Kyain Kyain

"SF Chronicle critic Soleil Ho ventured over to Fremont for her latest review of Burmese restaurant Kyain Kyain. The review followed a tour of the area’s Burmese restaurants, and a serious deep dive into the cuisine, with which Ho, like many Bay Area transplants, was not familiar. The result was a thoughtful review with informed criticism of dishes like lahpet thoke, the ubiquitous tea leaf salad that, with its many textures and dressing of fermented tea leaves, Ho declared “the best in the Bay Area.” It also included an examination of the chicken curry, which the critic said “was the oilest I’ve had yet.” However, Ho had been in contact with Burmese expert and MiMi Aye, who explained that oiliness. “The most famous Burmese cooking technique is see-pyan, meaning ‘the oil returns,” Aye told Ho. “It’s a way of cooking a curry down so much that the oil first disappears into the sauce and then rises back up.” That oily, saucy curry is actually preferred by Burmese diners, who are then able to use it as a condiment on vegetables, rice, and bread throughout the meal — a piece of information that the French culinary-trained critic admits could have impacted the review, had she not understood Burmese techniques. Of the curry, Ho wrote: “Unsurprisingly, this is a dish that will fill you up to a full KO. I would order it again — and clear out my appointments for a few hours afterwards.”" - Ellen Fort

"Eating at Kyain Kyain feels almost like eating in Myanmar. The samusas are plump and crispy; the curries are oily yet delicious; and the mohinga is thick and rich. The tea leaf salad is extra bitter, fermented, umami-forward, and tastes just like the stuff in Myanmar." - Omar Mamoon