B Star

Came to B Star for the first time around 7:30pm on a Friday when we saw how long the wait would be at Burma Superstar. I've known about B Star for a while now but have been lucky to be able to get to Burma Superstar before it gets super busy, but we figured it might be worth it to walk down the street to check out B Star after putting our name down for the waitlist at Burma Superstar. Super glad we did, because we saw that there were open tables at B Star, and were seated almost immediately. Unlike Burma Superstar, B Star is more brightly lit and has more of a casual upscale hip vibe. The menu seems to overlap a bit, with some dishes that seem to be B Star exclusive, and some Burma Superstar dishes weren't on the menu.

We ordered quite a lot to share;
Platha Dipper ($11): a classic, and cut into larger more layered flakey pieces here, which I enjoyed.
Tea Leaf Salad ($21.5): a classic, and just about the same here except without the table side explanation of ingredients and mixing.
Laksa ($19.5): super creamy, richy, lightly sweet, and not as umami or savory as I would've expected. The lime definitely helps bring a bit more complexity, but overall a very warming, homey dish.
Miso-Glazed Cod Noodles ($27): super tender, buttery flaky cod, ontop of some nicely savory soy-saucey noodles that had good chew.
Fiery Basil Chicken ($27): not too notable, but good enough. Not sure if worth the price or if I'd reorder.
Coconut Rice ($4.5): a classic, fragrant coconut rice. It felt like the portion was a bit smaller than what I'd expect.
Lychee-lime Mojito Half-Pitcher ($25): not sure if this is the same recipe as Burma Superstar, or if its just because it was made in a pitcher instead of a glass; this one was a little less minty and less lychee than I remember, and I missed out having an entire lychee at the bottom of each glass. Still good value for the half pitcher giving us about 6ish cups worth of drinks

Overall, B Star is just as good as Burma Superstar, with a little bit of a different vibe. Would definitely come by again, especially with larger groups and when we're not feeling like waiting for a table at Burma Superstar on a busy night.

B Star gets high marks for its friendly and attentive staff. They were incredibly accommodating when we requested to move our reservation to an earlier time, which was a huge plus. The restaurant itself offers two seating areas - a standard indoor space and a patio area in the back. The patio looked charming, but we opted for the warmer indoor space on this particular visit.

Their SF Restaurant Week menu was a delightful exploration of Pan-Asian flavors, with Burmese influences taking center stage. We tried a variety of dishes, with mixed results:

Laksa (traditional Burmese soup): This coconut curry broth-based soup was a flavorful adventure. The combination of rice noodles, grilled shrimp, crispy tofu, and fresh herbs offered a delightful mix of textures and tastes.

Burmese lamb curry platter: The lamb itself was beautifully tender, and the pickled mango added a nice tangy counterpoint. However, the overall curry flavor profile felt a bit muted. It could have benefited from a bolder, more complex spice blend.

Tea leaf salad: This classic Burmese salad was a textural and flavor explosion. The fermented tea leaves provide a unique savory base, while the nuts, fried garlic, and fresh vegetables add delightful contrasting textures. This was a definite highlight of the meal.

B Sprouts: The Brussels sprouts were delicious and cooked well but the crunchy bits (furikake) were too crunchy and after a few bites, we were just simply picking the brussel sprouts and getting rid of the furikake and the popped rice.

Rice pudding: As we were one of the first tables seated after opening, the lychee panna cotta wasn't ready yet. We could only opt for the rice pudding instead. While the rice pudding itself was creamy, it lacked any real standout flavor. We were also full by then.

Thai iced tea: The Thai iced tea was watered down and lacked the rich, bold flavors.

Overall, B Star has a lot of potential. The staff is fantastic, and the menu offers intriguing Pan-Asian options. However, the execution of some dishes fell short.

Finally got a chance to try Burma Superstar's sister restaurant! The menu is much smaller, but that was to be expected.

Got seated immediately on a Saturday night due to a cancellation so we got lucky. Otherwise expect to wait 30-45 minutes. Really liked how bright it was in the restaurant.

Menu contained a lot of fusion items so we avoided those, but here's what we tried:

Samosas (2/5): Filling was 90% potato and pretty bland. The sauce it comes with made it a lot better though.

Laksa (3/5): Loved the noodles, shrimp was cooked and seasoned perfectly. However, the soup itself could've been spicier and more fragrant.

Burmese Lamb Curry: (3.5/5): Really liked the portion size and seasoning. The texture of the pickled mangos goes well with the dish. Nothing crazy, but could definitely see myself picking this up again for a weekday dinner.

Mango Shandy (4/5): Finished a whole pitcher of this, light alcohol content and tastes pretty good!

We came to B Star for SF restaurant week and first off, we had to wait for 25 min to be seated :(
They also ran out of some of the options on the prefix menu but were accommodating on changing it to something else. The portion sizes were huge but the food was very heavy. The tea leaf salad was well made and definitely my favorite. Both vegetarian entree options are also quite tasty. The ambiance is good but the tables are a little small to get multiple courses in the prefix.

My favorite Burmese food in the city -- my friend and I go out of our ways to come here when we can because it's just SO good. My go-to dish is the miso cod -- the fish is flavorful (but not too salty) and sits atop a bed of delicious garlicky noodles. The fiery tofu dish is also, well, fire -- super flavorful. Their thai iced tea is also a nice complement to cool down when eating all the food. Tucked away on Clement right next to Burma Superstar (another neighborhood institution which is decent but not as good imo), this place is always a hit.

While I really wanted to like this place, the food isn't doing it for me :(

We ordered a platha dipper, a lamb curry, and a crispy duck skin fried rice. The platha was good and crispy. The curry was pretty up to standard -- not too surprising. But the crispy duck skin fried rice... oh man.. it was extremely salty. Salty to a point that we couldn't finish the dish after a bite. The dish was a complete miss. It was as if I was straight up eating salt.

We loved B Star! Being the sister restaurant of Burma Superstar (which I love), I was super excited to try B Star's fusion menu for lunch.

We ordered the Fresh Spring Rolls, Pumpkin Pork Ginger Stew, Salmon Donburi, Salmon Ochazuke and Thai Green Curry Pot Pie. Everyone loved their dishes which were super flavorful and tasty, and we all felt that it was a great value, given that their prices were very reasonable for lunch.

I especially loved the Thai Green Curry Pot Pie, although I would also get an order of rice to go with, if I were to get it next time. I wasn't sure about how green curry would taste in a pot pie form, but it tasted like a delicious green curry that was a little thicker than normal, which paired nicely with the flaky and crispy puff pastry.

I will definitely be back!

If you are craving Burmese food, which if you are unfamiliar is the best of Indian, Chinese and Thai cuisines, B-star is a reliable workhorse. This is part of the same chain as Burma Superstar in SF and East Bay, i.e. same menu.

Tea leaf salad is the must-have go-to dish at any Burmese restaurant. And B-star does not disappoint. For vegetarians, you can skip the fish sauce if you let your server know. The salad is prepared fresh by your table and adding some lemon brings out the best of the green tea leaf paste and the crunchy accoutrements that compliment the lettuce, garlic and sesame seeds.

Another classic is the palatha with dip, which is the equivalent of a fried roti with chicken (usually) or coconut curry in B-star's case. Or you can skip it for a samusa soup (Samosa soup) that's hearty, savory and can be a meal by itself.

If you have any room left, there's a bunch of mains, from Tofu to Catfish (Mohinga - that's a specialty), with flavors reminiscent from the Thai or Chinese cuisines.

Parking is always a challenge on clement street and you need to call your parking angel to find metered parking.

Tip: Try their $25 lunch special M-F available until 2.30 pm that includes an appetizer, main and a drink. Best value.

B Star offers a la carte and fixed price combinations with choices of various meat and vegetable proteins. The fixed price menu includes a selection of appetizer, main, and beverage. For Restaurant Week, they added a few combinations. We tried two of them and really liked them.

For starters we had the Tea Leaf salad. Though not quite as good as what we've come to expect, it was good.

Our mains were the highlights...

Donburi: Seared salmon, scallion, furikake, pickled ginger, hijiki seaweed, avocado, sunnyside egg, and ginger rice.

Ochazake: Seared salmon, pan fried rice, poached egg, pickled mustard greens, hijiki seaweed, wasabi, and pickled plum in a green tea broth.

Our meals were delicious, healthy, and filling. Service was excellent.

One thing to flag was that we spotted on our bill a $3 up charge per meal for salmon. Nowhere on the menu is there a salmon surcharge. When brought this to their attention, they corrected it. I figure it was an honest mistake, but would recommend checking your bill.

Sister restaurant to Burma Superstar, with a much faster seating and similar menu. We have been here for restaurant week and when we were a large group of 10. For the large group, after we got directed from Burma Superstar to B Star, they seated us within 10 minutes.

The menu is similar but B Star has their own standouts, like the Salmon Ochazuke, and honestly, the tea leaf salad is just as good as Burma Superstar if not better. I highly recommend coming here if you have never had Burmese food!