Rangoon

[philadining]

We've raved about various dishes at Rangoon in other Chinatown topics, but it seems like time for this place to have its own discussion.

[philadining]

They looked a little startled when we told them 16 of us were dropping-in unexpectedly. Good thing we didn't admit it was really 17, they might have panicked. But to their credit, they slapped a few tables together and accommodated us smoothly.

I've been in love with the food since this place started across the street in what's now Ray's Coffee, but I realize that all this time, I've been in a bit of a rut, ordering the same few favorites. So it was really great to steal tastes of other plates as they circled the table, in our desperate attempts to keep them away from the people who actually ordered them.

I find it impossible to eat there without getting the Spring Ginger Salad. It's truly refreshing with thin slivers of fresh ginger, cabbage, sliced tomato, sesame seeds, fried channa dal, peanuts, and a sprinkling of the secret-weapon dried shrimp powder. Interestingly this is traditionally a dessert. I should have gotten another order at the end....

The tea leaf salad isn't quite as crunchy, and it's got a darker, funkier, shrimpier thing going on, but the jullienne of tea leaves is still really delicious. I think that was a squid salad that went by, I managed to grab a nice tender piece for squid and some vegetables in a light dressing.

I always thought "Crab Rangoon" was a concoction of the weird tiki bar tropicalia of Trader Vic's. Regardless, they serve fried crab wontons here, filled with crab and cream cheese, and I don't know if you'd find them in Yangon, but you know, they're not bad....

We had barbecue beef on thousand layer bread: three little skewers of beef cubes with peppers, on top of an oily, crunchy, addictive, pancakey bread. There was another serving of this bread with a spicy potato dip down at the other end of the table, but it couldn't cross the invisible force field that had formed midway.

I saw some lentil fritters and some samosa-like golden triangles floating around, but you know, force-field. I've gotten those before and loved them.

Everyone always mocks me when I order the Kung Pau Beef, but it's really quite good, nothing like the Chinese version, this is just thin strips of beef, onions, hot peppers, and some sort of salty spice. I notice that two orders of this disappeared pretty fast...

There was a Basil Pork, and I think the same preparation with squid, that were both really good, herby, a deep red sauce carrying some spice. Jungle Pork (or chicken) had a nice coconut curry sauce, not too different from a Thai green curry. Pineapple scallops had a nice coconut sauce too. Lemongrass Beef was chunks of tender beef, stewed in a dark brown, coconut-based curry.

I noticed folks wrestling with what was dubbed "grouper with impenetrable breading" but it looked good.... I didn't manage to get any.

Festival rice was indeed a party on a plate, featuring orange and yellow-tinted rice with stewed chicken, raisins, cardamon, secret Burmese spices. There used to be little bits of bitter melon and whole spices in this, but I haven't seen them for a while, people must have been complaining about them. Coconut rice was simple but tasty, white rice cooked in coconut milk which added a decadent richness.

Burmese cold noodles were good, spaghetti-sized pasta with minced meat. The Night Market Noodles were flat rice noodles with slices of pork and LOTS of garlic.

I'm sure I missed a few things we ordered, what with all the different people, and the force-field and all... I hope somebody will fill-in some of the holes in my report. What was remarkable was that everything I managed to taste was really good, I'd get any of it again, especially that basil pork.

And even though we had a few fried things, there was no evidence of soggy oil-soaked food as had been reported here once, at least not in the dishes I tried. Service was very good despite the chaos we threw at them. They have a decent selection of beer: Singha, Tsing Tao, Kingfisher, Heineken, and more. Our savvy sommeliere wasn't all that thrilled with her Sauvignon Blanc, go figure!

Overall, Rangoon is one of the more interesting places in Chinatown, and a rare cuisine even in large cities in the US. We're lucky to have it here in Philly.

Edited July 28, 2005 by philadining (log)

[MarketStEl]

So you were at the other end of the long table, then? Sorry I didn't get to meet you when I finally got there after walking around Chinatown for about 20 minutes. OTOH, I must have been walking faster than Charlie and Co., for nobody was at "The Train" when I got there and found out it was shuttered. (Question for Andrew et al.: What would that dinner have been like?)

I can attest that the breading on the grouper was not impenetrable. Even though the restaurant provided extra tools with which to demolish it, I found that I could cut my portion with a fork once I got it off the filet.

At our end of the table, there was also kung pao beef -- nicely seasoned, and the chili pepper cleared my sinuses nicely -- and a squid dish whose name escapes me now; the squid was breaded, fried and served in what I think was a garlic sauce, but by the time that dish came around, everything had dissolved into one big coconut-curry-garlic blur, so I won't swear by this.

The dishes I liked best were the basil pork, with mustard greens in a spicy garlic sauce, and the coconut scallops. But there wasn't a bad dish in the bunch.

One nice thing about eating in a large party at most Asian restaurants is that the meal becomes a de facto tasting menu. The main dishes are meant to be shared, and there are so many of them that you don't dare take more than a bite or two of each. Nonetheless, by the time it's all over, you're stuffed.

And contrary to the stereotype, I wasn't hungry again two hours later. Guess all that protein counterbalanced the carbs in the rice.

[Andrew Fenton]

Everyone always mocks me when I order the Kung Pau Beef, but it's really quite good, nothing like the Chinese version, this is just thin strips of beef, onions, hot peppers, and some sort of salty spice. I notice that two orders of this disappeared pretty fast...

I'll admit; I was one of those mockers. There I was, standing with my finger pointed, yelling HAR HAR HAR! Because for all the years I've been going to Rangoon, I've always figured that the kung pao was just a sop for whitey and his unsophisticated palate. But then I remembered: this is Mr. Phil A. Dining, the man with a keggerator in his car, and the guy who turned me on to the Szechuan Tasty House. So I placed the other order and damn if it wasn't good stuff.

The other new-to-me dish that I just luuurved was the festival rice, which really was a festival. Of chicken. And in my mouth. It's really not like anything else on the menu, more like a Burmese biryani. I've been told that Burmese food is a lot like some Indian regional cuisines, and I wonder if this isn't an example.

Anyway, Rangoon is really one of my top favorite restaurants in the city, and it was serendipitous that we ended up there. Good stuff.

[Andrew Fenton]

So you were at the other end of the long table, then?  Sorry I didn't get to meet you when I finally got there after walking around Chinatown for about 20 minutes.  OTOH, I must have been walking faster than Charlie and Co., for nobody was at "The Train" when I got there and found out it was shuttered.  (Question for Andrew et al.:  What would that dinner have been like?)

Hard to say. I mean, it would have been fun, duh, but Vietnamese isn't much like Burmese. Easiest way to find out is to check out Pho Xe Lua for yourself, of course.

[KatieLoeb]

I've barely been able to eat today after the unbelievable feast that was Andrew's farewell party yesterday. I'd always enjoyed the food at Rangoon, but the opportunity to try so many different dishes passed around the table was really a treat.

The things I remember (and there are several I'm certain I don't) include the Ginger Salad, the Tea Leaf Salad, Crab dumplings, the BBQ Beef with Thousand Layer Bread, the Pork and Garlic Noodles, the Banana Leaf Fish, the Pineapple Scallops, the Kung Pao Beef, Basil Pork, Jungle Chicken, Jungle Pork, the Coconut Rice, the Festival Rice, several squid dishes, a monk fish dish, and god only knows what else.

It was ALL delicious.

I love going out with 16 other adventurous souls and just passing the plates around. What could be more educational of a cuisine that few get to try unadulterated?

The staff and management of Rangoon get a gold star for handling an unruly and prime numbered party of 17 that walked in without a reservation and incomplete. They could not have been more gracious or accomodating, given the circumstances.

[MarketStEl]

The staff and management of Rangoon get a gold star for handling an unruly and prime numbered party of 17 that walked in without a reservation and incomplete.  They could not have been more gracious or accomodating, given the circumstances.

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What she said.

An even more pleasant surprise: The per-person tab for this Lucullan feast was a mere $25, including drinks and tip.

One of the great things about dining in a large group at East, Southeast or South Asian restaurants is that you end up creating a huge do-it-yourself tasting menu for much, much less than the same experience would run at a haute cuisine establishment. Great for the budget-conscious.

I'm nagging my friend Chris to go out for pho with me sometime this weekend.

Edited July 29, 2005 by MarketStEl (log)

[philadining]

Stopped back in to Rangoon tonight.

I've been going there since they were across the street, and EVERY time I get the

Spring Ginger Salad. Can't not get it...

Probably 75% of the time I get the 1,000 layer bread with some sort of accompaniment, tonight with a chicken curry.

I'm never disappointed in either of these. The ginger salad in particular is one of my favorite things to eat, ever, anywhere.

It's been a while since I had the Chicken with spicy red bean sauce

It was good..

We also go the Chili Spare Ribs

Which were also good, and while not identical, were a little too similar in flavor to the red bean chicken.

Back in the day, there was a waiter who would absolutely refuse to take an order like this, he'd tell you that too many of your things would taste too similar and suggest alternatives. I liked that, I think we could all use an ordering ombudsman, someone making sure the meal is going like it should, willing to rescue us from our own stupidity.

Nothing at all wrong with the ribs, but I probably wouldn't get them again. Liked the chicken, loved both the starters.

[sockii]

Made it to Rangoon last night for only my second meal ever there. I definitely need to make it a more frequent habit.

Based on the lovely photo here and the recommendations, I had to start with the Spring Ginger Salad. And yes, it is wonderful! Crunchy, peanut-laden, a light flavor of sesame but so delicate. My companion and I also got an order of the taro root to start, and it was a great combination with the salad.

To continue, we had coconut rice, Jungle Tofu, plain thousand layer bread (to sop up the sauces), and some kind of giant vegetarian pancake that was filled with a rich vegetable stuffing, very Indian in flavor, wish I could remember the name of it. I LOVED the Jungle Tofu, which was an incredibly light coconut milk/green curry sauced dish of stir-fried tofu, green beans, onions, peppers, lime and hot chilis. The only problem I had with it was mistakenly chewing on a chili that looked just like one of the green beans without proper examination.

All that and one uninspired but cheap glass of wine for $48, including tip. I just finished off my leftovers for lunch and am ready to go back for more. Nothing at all greasy or heavy about the meal, in fact it reminded me a lot of Thai but with a more delicate, fruit-flavored touch.

[SaxChik]

yesterday, my sister and i took my mom into philly for the flower show.

we went to the RTM for lunch (dinic's ... yum!) and we went to rangoon for dinner.

the only other time i was there was for the DDC dinner a while back.

we had the 1000 layer bread with the spicy potato dip and the spring salad as appetizers (good call on the spring salad, REALLY good!). we also had iced burmese tea.

for entrees, i had the rangoon house noodles (flat rice noodles served with diced chicken, onions, tomatoes with a red bean sauce). very nice, mildly spicy and very "comfort food like". i'm a big chow fun fan (the broad, flat rice noodles), so this was a great choice for me. my mom had the mango chicken. it had a sweet and spicy sauce, with big chunks of mango, garlic and onions. we're a family of bell pepper dislikers, so we had them eliminated from the dish. my sister had the coconut curry chicken, a stew of dark meat chicken and potatoes in a sauce that didn't seem too coconutty to me, more tomatoey. we finished the meal with mango over sticky rice, a thai favorite of ours.

all in all, a terrific meal. some day, i'm going to go to rangoon (or penang) and have a few orders of 1000 layer bread for dinner. i LOVE that stuff!

[Andrew Fenton]

To think, I hadn't been back to Rangoon in almost a year! Too long. We went last night to discover that they've done some work on the decor (new paint, etc.) and spiffy new full-color menus. They've also raised the prices a little, especially on fish: appetizers are around $7, chicken and beef, $11 or $12, and seafood around $16. (It's still a heck of a deal. Dinner for two was $31: cheap!)

Like Phil A., I tend to order the same things: 1K layer bread, crispy Burmese tofu, tofu salad as appetizers. Which is what I ordered this time, and they were as good as they always are.

I actually tend to like the small plates at Rangoon more than the large ones: we also got the chili chicken, which was okay, but sort of salty and one-note flavor. I liked it well enough (polished off the whole plate), but it didn't rock my casbah in the way that the tofu salad did. I should have re-read this thread and ordered the festival rice... next time.

[philadining]

What a coincidence, I was having the same thought: that it's been too long since I've been to Rangoon, and was on my way there last night with a couple of friends. But we ended up parking closer to Sang Kee, and were sucked into its powerful gravity - where we ran into Shacke!

the eGulleteers are everywhere...

[Andrew Fenton]

What a coincidence, I was having the same thought: that it's been too long since I've been to Rangoon, and was on my way there last night with a couple of friends. But we ended up parking closer to Sang Kee, and were sucked into its powerful gravity - where we ran into Shacke!

the eGulleteers are everywhere...

too funny! As we were walking home, we walked by Restaurant M, and stopped in to have a drink and talk to Katie Loeb. (Who mentioned that she'd seen you walking by not long before.)

Philadelphia is a small town... and no coincidence that it's the hometown of Mr. Kevin "Seven Degrees" Bacon, I think.

Edited March 4, 2007 by Andrew Fenton (log)

[KatieLoeb]

<giggle> I got to see lots of folks yesterday. A very fun evening at work, if I do say so myself...

Back to the topic at hand - I haven't been to Rangoon in ages either. In fact, the last time may have been with that huge group of eGulleteers for your farewell party documented upthread. As I recall, they were quite accomodating. Need to go back for more of that yummy 1K layer bread in the near future. Mmmmmm....

[Andrew Fenton]

It's funny how my restaurant-going occurs in streaks. The missus and I have probably been to Rangoon more than any other restaurant in Philadelphia; for a while, we'd head over there probably once a month or so. But it'd really been a while.

I think, too, that it's a place I tend to enjoy exponentially more when I'm in a group. There are several dishes I feel like I have to order-- but I'll be just as happy if I only eat a little bit of them, as long as I get some. More people= more things to sample= more happy me...

[MarketStEl]

Philadelphia is a small town... and no coincidence that it's the hometown of Mr. Kevin "Seven Degrees" Bacon, I think.

←

That's one degree of separation too many, Andrew. And most of us on this board could probably construct our own networks that cross the various sub-communal boundaries (e.g., gayfolk and foodgeeks) with no more than two degrees.

As I think I said on my first visit to M, I fully intend to drop in on Katie at happy hour, which sounds like a really great deal (half-price drinks 4:45-6 pm, and all the stuff they stock at M is top shelf). However, to do so, I'd have to either leave Widener at an absurdly early hour or convince a friend or colleague to drive me in and then figure out where to park.

Though it is interesting that I don't seem to run into any of you in the normal course of my week, and I think I get around. About as close as I get is Paul Steinke, who I bump into on roughly every fourth visit to the RTM, including yesterday.

[Andrew Fenton]

Philadelphia is a small town... and no coincidence that it's the hometown of Mr. Kevin "Seven Degrees" Bacon, I think.

That's one degree of separation too many, Andrew.

yes... right... you win the prize! for catching my deliberate error!

yeah, that's the ticket...

mmm... bacon...