#rangoon ruby

Rangoon Ruby (Palo Alto, CA) - The second time I went to Rangoon Ruby, it was for my birthday. I think we had seen other people with this birthday sparkler and I half-jokingly told my friends I wanted one too. And so they got one for me! It’s basically this large sparkling candle that shoots up really high, and they put it over ice cream. It’s cute and it’s simple, and it does make you feel kinda special on your special day. :)

Rangoon Ruby (Palo Alto, CA) - Onto the entrees. Family style ordering always gets us in trouble since we order so much! I think was one of the few occasions where there weren’t that many leftovers to take home.

We ordered the Rangoon Lemongrass Chicken, which is wok tossed with chili, garlic soy sauce, fish sauce, green beans, red bell pepper, lemongrass and finished with fresh basil.

Below that is the Beef Kebat, which is marinated beef, stir fried with paprika, masala, tamarind, green chiles, mint leaves, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.

And finally, we also ordered the Eggplant and Garlic, which is sautéed eggplant with garlic and scallions in a sweet chili sauce. This one was probably my favorite because of the curry sauce and how vibrant the eggplants were.

Rangoon Ruby (Palo Alto, CA) – I fell in love with Burmese food after trying it for the first time at Burma Superstar in San Francisco. I always heard it was good, but it was only when I tried it that I really knew. However, going to the city whenever I’m in the mood for Burmese is not an option, and they don’t take reservations (the main location at least), so I don’t want to wait two hours, heh.

This led me to searching around on yelp for closer options, in part because I wanted to introduce my parents to Burmese cuisine. I found Rangoon Ruby in Palo Alto, which had many reviews and the menu sounded so good. I love that Burmese is this mix of Indian, Chinese, Singaporean, and Indonesian foods. It’s essentially spans South and Southeast Asia.

Rangoon Ruby is a little fancier inside as a sit down restaurant. Burma Supserstar has a more casual vibe, while Rangoon Ruby has that ambiance where you should dress up a bit more. I thought it was a good place to bring my parents for a semi casual anniversary dinner, and a good place for my own birthday dinner months later. They take reservations, which is awesome – but they take your credit card number down if you’re trying to book a big party. That made me a little nervous since there’s always someone bound to flake. In the end, it worked out fine!

It’s a small restaurant that’s decorated lightly, such as with its interesting light fixtures, but packs in a lot of people. They have a bar in the back as well, though drinks are mostly definitely available at the table. I know they have a variety of drinks and wines for people who are interested. Service is friendly and they were fine with a big group taking their time to order, eat, and enjoy the night. Though it feels as if they’re trying to amp up the ambiance, the food is still family style, which I think keeps in line with the cuisine.

So, of course, I demanded we order the Tea Leaf Salad, which is a salad unique to Burma. It has a mixture Burmese tea leaves, fried garlic, yellow beans, peanuts, sesame seeds, lettuce, tomato, jalapeno peppers and dried shrimp. I am obsessed with it after having it in the city, and needed to have it again! I honestly could have eaten this salad the whole night and been fine. It was flavorful, it was crunchy, it was fresh, but I still somehow feel like Burma Superstar’s salad edges out by an inch, though I can’t really say why. I would’ve happily ordered one salad just for myself, haha.

We also ordered Samosas, which are Rice flour triangle shaped turnovers filled with potatoes, red onions, peas, carrots and a blend of ten unique spices served with special house sauce). Samosas are a very traditional Pakistani and South Asian appetizer, which usually have either potatoes or ground beef, so this one was very reminiscent of Pakistani samosas. Win with the parents. We also ordered Palata, Multi-layer bread served with vegetable curry, which is also similar to a Pakistani and South Asian dish, Paratha. The Pakistani version is flat bread (similar to a tortilla but thicker) that’s fried. Palata, on the other hand, has multiple layers and is much more flaky. Love dipping it in curry since you get all of those rich, coconut flavors.

Overall, all of the dishes were delicious. I would have to try Burma Superstar again to decide which one I like better, but I’m glad there’s a good Burmese option relatively nearby. I also brought a Burmese friend (who has grown up with these dishes thanks to his mother’s cooking), and he agreed it was pretty good.

Scorpion Bowl @ Rangoon Ruby

Vibrant, Destination-Worthy, Vegetarian-Friendly Burmese at Rangoon Ruby in Palo Alto: http://winstonwanders.com/2014/08/27/rangoon-ruby-palo-alto/