Mandalay Cafe & Mart

Burmese cuisine is one I am totally unfamiliar with, so I finally decided to try it for the first time at this fairly new spot that opened in December. Mandalay Café and Mart is a tiny hole in the wall joint located at the entrance of the Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue subway station near the Diversity Plaza entrance. The shop is multipurpose as a café slash grocery store (selling mostly condiments, tea leaves, snacks, and candy). My first impression was that the for a café located in the subway station, the place was very clean and bright. The staff was also so very welcoming and friendly. After I placed my order to go, the lady behind the counter kindly gave me complimentary tea (a whole pot!) to drink while I waited. So sweet. Anyways, I got an order of Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice, Chicken and Egg Noodle Salad, and Snow Crab Salad. I also got this crepe-like snack with peanuts that was in their grocery shelves. The container did not have a label and I can’t remember what they said it was called. I will definitely have to go back and get more of this as it was so good. The crepes were light and crunchy with hints of herbs. Strangely, it reminded me of Chinese Shrimps Chips in flavor but with chopped peanuts and herbs. The Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice was quite good. The sauce was thick and smooth with only slight curry undertones. And they gave me a huge piece of chicken which was nice. The Chicken and Egg Noodle Salad was also really delicious. I really loved the crispy corn chips that they used to garnish the dish. The noodle was soft, almost creamy and had pieces of curry chicken, half a hard-boiled egg and crispy corn chips. The Snow Crab salad while yummy was not as interesting as the other dishes. It was very similar in look and taste to a Japanese Kani salad but without the roe. Will definitely have to go back and try other dishes and maybe get more of that crispy crepe peanut snack. Hope more people supports this small business.

Ever since I tasted my first tea leaf salad I’ve never been able to get enough. We thoroughly enjoyed the tea leaf salad here and the fact that we could purchase the ingredients to make it ourselves at home since were moving to a new city where we won’t be able to find much Burmese food. Maya was very kind and I look forward to coming back and trying more of their delicious food. It’s a little hard to find, it is down the stairs from the plaza as if you’re going to the subway. Worth the journey and want to see them be successful!

One of my co worker recommended me this dish named cow sway. At first glance it looked all messy and couldn’t figure out where to start from, she mixed it all together for me and tried a bite. This was by far the best spicy noodles i’ve ever tasted in this neighbourhood. Will definitely go back to try other dishes. Give it a try guys you won’t regret.

First time having Burmese food and will definitely be back. We got the tea leaf salad and tea. So flavorful and nice combo of textures. Maya is so sweet and shared history of Burma and beautiful conversation. Thank you for a wonderful meal!

This place was recommended to me, and was told to try the tea salad, something I had never had before. I was a bit dubious with the location in the stairs leading to and from the subway. But, I was not disappointed. Everyone was friendly and most important the tea salad was amazing. Two days later I stopped in to try the ginger tea salad. Again amazing. I'm looking forward to trying some of the noodle dishes.

Love their tea leaf salad and ginger salad! Everything tastes fresh and delicious.

Best noodle salad in NYC! Wonderful people, wonderful food

I was a bit dismayed when Yun Cafe closed at this location, but was pleasantly surprised that it was taken over by another Burmese spot! Mandalay Cafe has definitely "cleaned up" this small little corner of the subway stop and you'll notice the difference when comparing it to Yun. Overall the concept is similar - some assortment of grocery items and a food counter when you can order some Burmese bites. To be honest, I'm surprised they can make food in such a small area, but they pull it off somehow. The lady who was working the day I was there was absolutely lovely - even gave me a pot of tea while I was waiting. Hopefully commuters coming through this station can continue to support this small business - it's a bit hard to find, but it's in the subway station below ground at the Jackson Heights subway station.

Burmese cuisine is one I am totally unfamiliar with, so I finally decided to try it for the first time at this fairly new spot that opened in December. Mandalay Café and Mart is a tiny hole in the wall joint located at the entrance of the Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue subway station near the Diversity Plaza entrance. The shop is multipurpose as a café slash grocery store (selling mostly condiments, tea leaves, snacks, and candy). My first impression was that the for a café located in the subway station, the place was very clean and bright. The staff was also so very welcoming and friendly. After I placed my order to go, the lady behind the counter kindly gave me complimentary tea (a whole pot!) to drink while I waited. So sweet. Anyways, I got an order of Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice, Chicken and Egg Noodle Salad, and Snow Crab Salad. I also got this crepe-like snack with peanuts that was in their grocery shelves. The container did not have a label and I can't remember what they said it was called. I will definitely have to go back and get more of this as it was so good. The crepes were light and crunchy with hints of herbs. Strangely, it reminded me of Chinese Shrimps Chips in flavor but with chopped peanuts and herbs. The Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice was quite good. The sauce was thick and smooth with only slight curry undertones. And they gave me a huge piece of chicken which was nice. The Chicken and Egg Noodle Salad was also really delicious. I really loved the crispy corn chips that they used to garnish the dish. The noodle was soft, almost creamy and had pieces of curry chicken, half a hard-boiled egg and crispy corn chips. The Snow Crab salad while yummy was not as interesting as the other dishes. It was very similar in look and taste to a Japanese Kani salad but without the roe. Will definitely have to go back and try other dishes and maybe get more of that crispy crepe peanut snack. Hope more people supports this small business.