I haven't had good food in a while. Sometimes when I eat at Asian restaurants, it's just not as authentic. Having said that, Mingalaba is probably the most authentic Asian restaurant I've eaten at so far. You can there that there's no shortcuts with the dishes, nothing is watered down, everything is just real. The coconut chicken soup is something out of this world. It's not spicy at all. I can't describe it but it was really delicious, as with all the other dishes. The service was amazing and they even amended some of our dishes so that we could feed it to our kid (non-spicy). I really like this restaurant. Only such a shame we live so far now and only just discovered it. I'd visit again if I'm around. read more

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We visit this restaurant occasionally due to its proximity to home, but the experience tends to be inconsistent. While there are a few highlights, several dishes don't quite justify the premium pricing. The Burmese beef and lamb curries are really good--the meat is consistently tender and the flavors are deep and well-developed. We also really enjoyed the rainbow salad and the paratha with curry sauce, though both felt overpriced for what they are. Other menu items have been disappointing: * Catfish Chowder: This was fairly average and bore a strange resemblance to pea soup. * Walnut Broccoli Chicken: Another mediocre dish that failed to leave an impression. read more

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Ordered the house special with chicken, which is a curry style flat noodle. The dish is semi-dry, not fully curry based, but has a coconut sweetness over the typical curry savory flavor I'm used to. Dish is topped with crispy dried noodles and a bit of cilantro. Controlled portion size, but enough for a person. Beware of the $15 minimum per person, the hot water $2 charge per person, and the 16 or 20% automatic gratuity for parties of 2 or more or 6 or more, respectively. Plenty of seating inside and a few tables outside! Very nice and fast service, food came out within 15min read more

Mingalaba - House Special w/ chicken - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

It's been awhile since we ate here and decided to return to some good Burmese food. The Mango salad was way too tart for me. It's not the mango season yet so I should know better that it's not gonna be sweet. The Beef Rangoon was lovely. The parantha with curry sauce for appetizers was hands down and always the best. Always save the sauce for great accompaniment for other dishes. The Prawns Seafood was a bit spicy and too tangy to my liking, I did like the okra addition but the dish didn't please me overall. The Thai iced tea was delightful. The dishes we ordered wasn't consistent with ones I enjoyed in the past. Maybe I should stick with the dishes that I'm used to. You are forgiven because I know some of your dishes are amazing. The service was polite and accommodating. read more

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Great food and the service was excellent! Food was served quickly though we were there at the lunch hour. read more

tldr: Mostly delicious and well presented Burmese cuisine with Chinese flair. Very good overall experience. We got four items with two Parathas from the menu to share. Total: $113 before tax and gratuity Paratha 4.5 It was soft, flaky, with a rich buttery taste. Paired with a curry dipping sauce it was an appetizer winner. Burmese Style Curry Beef 3.5 We really wanted to like this dish. It was flavorful but sadly the beef was a bit too tough and chewy. Basil Spicy Chicken 5 The STAR of the show! The chicken was not only flavorful, but it was super juicy and cooked to perfection. Not an easy feat to achieve with chicken breast meat. Pan Fried String Bean 4 As what you can expect. The strange beans were cooked well and it didn't have that usually muddy flavor from undercook string beans. It was also well seasons and had a light crisp to it. Needless to say, we will be returning soon to try other dishes. read more

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Service is good. Food is tasty but the portion is really small. The portion is only good for 2 persons only if you order 2 dishes & don't think there will be any leftover to go. read more

I am in town for some business meetings, one of our ex executive leaders, lives in the area and recommended. We try Burmese cuisine... Gosh, we were not disappointed. The recommended dish is any of their basil sauce, dishes several of us at the table enjoyed the basil dishes. They definitely had some bites that were a little spicy, but in a very good way... I enjoyed the spicy basil chicken and it was very good and I love how fresh the vegetables are... You had a choice of three ways of Rice... selected the coconut rice.... oh the flavor is coming together were so good We also enjoyed some appetizers that were really delicious. I think the key is in the sauce that comes with all of the side dishes. Service was really quick. We were definitely not waiting long for any of our meals and they came out piping hot. The ambience is really cozy. The space is small but that's what makes it so awesome and it's right in the center of a little bit of a shopping district that was cozy. I think the biggest treat of the night was the jasmine tea... I love the concept of how it comes out and you wait for the bloom of the flower to know your tea is ready to drink... That was the star of the evening... But the food was good too read more

Mingalaba - Jasmine tea - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

Overall, thought the food was pretty good here, but the portion sizes were a little on the small side for sharing with a decent sized group (6). Ordered these items - Paratha Regular Catfish Chowder without Noodles Large Coconut Chicken Soup with Noodles Tea Leaf Salad Burmese Style Curry Lamb Pan Fried Okra Tofu House Special Noodle with Chicken Rangoon Beef Thought the standouts were - Paratha - hard to go wrong with this one at most restaurants Rangoon Beef - kind of reminiscent of Peking-style Pork Chops Coconut Chicken Soup - coconut curry noodle soup bowl read more

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Food quality and flavor was okay. Some of the dishes were overly salty for my taste. I know Burmese food to be full of spices, but I don't remember things tasting this salty at other Burmese places that I've been to? We ordered many dishes to share and most of what we ordered were the most popular dishes as mentioned in other reviews. Portion sizes were really really small, except for the lamb curry which was decent size. Ambiance and service were fine. But overall an underwhelming experience for me. read more

Mingalaba - Menu - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Love this place. We always swing by when we are doing pickup or dropoff at the airport. The manager is awesome who gave fantastic recommendations. Food came super fast. Just the right portion. We finished all three dishes between the two of us and didn't feel stuffed. Favorite dishes - house special noodle - mango catfish (tender fresh fish, mango in season, perfect complement to the catfish) - papaya salad Tea leaves salad has some hard seeds occasionally. read more

Found Mingalaba off of Yelp. Two of us ordered: palatha crispy pancake with curry $11.50 lap pat dok salad $18 house special noodle $18 Flavors were good. Staff was friendly. Sat immediately for a Monday dinner. Street parking only. Came on a holiday, so didn't need to pay, otherwise, seems like metered parking only. Can definitely be hard to find spots during peak hours. read more

What a delicious delicious meal! I've found my new fav Burmese restaurant and I couldn't be more excited. Every item was so well spiced and tasty - we got the paratha, noodle coconut chicken soup, basil pork and tea leaf salad. U went home with a full and happy stomach. Big shout out to July for her incredible service and warmth - cannot wait to be back! read more

Mingalaba - Coconut Chicken Soup with Noodle - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

Burmese Chinese food is comfort and flavor. Of course tea leaf salad is a must but all the dishes were flavorful and varied. It's a little pricier for Burmese-Chinese but in a great location and no surprise it's packed to the gills during peak dining times. read more

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I went here with coworkers, after a team activity and we got lucky: we were seated almost as quickly as we got there, and right before there was a clear line out the door 15 minutes later. There's a tablet for waitlisting by the door, but it's fairly out of shape and probably best if you tell the staff inside that you have a party you want on the list. Interior is cozy, and tight but bigger on the inside than what the storefront looks like. Good selection of food and we were able to accommodate the variety of dietary restrictions my coworkers had between several dishes and the wait staff were fantastic with helping identify what would work well for the group. The dish sizes were large. Definitely go for family style with the plates. read more

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It's alright. I only had Burmese food a couple times so I'm not confident in dictating what's authentic and not. I thought the food was pretty good here but damn is it expensive and the portions are TINY. Whenever you get Burmese food, the tea leaf salad is a must which was yummy. We also got the Burmese style noodles which were flavorful and refreshing. Service was quick and attentive. We got seated right away. I don't know if I'd come back. My boyfriend and I purely came here out of convenience. read more

Mingalaba - Tea Leaf Salad - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

Four stars (for now) only because haven't been here in person. I have enjoyed the food via delivery and it was so tasty and the portions were generous - I felt like I needed to document it! I plan to visit in person soon. read more

Mingalaba - Avocado Vegetarian Spring Rolls (has four... I had already eaten one!) - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Ate here for lunch on a Sunday and I was very impressed! I'm a big fan of Burmese food and this place does it well with a bit of Chinese influence as well. Their lamb curry was my favorite but wish it was a bit spicier. Got a bunch of tofu dishes as well and we were all impressed. There was no wait and the restaurant had enough seating when we stopped by. Only thing is that service is a bit slow but not a huge deal. Definitely would come back! read more

I've been coming here for years, and if I'm craving Burmese food, this is the spot. The food has always been consistently delicious, and while prices have gone up (hello 2020s), I still think it's absolutely worth it. Came by with a friend around 6:30pm on a Thursday and we were seated quickly since it wasn't too busy yet. The service here has always stood out to me - genuinely friendly, attentive, and thoughtful. You can tell they care about making your experience a great one. My friend got the mango lassi, and I had the lychee coconut basil drink; both were super refreshing. For food, we shared the lap pat dok (tea leaf salad, always a must!), house special noodle with tofu, Burmese-style beef curry, and a side of coconut rice. The curry dish looked small at first glance, but the bowl was deep and it was plenty for the both of us. Tender meat, bold flavors, and just overall amazing. The vibe here is casual and welcoming so this is a great spot to catch up with friends over a hearty, flavorful meal like I did. I'll always recommend this place - it never disappoints! read more

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I came here on a weekend and it was packed! The wait wasn't too long. The wait was about 15-20 minutes. I ordered the pancake, tea leaf salad, house noodles, and pumpkin curry. My favorite was the pancake, house noodles and pumpkin curry! They were full of flavors and the texture was so soft and chewy. Definitely a busy place, the workers are always quick and on top of things. read more

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Best Burmese food I have ever had. Best tea leaf salad I have ever had. Best service I have ever had. Also the lamb Curry is amazing. The pieces of lamb are so tender it's almost like a lamb stew. And they're coconut rice is some of the best I've ever had. Definitely go there. read more

TLDR : Great food, nice ambience, quick service. Not recommended if you are looking for an elaborate dinner experience and want to spend time with your friends over dinner as there is a 90 min time limit per table. We loved the food! Tried their salads - mango, papaya and tea leaf salad and each of the salads were amazing! The mains were good with amazing flavors. The Singapore noodles was the best. Overall loved it! read more

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Chinese cuisine emphasizes fresh ingredients and intense wok cooking! They did it, highly recommend to my friend who they want to try the Asia food! read more

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Excellent Myanmar traditional foods with original tastes. The price is reasonable but not cheap. Good service, nice and clean. Ask for popular dishes will help. read more

Good: Ambience, outdoor setting, dog friendly. Bad: Average food, very average service. The servers were friendly but nobody checks on you when you're sitting outside. I have had better Burmese food, the food quality can be improved especially for the price and quantity they offer. The lady who took our order did not bother to check on us and one of the items was missing! read more

Don't go to this place, they just walk around and don't pay attention to you, the woman was in the phone while talking to us when I needed sauce, they added the tip in the bill in advance!!!!! I hated that!!!! How dare they to collect for something that is supposed to be as a gratuity based on the service!!!!!!!! Service is not great and everything has GMO!! Don't think they have flavor!!!! Is GMO !!! Worst service and they Added the tip !!! We will never go back there!!!! And you neither!!!! Is only for stupid people that they don't know better about real food!!! read more

Came to Mingalaba around 7pm in a party of 5, and we were seated in about 20 minutes. The restaurant is relatively small, but dimly lit in a way that created a sense of privacy between the tables. The server was very kind and helped answer our questions, ensure there were no nuts in our orders and was understanding when we inevitably decided to get additional orders of the Paratha. We got a lot to share; our favorites were the Paratha, Basil Spicy Pork, and Pumpkin curry! Everything came out piping hot, was flavorful, and the pork was very tender. Mingalaba is a great spot for burmese food, and if I ever find myself in Burlingame looking for a good dinner, I'll be sure to come back! read more

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The tofu pumpkin stew is the winner here, with the tofu deliciously soft and infused with the curry flavors, and the pumpkin perfectly textured. The coconut rice is an excellent accompaniment to it. The seasonal fresh coconut was excellent and very refreshing. The shan noodles with tofu were satisfying, the noodles well coated with the curry and not overly tangy like I've found those them to be at burma love. The vegetarian tea leaf salad was surprisingly poor. It was all tea dressing, a lot of the fried nuts and barely any salad. It felt like they forgot to put the lettuce in. I mixed it with some cabbage at home and it went down a lot better. The ambiance is welcoming, it gets really loud on a full day, the servers were nice and accommodating. read more

Walked past this place all the time. Never had Burmese food so decided to check it out. Come here for lunch and it was packed! Got seated right away though. Wasn't sure where to start so decided to get a chicken curry and Nan gyi dok noodles. The curry was light. The noodles reminded me of a peanut sauce. It was really good. The menu said it would be spicy but it wasn't. Portion was a little small so I would order a couple dish and rice on the side. read more

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So I dont know exactly what I ate because I let the others in the group do the ordering, but everything was flavorful and delish! Our group of 6 shared every dish family style. Portions are a bit small for the price. My favorite might've been the house noodles with tofu (which tasted better/creamier than the house noods with chicken, and I'm a big meat eater). It did take about a 20-30 min wait for indoor seating on a friday evening, which was fine since we were hanging out and catching up anyways. Service was overall prompt, attentive, and very nice. One of our servers provided great recommendations and had a great sense of humor! Since we were celebrating for a birthday, we also brought our own cake. There is a $2 fee per person which was reasonable. They provided dessert plates and lit the candle for us too :) even gifted the birthday boy some complimentary wine for the moment. Since our friend normally isn't fond of celebrating his birthday, we thought a dinner gathering would be simple and low key. However, the delicious food, excellent service, and a meal filled with laughter definitely added some good core memories for his special day. 5 stars for Mingalaba for facilitating a fun dinner for us all! read more

A friend and I arrived for dinner around 5:30 and we enjoyed their excellent food. The service was terrific UNTIL the end of our meal when our water glasses were suddenly removed from the table and we were told to leave because people were waiting for our table! Moments before this incredibly rude "shove out the door," we had just signed our bill and totaled it with a very generous tip. We hadn't lingered and were just wrapping up our meal. We were respectful, used good manners and didn't even have a chance to over-stay our welcome before being ORDERED to leave. As an aside, there were two people waiting for a table as we walked out. And, by Burlingame standards, that's no line at all. A delicious dinner marred by a very disrespectful ending. Shame on Mingalaba for treating us so poorly. read more

We have arrived at 6:30m on a Saturday. The place was packed, but they gave us a table after 10-15 minutes. The indoor sitting is pretty nice, and they have some tables outside too. We ordered samusas as appetizer, and it was pretty tasty. I wish it was more crunchy, nevertheless it was very good. We also ordered tea salad which has been delivered before appetizer. The tea salad was in six sections of tea leaf, cabbage, peanuts and sunflower nuts, jalapeño and some other things. They kindly offered mixing them for us, and then started mixing them right in front of us at the table. Pretty cool We also ordered house noodles and mango chicken and coconut rice. They were all very delicious. They also add 16% tip to the check. I love it. I appreciate that they do. Overall, I don't have any complaints. We had a lovely time, and we will go there again. read more

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One of my favorite Burmese restaurants! They have so many dishes to choose from and each one is so flavorful. We always get their rangoon beef and it's literally the best. The servers here are also very friendly. read more

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I wanted to like this place, but ultimately a 3 star rating signifies it's "just ok" Although I don't go to downtown Burlingame often, I do love how lovely the shop facades look. When a friend mentioned that they were going to a Burmese spot in Burlingame, I didn't have the time to go but it landed on my radar. Thus when the time came for me to pick a spot in Burlingame when meeting with different friends, I wanted to give Mingalaba a try. At first, I was worried that this place wouldn't be good because it was empty when I walked in. My friend was running behind so I decided to stroll around for 5-10 minutes. Upon my return, the place had filled up and I had to do outdoor seating. Our server and likely the owner was attentive although you could tell they were really pushing some high ticket items. They tried hard to convince me to get Ginger lemonade but here it is a whopping $10 so I declined. When it came to the food, we ordered tea leaf salad, basil spicy chicken, combination fried rice, and Burmese style vegetable curry deluxe. The tea leaf salad was strong in tea flavor and quite delicate. Soon we would notice that the theme would be that the food comes in small portions. The curry and basil spicy chicken is not spicy at all and overall muted in flavor. The fried rice was nice with a few large pieces of shrimp but again for $20 it definitely needed to be 3x the size of what we got. Overall, nice to try but the prices/portion size and the bland taste will have me going elsewhere to eat in Burlingame. read more

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I decided to try the Rainbow Prawns for lunch and I was pretty impressed. The shrimp were nicely fried, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, with great flavor. The veggies that came with it were fresh and added a nice crunch. They also had a little kick to them, which I enjoyed. I paired it with some steamed rice, which complemented the dish perfectly. read more

Food is consistently good. Sometimes a wait for a table, but worth it. The mango salad and Singapore noodles are our favorites.

Came here for lunch after not being here for awhile. Food was OK, not as good as I remembered. Ordered the veggie samosas, paratha, rainbow chicken (which was highlighted to have mango) and okra shrimp. Of all those items, the simplest dish, the paratha stood out as good. Crispy yet chewy with a tasty sauce. The rest was meh to overpriced for your buck. Veggie samosas weren't too greasy and had a nice crispy skin. The stuffing was OK, not particularly flavourful. The rainbow chicken, advertised to have mango, had maybe 3 pieces of small mango bits. Chicken was not overly tender or flavorful. The okra shrimp had like 80% okra and 20% shrimp (maybe 5 shrimps), for $23, would expect a few more shrimps. To add insult to injury, for 2 people, they automatically added a 16% service charge and had the nerve to add a line for "extra tip" for basic service (serve food timely and refill our water cups). Even with the basic service and average food, I would typically leave a 20% tip, but not here given the level of entitlement. For a $85 lunch meal for 2 (including the automatically included tip), I will not be returning to this place. Skimpy portions, unmemorable taste, overpriced and the entitlement of including the tip (which should be earned and up to the customer). There are better Burmese restaurants in the Bay Area. read more

Came here for a quick lunch, was really craving an oh no khao swe, or coconut chicken curry soup. If you want noodles to go with this dish, it's an additional $1 surcharge. The portion of food was perfect to make for a warm, comforting, and hearty meal. The ingredients were super fresh and the coconut flavor was a nice subtle underlayer complementing the bolder flavors of the curry. Delicious. Staff was nice and efficient as well. read more

Second time dining in and with worse service than the first. This is a signal to me that as much I love Mingalaba and will continue to order from here now and then, I will no longer dine here. A couple of long-time friends and I had dinner here recently. The restaurant wasn't too busy so service was quick and our food arrived just as quickly. After dinner, the server brought over our bill and we took care of it right away keenly aware it was around 8:30 p.m. and the restaurant closes at 9:00 p.m. We kept chatting while one of my friends was finishing his beer. There were still other patrons dining. The servers then proceeded to start putting all the chairs up onto the empty tables in prep for closing time. A minute or so before 9:00, they turned off all the lights for a second and then turned them back on (reminiscent of college libraries to signal closing time). Then right at 9:00, they came around to the 3-4 remaining tables and said, "we are now closed." All the tables including us took this as, "get the f out now" and immediately left. To me, this is just not polite nor professional. Surely there were other tasks to complete before heading home so us staying 10-15 minutes more while you finish those tasks doesn't seem to be a huge imposition. My parents used to run a restaurant when I was growing up and even as a teen, I can't imagine ever doing that to our customers. Train your staff better, Mingalaba. This is embarrassing. read more

Mingalaba is delicious! Their Burmese house noodles never fail to impress me. I've been here twice and their roti and house noodles are a "must try". Their version of the tea salad, however, tasted slightly off to us, it had robust flavors that didn't work together and the sauce tasted oddly similar to pesto. There are much better tea salads elsewhere, but we appreciated the craftsmanship of the waiters who took their time to mix your salad in front of you. Service is friendly and fast, I am very pleased with this every time and the ambiance is comfortable! Well-lit and well-designed, we will be back! read more

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