- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Mingalaba
Categories: Restaurants Burmese Restaurants Chinese Burmese, Chinese [Edit]
1213 Burlingame AveBurlingame, CA 94010
(650) 343-3228
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 9:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
808 reviews for Mingalaba
Review Highlights
"I am officially addicted to their Tea Leaf salad."
(in 227 reviews)
"My personal favorite was the House Special Noodle."
(in 65 reviews)
"Try the pumpkin yellow chicken with coconut rice."
(in 33 reviews)
Loading...
808 reviews in English
-
Review from laura j.
San Mateo, CA
1/28/2012
love the papaya and mango salads. house noodles also good. have tried several other dishes and never disappointed.
if you come at the wrong time, you might have a long wait. no reservations.
my favorite local restaurant! -
Review from Kathy C.
Burlingame, CA
So many people have been raving about this place and the bf finally introduced this place to me yesterday. I had the rainbow chicken (chicken, pineapple, mango, onion, green onion) and he had the oh no kaw sui (sp?) which is coconut chicken noodle soup.
My rainbow chicken wasn't too impressive, I mean I could probably easily recreate that dish myself. His noodle dish was better, imo. But still not worth raving about.
It was nice that they half the fresh coconut for you upon request so you can nosh on the flesh inside, but the waitress didnt give us our spoon, or any utensils for that matter, back when she returned the coconut. Uhm, what the hell am i supposed to do with this? Claw at it? I also called in advance because I was hoping to ask my bf to sadies by using a fortune cookie I premade already and just needed them to give it to us along with our check, but the woman I talked to on the phone was not helpful at all.
"Sorry I do not understand"
"I'll give you two fortune cookies, can you-"
"Sorry I do not undersatnd english very well"
"Is there someone else I can talk to?"
"No I am the only one here"
Okay, who the heck can run a restaurant with only one person? When we walked in there were obviously at least 3 different waitresses. Thanks for all the help lady! -
Review from judy n.
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
The bf has been raving about this place for months now, and we finally had a moment to come try it.
Basil spicy pork. good, not great.
Burmese style noodles. yummy noodles. semi wet, and full of flavor.
Rainbow salad - there were 19 ingredients in this dish. small bits of each and they mix it at the table. it was tasty. spicy just how I like it. -
Review from Peter F.
Foster City, CA
2/4/2012
First visit for lunch and loved it!
I had the spicy asparagus chicken with mango salad and coconut rice. Wow! Spicy, but just so delicious, everything fresh and perfectly cooked... I left nothing on my plate. Well priced and friendly service means I'd definitely return. Get there early to beat the rush. -
Review from Jane L.
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2012
Great for:
- Tea leaf salad aka passing gas because of the massive amounts of fried garlic chips (yum!)
- Birthdays - restaurant plays birthday song on loud speakers and brings out dessert treat for birthday person!
- Wallet: $40 for samusas, tea leaf salad, and pumpkin chicken curry
- Staring at oddly shaped, rotating chandelier in center of restaurant
Bad for:
- Birthdays - restaurant played birthday song on loud speakers and brought out dessert for birthday person...sitting next to us. but not for my birthday date! (server had been informed)
- Speed: awkwardly long wait before check was dropped. had to flag down server.
- Smooth points: server dropped check even though i had given him credit card prior to eating meal. took him a few minutes to figure this out before taking it back and running my card. -
Review from kathryn b.
Mountain View, CA
1/15/2012
Food: ok
Atmosphere: intimate
Service: good
The food was alright. I ordered the pumpkin chicken. I found the dish to be a little bland, actually. Don't get me wrong, it was yummy, but it could possibly use a bit more kick. My husband ordered the rainbow chicken. He thought it was just OK, something wasn't quite right about it. He also ordered a ginger lemonade. Be warned: it is super ginger-y!!
Atmosphere is nice - the spinning shiny chandelier in the middle of the room is both gaudy and mesmerizing. :) And it got pretty noisy since the place was packed and small. We had a 20 minute wait or so, which wasn't too bad since we weren't very hungry. Reservations are recommended.
The service had a highlight: the waiters came around a couple times with drinks for those waiting for a table - the first time they offered glasses of wine, the second time they offered jasmine tea. Nice touch. :) -
Review from Tyler A.
Burlingame, CA
2/5/2012
After seeing lines out the door for years my wife and I finally tried this place and we were pretty excited. Things started out well with the complimentary hot tea and heat lamps during the 20 minute wait for a table but it went rapidly downhill from there. The papaya salad was so garlicky my wife spit it out. The house special noodles started out promising with a nice lemony coconut milk flavor but we only ate about a third of it because the noodles were so mushy. The spicy basil shrimp was next. Strike three. Mushy breaded/fried shrimp drowned in a sweet and sour sauce that overpowered any basil flavor. Ugh. I basically ate plain rice to fill me up. At least the frozen yogurt at tutti melon was good.
-
Review from Bennie H.
San Francisco, CA
1/30/2012
We just moved into burlingame and after lugging around stuff for a few hours without food, this place was a very welcome relief.
We had some papya , a catfish soup, and i think a lava beef. Everything was pretty good, the catfish soup was especially good. Usually i'm not a big fan of the sour type soups, but this i liked.
Everything was very flavorful something my parents really look for in asian food so they were happy. I was a bit thirsty near the end, so maybe they used a bit of MSG? Not sure.
Anyways, would go again, nice asian food place in the neighborhood. -
Review from Nathalie C.
Walnut Creek, CA
12/18/2011
Had family lunch yesterday for lunch:
-Rainbow salad was very good, so many ingredients!!
-Rangoon lamb was good, so many green and red peppers.
-Mango chicken was ok, small pieces of chicken.
-Special noodles with tofu- you can't request for prawns unlike Mandalay. You could order it w/ chicken. Mandalay at Sf's special noodles is 5 times better.
-Coconut and tampoi rice flavorful.
-Potstickers are very good.
Overall great lunch, good service. Clean and small intimate atmosphere. Children appropriate. -
Review from Mina D.
Menlo Park, CA
1/8/2012
Amazing food!
I went to Burma Super Star some months a go and loved it, but didn't really liked the super long wait, and having to drive up to SF everytime, so when I saw a Burmese place in the peninsula I was super excited.
The food here is amazing, just as good as the Burma Super Star.
These are what I ate
Samosa Soup: super delicious and big portions.
Tea Leaf Salad: amazing! definately something to get for the table in my opinion, since it's a little stronger than normal salads. Also we loved the crispy garlic chips in it.
Veggie Spring rolls with avocados: really delicious and fresh
Mango Lassi: Delicious!
I'm waiting to go back here again! :) -
Review from Dan P.
12/30/2011
House Special Noodle.
Oh and Fried String Beans. Such a treat!
Smallish dining area that gets busy fast. Expect to wait during standard feeding hours. -
Review from Kat E.
Los Angeles, CA
1/10/2012
This is by far the best Chinese restaurant on the Peninsula! The noodles are thick and tasty, their meat is prepared and fresh with lots of different choice to choose from. They have everything from ethnic Burmese choices to the original main Chinese dishes, such as orange chicken and mongolian beef.
The only reason I did not give this five stars is because they don't deliver and if you don't get there before 5:30 pm you will be in a long line waiting in a small area that is not comfortable. They don't take reservations. But please don't let that affect your decision about coming here, it is by far the best! -
Review from Matthew J.
Half Moon Bay, CA
1/1/2012
Omg how we enjoyed this place!!! Had reservations for 4 on a Friday night, highly recommend this! We had a short wait past our reservations time but it ended up being worth it. Seated and had prompt service from the staff! Waiter was exceptionally helpful. Had the pumpkin curry and several other dishes tat were amazing.
Need to return to sample tea leaf salad and house noodles! -
Review from M M.
Millbrae, CA
1/28/2012
delicious fresh food, super kind friendly service. If you go there during the weekend show up around 5 to avoid the line. I loved their pancakes and Crab cheese ragoon. Loved the rainbow chicken !
-
Review from Le E.
1/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
absolutely fantastic food.
my husband and i had lunch here before flying out of san fran. it had so many great reviews on yelp, how could we not! the tiny place was packed with lunch goers and we didn't have too long of a wait.
i ordered the tea leaf salad. it was tasty. but i don't think i loved it as much as other reviewers. what i liked the most about the salad was the different textures. the flavor was just ok for me. we also ordered a beef dish with pan fried string beans. i was so surprised that my husband liked it. i ordered the orange chicken and it was pretty good. maybe not as good as my husband's dish though. oh!!!! we also ordered wontons. they were HUGE! we had way too much food on our table and still i felt like we needed to order the curry dish. but we didn't!
great find. definitely give it a try if you're in the area. -
Review from Ryan R.
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
1/14/2012
Ate here tonight with some of my family ad had a great time. Had to make a reservation because of the popularity of the place but it was definitely worth the wait. We ordered the pumpkin curry chicken (my favorite), mango chicken, chicken chow fun (also super tasty), and the prawns with sautéed string beans. They were all super tasty and came out relatively quickly. The only thing I could say is that some of the dishes seemed a little small for the price, but everything was really delicious. I was not so much a fan of the ginger lemonade as I think it was a little heavy on the ginger but everything else more than made up for it. Definitely recommend this restaurant and that you make a reservation because it gets pretty busy.
-
Review from Stephen S.
San Francisco, CA
12/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
Wowzers, this place has it totally going on. First off, fantastic service. Our waiter was extremely helpful, the menu is quite large and all kinds of stuff sounded like they would be certain belly pleasers. When the waiter came over to see if we had any questions I had a couple things picked out but instead went with a general "What would you order?" What followed was a directive and extremely helpful guide of the menu. For the vegetable dishes he recommended the okra egg curry or the burmese style vegetable curry delux. When two people at our table settled on the vegetable curry delux he told us that it was pretty big and he'd really recommend ordering only one.
Boy was he right, that dish was huge, all four of us were digging in (and loving it) and we even had enough to spare for left overs. We also shared the tea leaf salad (spicy, crunchy, and delicious!) and the parathas. The food overall was great, just the right amount of spiciness to tickle your mouth without setting it on fire. The Burmese dishes were unique and delicious and I'd definitely suggest paying attention to the menu as to the Burmese specialties (or just letting the waiter tell you what to order like we did). I'll definitely be dragging people down to Burlingame from the city for some more rounds at Mingalaba! -
Review from Tristan H.
Burlingame, CA
12/7/2011
I had never had Burmese food before trying Mingalaba. I walk past it often while on my lunch but never gave it a second thought until reading a Yelp Talk where someone asked for places to eat in burlingame area for dinner... Someone mentioned Mingalaba as Burmese food... and I HAD to try it... I love trying new places..
I have to agree that the green tea salad was AMAZINGLY good! I'll definitely try it again. -
Review from Hippo T.
Cupertino, CA
12/18/2011
The dinner last night was fantastic!
We got
Basil Fish
Okra Shrimp
Pumpkin Curry
and the Mango Sticky Rice.
Will be back again. -
Review from Michelle W.
New York, NY
1/22/2012
First time trying Burmese food.. not sure what to expect, but the house special noodle is absolutely fantastic! Gonna go back again to try the tea leaf salad everyone raves about :)
-
Review from Andy H.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
12/21/2011
Let them order for you. The Tea leaf salad is wonderful. Yes it is caffeinated. Did not know you could eat a tea leaf.
We teied a bunch of stuff at the recomendation of our waiter. Everything was a hit.
The Rangoon lamb was one of my favorites. Personally was not a huge fan of the pumpkin curry but it was fun trying it.
Lot's of stuff with mango which I really like.
It was my first Burmese experience and I am a fan. Will be back soon. -
Review from Wayne L.
Millbrae, CA
11/18/2011
Went to meet a good (Yelper) friend for a quick bite between appointments. First I have to say that I was skeptical that we could get a quick bite (always someone waiting in the tiny alcove), but my Yelper friend was a pro and got us a seat when I finally arrived. She asked me where I wanted to eat while I was driving to meet her, and I told her I didn't have a preference. She must have put her name down on the sign in list before we talked. lol. They don't seat you until the entire party is present to keep the turn over high. We were in and out in 30 minutes.
I've eaten here a few times and always found the food bountiful in color and taste. We ordered the rainbow salad and mango chicken. Both were gooood. The salad has some greens, but was truly a rainbow of flavors, colors and texture! It had soft noodles, crunchy shrimp strips, coconut, chili powder (optional), cilantro, tiny potatoes, and other stuff I don't remember. So good. The mango chicken had chunks of mango and small bite size deep fried chicken. It was tasty and crunchy. Add brown rice and I was all set. Kind of wish the chicken wasn't fried. Probably would have been just as tasty.
Lots of staff. They were attentive and pleasant. Great place for friend gatherings or a date. -
Review from Olivia W.
Redondo Beach, CA
12/20/2011
I have never had Burmese food but upon my sister's urging, I finally tried Mingalaba. She is a huge fan and we ordered the House Special Noodle and the Tea Leaf Salad. I was seriously impressed and can't wait to eat here again and try other dishes!
I heard it's pretty crowded all the time so it's probably best to make a reservation or order to go. -
Review from Eli R.
Fountain Valley, CA
1/4/2012 3 Check-ins Here
If you're looking for some great food, look no further. You'll find a line of customers sitting or standing outside waiting to get in this place. There were so many great and unique items here that I can't remember what to recommend. It's the one place I always recommend when anyone asks for a dinner spot.
-
Review from kat c.
Sunnyvale, CA
1/22/2012
Not sure why this place got so many 4 or 5 stars reviews. Maybe because there aren't many ethnic restaurants in the area?
Probably because it's located in Burlingame downtown, the food here was definitely more expensive than the comparable restaurants elsewhere. Moreover, the portion was also quite small.
We ordered the Rangoon fish. When we ordered, we specifically asked the waitress if the dish was sweet, she said no. But it turned out the sauce was sweet and sour and spicy. So I wondered how much the waitress knew about the food served in the restaurants? This Rangoon fish had maybe 8 pieces of breaded fish fillets, plus some diced tomatoes, and green beans, and it cost $14.
We also got the tea leaf salad. The ingredients and taste were both different from those of the tea leaf salad that I had in another restaurant. Not sure which one was more authentic.
$2 for a bowl of white rice, and $3.5 for a bowl of coconut rice.
Open kitchen/bad ventilation made my clothes smell like oil/smoke after eating there. -
Review from Judy C.
San Mateo, CA
1/23/2012
As far as Asian restaurants in Burlingame go, this is, by far, one of the best places to eat. The prices are reasonable ($13 and up for a main dish, well worth the price), and the staffs are really friendly. They are also open til 9.30, which is a bonus, cause most of the restaurants are only open until 9. I highly recommend this place, 4 STARS!
-
Review from foodiewithadrawl S.
San Mateo, CA
11/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
First, this is the 6th Burmese restaurant that I've eaten at the bay area. Shockingly I think I finally found a decent restaurant in Burlingame. Most places I've been there remind me of Fillmore street in San Francisco (pricey with mediocre food). Our wait was over an hour so be prepared and definitely call ahead to get your name on the list.
The food was very good and worth a visit. The wait is really bad and if you have a large group I think they will take reservations. The only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is because they don't both to take reservations for smaller groups.
Don't miss their hot sauce. It is really good. -
Review from Chai H.
Hayward, CA
12/2/2011
This place is moderately price and the food is alright, but I don't seem what's so special about it. I had the house special noodle and my friends all got the basil beef.
House special noodle: It's not bad, but the portions were kind of small. Then again, my friends always hate on me when I make this comment because anything other than AYCE seems small to me.
The basil beef was average. Seems kinda like Chinese stir fried beef with basil thrown in. It seems to me like this place is basically a fancy Chinese restaurant with good service. If that's what you want, then up it to 4 stars. If you're like me and you want your Chinese restaurants cheap with waitresses who don't care about you unless you're related to them, then 3 stars it is. -
Review from Nicole B.
Eugene, OR
11/26/2011
A friend and I were in the area, and could not decide on what to eat. Too many options, we thought. So we asked our cashier what a good place for lunch was, and he mentioned Mingalaba. We thought, why not? If there is always a line, and there wasn't at the moment, I usually try and see what all the fuss is about. We were greeted and seated promptly. It took us both forever to decide what we wanted. It was one of those days apparently. We asked the server, what was a great option for lunch. He pointed out to the combination lunch, that way you could try 2 things for I think it was $13.99 or something. We could have both easily split the lunch special. We had egg drop soup first. Then tea leaf salad came.
I read on past reviews about the tea leaf salad. So, of course, I had to try it. It definitely was tasty. Definitely hits all of your taste buds, salty, sweet, spicy. The salad had texture, it had everything. I would've been happy with just the salad and the soup. Our lunch special came with spicy basil chicken, which I thought was just okay. I ate half of it, and packed the rest to go. It was still pretty packed in there, for a late lunch around 2:30. -
Review from Chris H.
San Francisco, CA
1/2/2012
spices are unique and new. This place is a new style of Chinese food. It is supposed to be Burmese food but it is really Chinese with unique sauce. Frankly that is what I love. Great Chinese food that is fresh tasty and uniques. Every single person should go here if they like Chinese food. Really really recommend.
-
Review from Kendra G.
Burlingame, CA
2/2/2012
We get take out from here at least once a week. It's always good and there are many options to choose from. I would have given 5 stars expect for the fact that some dishes are a little over priced.
-
Review from Q. E.
San Francisco, CA
10/30/2011
Don't go expecting the complimentary mango pudding everyone raves about here on yelp. The table next to us got it and we just got our bill. When we inquired, they said "we don't serve it to everyone." Ummmm, okkkkkk, so can you clarify what that blatant discrimination is based on? (No, I just thought that, didn't actually ask that.) He said he'd go check in the kitchen and you'd think the best answer would be to appear with the pudding, at least one to share or to say the kitchen said no. But no, his sheepish response was, "when we don't have it for free, we offer buy one get one free.....(and even more sheepishly) I don't know if you're interested." Seriously!?! That is just plain bad business decision making over a few pennies??!!
To make things worse, a few minutes later, the hostess passed by and set a placard on our table that read "Reserved." Ummmm, is that a sign that you'd like us to leave. Then a few minutes later she walked by and said "have reservation. 5minutes. 5 minutes!" Given they told me on the phone they don't take reservations for two, it just felt like a passive aggressive way to get us to relinquish our table for two. (And note this was after being asked 3 times by 3 waiters in a span of 90 seconds whether they could clear my plate while I was still eating!)
Terrible way to end what was a very tasty meal. I just don't get it when restaurants risk losing business over insignificant things - do they not realize the customer has a million and one other choices to choose from?
SO, in conclusion, if you don't get the free mango pudding, tell them you'd like to take them up on their offer of buy one get one free. -
Review from Jeff C.
San Lorenzo, CA
12/6/2011
Not sure where to eat, we found this place on Yelp. Good reviews, nice looking menu, we gave it a shot. We got there on around 6 on a Saturday night and we had about a 30 minute wait. We ordered the paratha to start us off, tea leaf salad, the rainbow chicken, basil spicy beef, and the house special noodles with tofu.
The paratha was great. Nice texture of the bread, tasty dipping sauces. From the number of parathas coming out of the kitchen, I can see that others like this dish as much as we did! We had to order the tea leaf salad (because of the yelp reviews) and it was okay- I actually prefer the one at Burma Superstar more. I'd have appreciated a little more cabbage or greens mixed in the salad, it was a little heavy.
The main dish entrees were all good. The rainbow chicken was a nice light dish- lightly fried with big juicy chunks of mango in it. The basil spicy beef was very flavorful and the house special noodle was tasty as well. I'd order all three of these dishes again. -
Review from N S.
Millbrae, CA
My friends raved about this place... i think i was a victim of high expectations.
This may have been due to them ordering, what i thought was just plain old Chinese food.
I was pretty disappointed. some of the dishes were bland and greasy, and didn't feel "Burmese" they felt "Chinese" now i'm not sure what " Burmese" is.
If i go back i plan to only order Burmese dishes... lets face it i can get Chinese food ANYWHERE. -
Review from Brad L.
Palo Alto, CA
1/16/2012
food is so good. very fresh vegetables. everything was excellent.
only four stars because it gets packed and the tables are close to each other. In fact, the people next to us got and and moved.... guess we were too loud.
Other than that; its great -
Review from Eran W.
San Mateo, CA
1/15/2012
I love their tea leaf salad. Coming from a south Asian country this salad sounded somewhat weird initially, but it was one of the best starters I've had.
Restaurant is kind of small but the staff is very friendly. Try to go their during the lunch time and get the lunch combo. Normally it's bit expensive for the dinner but I love their food. -
Review from Jake H.
Hayward, CA
1/17/2012
The Lap Pat Kok (Tea Leaf Salad) had too much peanuts and not enough Tea Leaf. The Moo Hing Nga (Catfish Chowder w/ noodles) was good. The Paratha appetizer was good. Ordered dessert, but they ran out. Disappointing. The wait was reasonable for a Friday (1/13/12). They don't take reservations for any party less than 4.
-
Review from Sonny S.
Redwood City, CA
1/15/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Pretty good food.
-
Review from Diana T.
The tea leaf and mango salad is off the hook, OMG! .......good!!!!
I also ordered the house special noodle, paratha, and lunch combo #1. The noodle dish was smothered in creamy curry goodness.
The paratha is aka roti canai in Malaysia and its a sure fire Hit! Crispy on the outside and flaky deliciousness around the edges, melts in your mouth inside. Dip it in the duo curry sauce that it comes with.
The #1 lunch combo consists of mango salad, choice of brown, coconut or jasmine rice. Coconut rice costs extra. Substitute mango salad for tea leaf salad for extra $. The most interesting curry sauce I've tried to date. I think it's the hint of lemongrass I taste? No Burmese, Indonesian or Malaysian restaurants in my town where i live so Ive been eating Indian and Thai curry so long that when I come across something unfamiliar it's like.......whoa! Stop me in my tracks and let my taste buds evaluate this for a moment.
Then my colleagues and I realized we were going to have to have someone roll us out of there because we completely stuffed our faces and bellies to the point where we had achy bellies, yet hobbled out like smiling Buddhas. :)
This was the first time I've tried Burmese food. It borders India, Laos and Thailand so your tastebuds get a tantilizing combination of the region. A must try! Reasonable prices, excellent service but go at off times because it gets busy!!!! There is even a sign up clipboard near the front door so that you sign yourself in on the waiting list.
Michelin recommended restaurant 2010 and 2011. -
Review from Amy D.
10/13/2011
The sauce on the House Special Noodle tasted like the sauce in SpaghettiOs. The noodles are like fettuccine.
But the Basil Beef(?) my friend ordered was good.
I left feeling a little disappointed that the other tables all got free mango pudding and we didn't.
But at least the white (guy) waiter was kinda cute and nice.
It's one of those places where you go with your friends because they really like it, and after dinner, you say "oh yeah, it was good" because you don't want to hurt their feelings, but you really mean "it was... alright."
And then your friends think you really liked it so you reluctantly end up eating there again.
