Mandalay Still Doesn’t Miss | Eater SF

"Opened in 1984 on California Street, this super laidback, bright-yellow corner Burmese spot—cast in Disney-looking lettering—has grown into the city’s longest-running Burmese restaurant and earned an America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation. The pioneering tea leaf salad, tossed tableside, is a fresh, crunchy mainstay, and the zingy ginger lemonade is a local favorite; the sour samusa soup even drew attention from the James Beard folks. Regulars return for flaky paratha and standout noodles: Singapore-style noodles with prawn, chicken, and pork tossed in a slew of curry spices, and the kaw soi dok of egg noodles mixed with fried onions and garlic chips that stun the dinnertime crowds. Drinks don’t get enough attention here, from the small booze menu with the $14 Mandalay cooler (lemon, ginger, mint, and cold beer) to tall, milkshake-ish glasses of Burmese iced tea—creamy, orange from the tea and milk’s combining, and sugary. Service is warm, casual, and almost goofy in a family friend kind of way, and the room even boasts a personal drawing from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening." - Paolo Bicchieri