|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Midpeninsula residents have a new hot spot for Burmese cuisine in Burma Spice, which opened in Redwood City in June. While Burma Spice may be new to the dining scene, its owners are experienced veterans: More than a decade ago, they lived in town and owned a cafe, Broadway Barista, which served some Burmese dishes along with coffee and tea.
Cassandra Win (who also has previous Burmese restaurant experience) said she has long wished to open a restaurant of her own devoted to the food of her homeland.
“I was born and raised in Burma; it’s my dream to own a Burmese restaurant,” she said.
Burmese food stands out, she said, in part because of its tasteful blend of multiple Southeast and South Asian flavors and cooking styles. There are the coconut and chili flavors also found in Thai cuisine; curries ala Indian cuisine; and the wok-tossed techniques of Chinese cooking. With its own twist on these tastes, plus an emphasis on light and zesty flavors, Burmese food, she said, is something special.
“All of these infuse together to make Burmese cuisine,” she said. “That’s what makes us unique. For the curries we use fresh onion and garlic puree; it’s very light. There are a lot of soups and salads too.”
For those new to Burmese cuisine, the rainbow salad might be a good introduction, she said. As offered at Burma Spice, the colorful dish includes 22 unique ingredients, including four different types of noodles, tossed in a tamarind dressing. Another classic Burmese dish is the tea leaf salad, which at Burma Spice comes with lettuce, fried yellow beans, garlic chips, sesame and sunflower seeds, peanuts, tomatoes and jalapenos, with a fermented green tea leaf dressing.
For herbivores and carnivores alike, the Burma Spice menu yields plentiful options, including the popular (and vegetarian) samosas soup. “You can’t go wrong with that,” Cassandra Win said of the soup, which also demonstrates the diverse range of influences in Burmese recipes and features samosas, falafel, lentils cabbage and onions.
“We are known for our lamb curry dishes, for our basil lemongrass dishes,” she added, noting that Burma Spice aims to cater to a variety of dietary needs and preferences, including by offering mostly halal meats (except for the pork dishes) and gluten-free sauces.
Though the Win family no longer lives in Redwood City, having moved down to Sunnyvale, the connection is still there.
“I really fell in love with (Redwood City) so much. ‘If we can’t buy a house there, we’re going to open a restaurant there,'” she recalled saying, with a laugh.
While Broadway Barista was located in the heart of downtown, Burma Spice is a bit more “tucked away,” as Win described it, with its location on El Camino Real closer to the San Carlos border (former home to Hikari Omakase & Grill).
So far, she’s found running a restaurant to be a bit of a different experience to running a coffee shop.
“With a coffee shop there is intimacy,” she said, but she hopes to bring the same friendly and neighborly vibe to her new endeavor. Burma Spice has already gained some regulars, and while it’s early days, Win is hopeful Burma Spice proves a welcome addition to Redwood City’s dining options.
“I really believe that if the food is good, the price is right, the atmosphere is good, people will come back,” she said.
Burma Spice, 490 El Camino Real #140, Redwood City; Instagram: @burma.spice. Open Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Dig into food news. Follow the Peninsula Foodist on Instagram and subscribe to the newsletter to get insights on the latest openings and closings, learn what the Foodist is excited about eating, read exclusive interviews and keep up on the trends affecting local restaurants.
