One of the best authentic Burmese food you'll find in America. This place competes with the best restaurants in the Bay Area. We ended up ordering just about everything on the menu. And it all turned out above expectations. Stick to the Burmese classic staples and your taste buds will thank you. They also have Chinese styled dishes here, but stick to the Burmese stuff Service and vibes were great here as well. Everyone was so nicen read more

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Food was delicious and the staff were very kind. Visited for the first time, and tried the samosas, mango salad, catfish chowder, house special noodles, and burmese style curry with lamb. read more

Loved this Burmese restaurant! We would mainly go to Burma Love in SF to eat burmese food so I wish I had tried Mingalaba earlier! The staff is very nice. There were only outdoor tables when we got there but it had gotten windy so we asked if we could get a table inside. There was a longer wait time for the indoor tables so we sat outside. But an indoor table cleared up before we ordered so they came to us first and asked if we would like to move inside! The food was great! And they have a lot of vegetarian options! Ginger lemonade - Very refreshing! Paratha - Yummy paratha and the curry was good too! Mango salad - This was delicious and fresh tasting! Burmese style string beans - This was my favorite! We got this made vegetarian and asked for it without tofu. Shan noodles - We didn't enjoy this much. It wasn't bad but not quite our flavor! read more

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This is a must go place! If you love Burmese food or haven't had Burmese food you will not be disappointed at all! There was a short wait when we went during dinner time. So many options that sounded so good!! We ordered a ton but brought home the food for leftovers and the food still taste amazing the next day. There are not many Burmese restaurants around so we were really excited to try this one when we found it. Inside is nicely decorated! My favorite was the Moo Hing Nga! This is my all time favorite Burmese dish!! They make it so well here. It takes lots of preparation to do so it's always nice when I can find a place that makes amazing Moo Hing Nga. It was not oily so that's why I liked it even more. The salads were great!! Tea leaf and green papaya salads had great favoring. The curries were really good too!! The service was amazing! Everyone was very attentive. We cannot wait to go back to have this place again! read more

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More like a 3.5 stars. We came by on a Saturday evening and although it was busy, we were seated in about 20mins inside. Restaurant itself isn't that small but given that there were a lot of tables close together and lots of staff walking around, it felt reallllyyyyyy crowded. Service: 10/10. The entire staff is pretty organized: servers and waiters with distinguished uniforms. Everyone was friendly, accommodating, and quick on their feet. Food: 7/10. Taste-wise, it was 10/10. I know Burmese dishes well enough to know everything I tried here was authentic to its core. Burmese food is influenced by Chinese and Indian taste so yes, you will see and taste all 3! Paratha - Curry flavor. Very delicious. Creamy and rich. Paratha was a bit greasy but it was still cooked really well. Small serving of one. Catfish Chowder with Rice Noodle - This is also known as Mohinga. Thick and lots of fish bits but not fishy. Add noodles! This is how Burmese people eat this. Lemon + chili pepper = perfection. Serves 2 people comfortably. Shrimp kebat - A bit spicy but isn't too bad. Loved that there were vegetables but there were more veggies than shrimps lol. ~20$ for a dish that had 6 shrimps... kinda felt ripped off. Small serving of one person too lol. Tasted delicious but such a small portion for that price wasn't worth it. Spicy basil fish - This was more sweet and sour than spicy. Again, a lot more veggies (mostly onions) than fish. ~20$ for another small serving of one person... delicious but not worth it. Burmese Iced Tea - Got it with milk instead of coconut. Tasted more like Thai tea but less creamy. TLDR: Authentic and very delicious Burmese food but the portions are ridiculously small for its kinda expensive price. read more

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First time having Burmese cuisine and it was good! I dined with two friends and had the tea salad, basil chicken, and the vegetable curry. The dishes were appropriately spicy and everything was quite tasty. The ambiance was quiet which was perfect as we could hear ourselves talking. Service was efficient and professional. I would definitely go back to try other dishes. read more

They are delicious! My favorite appetizer is Burmese Vegetarian Samuas. (Samosa) I have tried the lap pat dok and it tastes delicious! I suggest you mix it. The service was great with my small group of my relatives. The ambience is more traditional Burmese. read more

Mingalaba - Lap Pat Dok (Tea Leaf Salad) - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Consistently fantastic. I've been going here for ten years and never walk away disappointed. My vegetarian favorites: tea leaf salad, paratha, house noodle with tofu, pan fried string beans with tofu served over coconut rice. read more

I love their food! Always piping hot fresh and so good. Upon request, you can substitute brown rice for the steamed in the Fried Rice entrees, ooooooohhhhh! I love their brown rice! I substitute brown rice in the Shrimp Fried Rice, one of my favs. The Fish fillet in Black Bean Sauce is really a great delicate dish. The white fish is soft and buttery, lightly battered. They have the exact amount of garlic to add the perfect touch to all the veggies. It's another fav that's light and tasty. They have great Chow Fun options, too. The Combination Chow Fun entree with chicken, pork and prawns is awesome; so comforting, especially on cold days. Give these great folks try! Great quality and terrific options on their big menu, everything is so good. read more

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Tea leaf salad is my favorite salad and their version was good! Price to portion ratio: it's lot tinier than other Burmese places in the city. It's a good single portion, you won't be taking leftovers. The paratha was fresh and the coconut curry sauce was good. We were impressed! Personally I'm not a fan of the min $15 per person rule. read more

Mingalaba - too many rules - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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Let me start off by saying how I have always walked past this restaurant for YEARS and this was my first time eating here. I really don't know how I went all these years without trying this place... As soon as you come in you can add your name to the digital waitlist via yelp. But honestly went by fairly quick! Everything we ordered was amazing!! We didn't even get the chance to take a picture of our appetizers. We ordered the papaya salad, paratha, and mimosas to start. For our main entrees we ordered the Singaporean style noodles and the yellow beef curry. The servers are quick and attentive which is a plus cause of how busy it gets in the evening. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place to anyone hungry in the Burlingame area as everything on the menu will not disappoint. Papaya salad: 9/10 Mimosas: 5/10 (would pass on it tbh) Paratha: 10/10 Yellow Beef curry: 8/10 Singaporean Style Noodles: 10/10 read more

Mingalaba - Burmese Style Curry Beef - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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We finally got a chance to try Burmese food for the first time. It's a Friday prime lunch time looks like they are always busy from their Yelp page but we took our dogs and planned to sit outside. And the outdoor space was still pretty empty so we could easily sat down. Outdoor seating wasn't fancy but spacious for our dogs. As a very small niched cuisine they have ton of options for vegetarian/pescatarians. That's a big bonus. And they have a lot of specialty dishes. It's only the two of us so we only tried a few things. I ordered the curry prawns with okra. He ordered the curry lamb dahl. Both are very rich and flavorful. Very similar to Indian style tbh. It's perfect to top that on the brown rice which was perfectly cooked and fluffy. My favorite thing this time was actually our appetizer the avocado vegetable rolls (came with 2 rolls and cut into halves, along with a peanut sauce) feels very much like Vietnamese spring rolls, but tastes great and refreshing. The only downside to me is for how much they are charging its a small portion for both dishes. Otherwise overall it was a great experience. The service was pretty attentive even we were sitting outside. read more

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We came on a Sunday night and there was no wait. Service was really friendly and food came out quickly. Would happily come back here to try other dishes! Pratta - comes with 2 dipping sauces. One sweeter and one savory. Rainbow salad - two types of noodles with a variety of vegetables. Highlight of the meal Basil spicy fish - well flavored cod fish that was juicy Burmese Style Vegetable Curry Deluxe - lentil base with a variety of vegetables and a Serrano pepper read more

Not worth it. We felt hustled to order more than we wanted and then neglected. Nobody asked how we were doing, not even water refills. It wasn't even busy, so there's no excuse. Portions were small and pricey. read more

Mingalaba - Tea salad - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

I haven't been to this place for like 7-8 years, they used to be very good. But the last time I tried this 2 months ago, it's not good anymore. They have smaller servings now and taste is a bit on the bland side. Beef curry is almost non-curry taste. When they served the tea leaves salad, they just mix in front of you, they used to introduce each of the items before mixing them up. For the price and the quality/volume of the food, it's not worth it anymore. read more

4.5/5 so rounded to 5! If you are looking for Burmese food in the Bay Area, this is the spot to go! We had to wait about 15 minutes for an outdoor table on a Friday night.We tried a bunch of different items. And all of them had a great flavor and were cheaper than the more famous Burmese spot in SF. The patio was nice and really expands how big this restaurant can be! Tea leaf salad 4.5/5This salad is covered in tea leaves! It's so flavorful and delicious and has that tea umami throughout. I think this is better than the place in SF. The only downside is I think it actually needed more of the cabbage and tomatoes to offset how much tea leaves there were. Okra prawns 5/5These okra were cooked to perfection. Cooked with a nice wok char on the outside and slightly soft in the middle. The flavor is strong and really tasty and goes well with the prawns. Definitely get this. Green beans with beef 4/5Get anything that they cook in the wok here. It's got that lovely char flavor from it and blends well with the beef. Kung pao chicken 3.5/5This was slightly too sweet for me. Still tasty but not tastier than other kung paos I've had before. Other people at my table enjoyed it a lot though. Paratha 4/5Standard paratha with a deep milky and tasty curry. Always a must get. House special noodles 3/5This was just okay to me. The noodles need more of a kick of flavor but they are decent and others did enjoy it. Fish chowder 4.5/5This was complex and layered with so many different flavors. It was delicious and warm and perfect for outdoor dining. It is a lot of soup for just 2 people though. read more

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Always solid! The food is delicious, especially the green beans with prawns, the house special noodles, papaya salad, basil spicy chicken or fish, paratha, and any of the curries. It's all great! The ambience is casual and lively. The staff is friendly, and service is consistently top notch. read more

Came to visit a friend in Burlingame, and walked by this Burmese restaurant, which definitely caught my interest. I have friends who make Burmese food, but have never been to a Burmese restaurant. We really enjoyed the papaya salad. My friend who lives nearby and had been there before recommended the coconut chicken soup, which was perfect for an October evening, dining outdoors. We also had the Burmese style curry beef, which was flavorful and delicious. All the food was very flavorful. I see some complaints about service in the reviews, but we had a good experience. Food came out in a timely manner, and server was friendly. read more

The best Burmese restaurant ever! I especially love their rainbow salad which has over 18 ingredients. I'd get this over the tea salad for sure. Other things that are good: - String beans (5/5) perfectly crisp - Paratha (5/5) flaky and buttery - Rainbow Salad (5/5) - Avocado Tempura Shrimp Spring Rolls (5/5) - Burmese Lamb Curry (5/5) - Catfish Chowder (Moo Hing Nga Soup) (2/5) - House Special Noodles (5/5) Their food is so good I wish they were a chain restaurant. I can't find any similar food in any other city. That's why whether I'm in the Bay I make a stop at Mingalaba where I dine in or take out. Also a heads up, parking is hard to find in this area and sometimes there's a wait for this restaurant. It's well worth the wait. Soooo good! read more

Excellent food and service must go ! I recommend the pork curry w pumpkin and coconut rice read more

Super horrible service Since it was cold inside, requested to turn off fan. They said no. The combined tables are offset. Food was horrible Potsticker were two fat Before it was authentic green leave salad, now it's pre made Also it is a little over priced for the quality and the quantity in my honest opinion Before it was a better business and service, now they are super focused on just making money and charging more read more

Mingalaba - Uneven table arrangement for 6 and horrible service - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

We eat Mingalaba often, it's one of the few places we keep coming back to because we can't get enough! Our favorites, we always order: Paratha - flaky crispy paratha with delicious curry sauce Tea leaf salad - so many delightful crispy crunchies with the unique tea leaf dressing House noodles A new favorite: Burmese Curry chicken - so much flavor and tender dark meat chicken. Not a creamy curry base and we loved it. Just ok: Spicy basil eggplant - got this on a whim and it's just ok. Nice and soft eggplant stir fried with a few other veggies in a typical Cantonese style sweet and slightly gloopy sauce. Service was excellent as well! Thanks for being one of our staples in the area :) read more

Great decor and ambience as most reviewers have already mentioned! However, we were a bit disappointed with the service even though the food was good. I do concede it was pretty late when we arrived but we were definitely rushed to wrap up and clear out - really put a damper on the whole experience. Having said that, we might give this place another try at some point. read more

Mingalaba - Mixed fried rice - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

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It's a very small place, so you get rushed to eat and leave. The portions are tiny, sugary, and contain MSGs, so it's not a healthy choice. The ambiance is okay because of the decent crowd, but that gets ruined by the pressure to eat fast and get moving because each person is treated like a dollar sign. Overall, this is a terrible choice for health-conscious people and those with GMO and MSG allergies. It's overpriced and overrated for small unhealthy plate portions. You -don't- get what you pay for. read more

Definitely the best tea leaf salad in the Bay area. My only complaint is that they used to bring it to you in all of its splendor and then mix it, but now it comes premixed. I also really enjoy their pumpkin curry. It's so smooth and the pumpkin is always perfect: soft yet fluffy. The egg rolls are vegetarian, but they unfortunately lacked in flavor or texture. I do not recommend. Focus on the Burmese food and you won't be disappointed! read more

Start with the Paratha! Anyone who doesn't is missing out. I'd have 3 of these to myself though this time I shared. The Burmese style noodles was sour-ish but a great flavour! Reminiscent of a pad thai but different enough and tasty too. The Nan Gyi Dok was pleasantly tasty, curry like sauce coupled with tender chicken. Can get a bit heavy towards the end with oil but it tastes so good. Also, the quantity was good! Don't let the pictures fool you Will be back for sure. read more

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So the food is really good, the service is really good, but the prices are ridiculously expensive and the portions are ridiculously tiny. We had eight people in our group and we left famished and disappointed in our meal. read more

I visited Mingalaba Restaurant today. I like your food and I often order online, sometimes with friends. Today I decided to eat inside the restaurant. I asked to pay first and the staff gave me a check. I'm a student, I work and study, I left a $1 tip. One employee spoke to me rudely and said I left too little, that it should be 15% -- $2. I said "okay" and changed it to $2 as he asked. After that, he told me, "Next time, order to-go." It made me feel very uncomfortable and I couldn't enjoy my meal. I went to him and calmly said: "I want to say something. Taking food to-go or eating here is my choice. And how much tip I leave, it's my decision. You cannot tell me what to do." He became aggressive, raised his voice, interrupted me and did not let me speak. If you have a required tip amount for dining in, please write it somewhere and make it clear for customers. I will not come back to your restaurant. read more

Came here to try some Burmese food tonight. I was very surprised and glad they were open on the 4th of July. There were no lines and we were seated right away. We ordered the paratha, curry beef, rainbow chicken, fried string beans and house Burmese fried rice. Every dish was flavorful, especially the fried rice. The combination of ingredients was perfect and the egg was cooked just right. The paratha was a bit expensive because they only give you one small one. Overall, we will be back to try out the other dishes. read more

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A pretty good place to come to for Burmese food! If you're looking for that authentic Burmese style food, Mingalaba definitely serves that. I came here for a late-night catch-up dinner with a friend and I'm glad we ended up coming here. Service was friendly and inside the place had a nice small interior design with warm lighting. We got seated pretty early, and we ended up getting the Tea Leaf Salad, House Special Noodles, as well as the Burmese Style Beef Curry. I love Tea Leaf Salads. The tea leaves in addition with the other veggies, fried garlic and peas really adds a nice crunchy texture to the salad itself. And with the addition of those chili peppers really adds that intense heat to the dish. Overall, super savory and delicious! The Burmese Style Beef Curry was good too. We ended up ordering the coconut rice and it was very fragrant. Pair that with the curry and beef made it a super hearty dish. The beef was pretty tender too which I appreciated. And lastly, the final dish was the House Special Noodles. It essentially has coconut chicken, lime leaves, yellow pea powder, onion and fried noodle strips on top. This was interesting. I wouldn't say it was the best solely because it reminded me too much of creamy pasta but with that lime-y accent. It's interesting and I can't really describe it any more than that aha. But overall, this is a solid place. I would definitely come back again in the future! read more

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This restaurant discriminates against Asian people. They automatically charged us 16% service fee and didn't charge anyone else (primarily white people). They deliberately didn't charge the table next to us, who were white. They discriminated against us. I've never seen this at any restaurant. Other restaurants if they've automatically charged us, they charge everyone. They didn't provide special services either, just filling up water and normal waiter duties. read more

A staple in downtown Burlingame. This Burmese Chinese restaurant is well known in the area. Good authentic food. My go to is their tea leaf salad and the catfish chowder rice noodle. Full of flavor and very well satisfying. Excellent customer service as well read more

Mingalaba - Tea Leaf Salad and Catfish Chowder with Rice Noodle - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

I went to this restaurant with two of my friends because of the rave reviews. The waitress suggested we get the coconut water, so we did. We placed all our appetizer and main course orders together. But after 30 minutes, we never for the coconut water or the appetizer. When we asked, they said the coconut water got over. 45 mins go by and they finally got our parotta/dip appetizer. More than 50 mins later, only one of the entrees showed up. I finally had to cancel my order as I was extremely hungry and frustrated. To add to this, they add a 16% service charge to your bill. When we asked, they said it was for parties of two or more. This is probably the worst service I've faced and forced to pay 16% tip on top of that. I don't think it's worth going to this place for this service. read more

Burmese kid here and all I can say is wow! I had this yesterday with a couple of friends and everything we got was just like how my mom would prepare it at home. Only took pictures of two dishes: Tea leaf salad and Moh Hing Gah? (Catfish chowder soup) Tea leaf salad is prepared as you would get it back in Myanmar. I prefer cabbage over lettuce so it was a great addition to the overall freshness of the dish. Make sure to add half the lemon to balance the strong delicious flavors. Nice after taste as well. Please get rice noodles with the catfish chowder, it definitely elevates the experience. This dish is one of Myanmar's signature noodle soup dishes. I am usually very indifferent to this dish, but I did thoroughly enjoy this one. The crispy bean chip on top adds a nice contrast to the soup. I personally recommend this restaurant for anyone looking to delve in Burmese cuisine. I appreciate that they do not hold back with the strong and authentic flavors! read more

Mingalaba - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

Superb. Supreme. Sublime. The richesse of this type of home made tasting excellence and gentle hospitality stay in my heart. In ways that a Napa fine dining institution never could, for example. read more

Came with friends and sat outside since the window seat was too sunny! We had the tea leaf salad, mango beef, nan gyi dok, and ordered one coconut rice and white rice. The tea leaf salad was good as always, but I do think it's a bit small for the price. The mango beef had a good flavor but the sauce wasn't thick, so it didn't seem like a cohesive dish. The mango, beef, green beans all could have been eaten separately. The nan gyi dok had a good curry flavor and bouncy noodles. I was surprised a bowl of coconut rice was $5 and the white rice was $4, but our party didn't eat that much rice so we still had a couple spoonfuls left over. They did say they enjoyed the coconut rice though. Overall it's a nice place to come for a treat in the Peninsula, but there are better places South Bay. read more

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Tried this place with a coworker and buddy Saturday before last. It had been a long time since I've had Burmese and I had forgotten how much I like it. I'll get right into it: it was very good. Everything was fresh and so delicious. I was starving and hoped it wouldn't take long to get the first dish (Paratha). Thankfully, it was quick. Paratha: pancake with dipping sauce. Excellent. I could have eaten 2 servings of this. Vegetarian Samusas: I could have sworn there was meat in it; it was that good. So much flavor in such a little package. It was a little pocket of heaven. House Special Noodle: I thought this would be like Chow Mein, but it wasn't. It was more exotic--in a good way. Basil Chicken: This guy loves chicken. Add in basil, garlic and chilies. Oh, yes. Service was very good: quick, attentive and courteous. This is all I'm really looking for when I eat out. To sum up, I will be going back. I also forgot how much I like downtown Burlingame. Mingalaba is in a great place, read more

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Really good food and service. Seating was outside and delightful. Will be back again for dinner read more

Mingalaba - Mango Salad - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

Automatic gratuity: 16% for 2 or more people. 18% for 6 or more. Seated inside. Friendly staff. House noodles with chicken, mango salad vegetarian, Burmese fried rice, General's chicken, and avocado spring roll. Not impressed with rolls. $20 for 2 rolls cut in half. I thought it'd come fried on outside. Bland unless you have sauce. All other dishes delicious. Portions so small for the expensive prices. :( read more

Mingalaba - Spring roll. 4 pieces of this. - Burmese Near Me - Burlingame, California

Mingalaba was a go-to staple dinner place to meet up with friends in the Peninsula. It has been probably 4 years since I've eaten there so I decided to go back to an old standby. I was a bit underwhelmed on my visit since previous years. Obviously the biggest change is the prices are now $16-20 a dish. If you order rice it is $4-6! We ordered the: - Paratha (5 out of 5)- of course, this appetizer is a MUST ORDER! Delicious but expensive at $11. Dipping sauces and the paratha is so good. - Mango Chicken (3 out of 5)- It tasted different than before. It used to have sauce that accompanied it and now it eats really dry. Although kudos for giving enough pieces of mango. - House special noodles (4 out of 5) - noodles were a bit over cooked but the sauce and chicken were good. I liked the crunchy noodles on the top! Overall a bit disappointing that things are not the same as how I remembered it. Very good but could be better! read more

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