Most Recent Yelp Reviews

“Before all the film buffs chime in, I do realize the correct quote is “that’s not the Northern Lights! That’s Mand*erlay!” but! My point! Mandalay delivered a meal the other night that was Wonder of the World-worthy. Lucky you, San Franciscans, to be privy to experiencing it on the regular. I hear that some places serving up Burmese cuisine have such high demand, you have to wait hours for a table. The good news is that Mandalay accepts reservations, but even if you don’t make one, there’s a good chance for you to experience the magic sans fast pass.” – Joi B.

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Mandalay on KQED's Check Please!

One of our favorites was the Mandalay Special Noodle, a dish featuring a bed of noodles and an impressive array of spices, vegetables, and other accoutrements that are all mixed together at the table side.

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When pressed, Sherry Dung will admit that when her family opened Mandalay in 1984, the tea salad was a bit of a hard sell.

“We had to explain to customers that Burmese food was a combination of Indian, Chinese and Thai flavors,” she says, “but with a unique preparation in our own style.”

The city got the memo. While Burmese restaurants are rare elsewhere in the country, here we’ve embraced tea salad and coconut-curry noodles. Equally remarkable: The 28-year-old Mandalay, now encrusted with knickknacks and Christmas ornaments, has not settled into a customer-pleasing rut.

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SF Magazine

Mandalay (Inner Richmond) I have a hard time staying away from these noodles. A longtime favorite, they are just too captivating, like a Cate Blanchett performance wrought in wheat. Tamarind and cucumber strands establish the cool, tart tone of the rich split-pea sauce, which is punctuated with the nutty crunch of deep-fried onions, deeper hints of toasted garlic, and the contained shock of fresh cilantro.

ZAGAT Review 2011

Burmese dishes are brought by staffers who “treat everyone like royalty”; expect a bit of a line on weekends – while you used to be able to go “without a reservation”, “those days are over.”

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Bill Daley, Chronicle Staff Critic

Service at Mandalay is friendly, and the pace is relaxed. Though the dining room is basic, the decor is enlivened by Burmese art. It’s a pleasant setting for fare tingling with the flavors of Southeast Asia.

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SF Eater | 12 Cheap Eats

Inside this inviting bright yellow restaurant there is a wide selection of Burmese fair offered during their lunch buffet. From mango chicken to basil eggplant, eat what … A reader is partial to “the Burmese curry chicken with balada.”

FOODHOE.com

It is a brilliant combination of textures and interesting flavors, crunchy from the toasted nuts, seeds and dried legumes, intense flavor from the fried garlic and shrimp, mixed up with fresh juicy pieces of grape tomato and slices of spicy jalapeno.  Then tossed with a squeeze of fresh lemon, some kind of oil and the pungent fermented tea leaves.  

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