"When Mandalay opened in 1984, it was the first Burmese place in San Francisco. Several decades later, there are slews more, but Mandalay remains a destination for its tea leaf salad, which has been lauded as the one most like what a Burmese grandma might make. It’s mostly dried nuts, beans, and seeds (peanuts, pulses, and sesame) with tomatoes and jalapenos. That austerity is what lets the fermented tea leaves star in all their bitter, fishy glory." - Paolo Bicchieri, Eater Staff
Omar Mamoon
