Recommendations- Gin Thoke, Grilled Pork Neck, Latphat/Lahpet Thoke. Otherwise, A Kyaw Sone, if you…read moredon't mind a bit of oiliness, and the Pa Zun Chin, if you like shrimp paste cakes.
I was at this Burmese place, which also sells some Thai food and other things, with a group relatively recently, where we shared a bunch of their thotes/athoke, or salads, as well as two other dishes. I think I remember going here one other time and getting either the Shan Khauk Swal Thoke or Nan Gyi Thoke, but I'm not positive, as it was a good while ago. The menu has gone through some changes over the years, but it's still reasonably priced. The service was friendly, and the vibes are casual, with the food being good overall, even if I prefer some other spots for Burmese food.
To drink, I noticed a tea being ordered at another table and got an iced one, which I think was a very reasonable $3.50 or similar. It was refreshing and tasty with a mild sweetness from condensed milk and a strong tea flavor, and I would recommend it if you're a fan of similar drinks from the surrounding countries/South East Asia.
Our only smaller dish that wasn't a salad was the A Kyaw Sone, a mix of fried vegetables with a tamarind chili sauce. As with most other dishes, there are small and large sizes, and we got the large, which was $14.99. The portion was quite large, with four different types of fritters and a very tasty dipping sauce, which had some sweetness and spiciness. In terms of the fritters, I was happy that the batter was light, but I did find them to be just a bit oily, with this especially being the case for the fried clump of greens. My favorite was probably the onion one, as I liked the light sweetness, and it felt a tad less oily. The larger ones, which each had a different filling, were also more unique with a soft inside.
My favorite of the thoke/salads we tried was the Gin Thoke for the same price, with "gin" referring to pickled ginger, with there also being dried shrimp, crushed peanuts, garlic, and sesame seeds. The ginger added a sharp little bite, and there was otherwise a good mix of crunch. This was also the least dressed, which I liked a lot. While I prefer Little Myanmar for this athoke, it was still tasty and cheaper for the large portion size.
Also for the same price was the Latphat, or Lahpet Thoke, with fermented tea leaves, tomato, cabbage, fried shrimp, crushed peanuts, fried garlic, sesame seeds, and a 100 minuscule distinct shift in crunch, was also tasty. This is the signature dish of Myanmar, along with mohinga (more on that later.) The portion was large, but this was the wettest version of this dish, which I wasn't the biggest fan of. Otherwise, there was a light fermented flavor and plenty of crunchy textures.
Our last thoke was the Pa Zun Chin Thoke, with sour shrimp, green chili, cilantro, oil, and onion, which only has one size for $12.99. The person who ordered this expected it to be pieces of shrimp, but instead, I would describe it as fish cakes made from shrimp. The fish cakes reminded me of a fermented dish from Laos, which makes sense in hindsight, and I liked the texture. Otherwise, the dish had some kick and some saltiness. I know a few others disliked this, but I enjoyed it as well.
The last dish we ordered as a group was the Grilled Pork Neck and Shoulder, served with papaya salad and sticky rice. This was the largest portion of any dish, which makes sense with the $20.99 price tag. The pork was very tender, and the papaya salad had a slight kick to it. I liked that there were two types of sticky rice, and the green sauce on the side, while not spicy, added some nice extra herbal and sour flavor when wanted. This was also tasty.
To go, I decided to order a Mohinga, or Burmese Fish Noodle Soup, for $11.99. This consisted of thin rice noodles in a fish soup with ginger, lemongrass, onion, garlic, and fried rice powder served with hard-boiled egg, crispy split chickpea, cilantro, lemon, and crushed red chili. The dish was packaged nicely with the crunchy toppings and noodles separate from the soup. Compared to other places, I found it a little bit spicier, which I enjoyed, though it lacked a little bit of depth of flavor compared to Sophie's. It was also missing the crunch from the banana blossom flower. Otherwise, there was plenty of crunch, and the portion was quite large for the price. In terms of spots, I put it above Little Myanmar, below Sophie's/Burmese Bites, and way below the now-closed Yun Cafe.
The food here was tasty, with a couple of issues. I found in general that the dishes were overdressed, and this was especially the case with the salads/athoke. While not my favorite Burmese place, the portions were large for the price, and the flavors were good.