lightness and simplicity of a dish put together quickly— as the name suggests, this is a favorite in the brightly lit markets that pop up after the sun goes down and the work hours are over. Of all the noodle dishes at Rangoon, this is a clear winner. The egg noodles, lightly dotted with garlic, scallions and meat, have the texture of linguini with clams. Our other entree, tomato curry tofu, is Burmese tofu cooked in a very Indian masala sauce in which the flavors of onions, tomato and garlic melt together and soak into the tofu.

As we eat, I notice Gyaw smoothing a family fracas at the next table. A big family is at lunch and the teenage daughter is sulking because she doesn’t want to eat. The father chides her. The grandmother scolds him for being too harsh. Everyone is looking uncomfortable. But Gyaw smiles at the daughter and offers to come back later for her order, nods understandingly at the father and exchanges a knowing glance with the grandmother. One of the children cracks a joke and the father wipes his brow and grins. The teenager mindlessly opens the menu. The tension is gone and the family is ready to enjoy lunch.

This is what the hospitality at Rangoon Burmese Restaurant is truly about—a warm serving of affection with a side of wholesome food. 112 N. Ninth St., Philadelphia; 215-829-8939