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Recommended by Melissa W and friends. Rangoon is legit Burmese, and not like you can find in LA. The waitress explained it like this, almost like thai, chinese, and indian combined, if you can imagine.
So I put my fate into her hands that afternoon. Thousand layer bread, galanga onion chicken salad, a spicy chicken noodle, chili chicken.
The salad was great. Just like in chinese food, you have the galanga/onion salsa, imagine that tossed into a chicken salad! Then the spicy chicken noodle was so hot, but delicious, we worked our way through tissue after tissue, because our nose kept running, but we kept eating.
The restaurant is in chinatown, but actually quite nice inside with a bit of mood and atmosphere. A good company lunch/dinner spot, or a place to take your parents. Definitely a must try.
Rangoon is supposed to be one of the best Burmese restaurants around, and can supposedly compete with NYC (although no one's overflowing with Burmese joints). I had been looking forward to this visit a lot.
This was just a quick lunch stop, and Rangoon is a perfect place for such a trip. They provide good, amazingly fast service. We were in and out in under 45 minutes. The atmosphere is similar to many Chinatown restaurants. I went with a traditional Burmese dish. Overall, Burmese food is more chewy and messy than the rest of south east asia. It's more like the cuisine of northern Thailand, which makes sense when you look at it geographically.
The food is spicy, in a slow steady way that sticks with you. I loved it. My dish had large floppy noodles with shrimp, chicken and bean sprouts. It was all served with a light glaze over everything, which made the dish. I would recommend one of the noodle or rice dishes, although there are many other (chinese, ect) "regular" offerings. On another trip, I would like to try some of the traditional appetizers.
Bottom Line: Rangoon is definitely a good stop in Chinatown, especially for their lunch special. But I think I prefer other restaurants and Asian foods (especially dim sum!). Nonetheless, this spot is definitely worth checking out. It's good food, and a great way to get some variety on your plate.
Rangoon is a pretty cool place. They have a very large menu with some information about their history and Burma(for those who only know it as the place that J. Peterman escaped to in that one Seinfeld episode where Elaine proposed the idea of the urban sombrero).
I tried the thousand layer bread with potato dip, jungle chicken, and kung pao chicken.
The thousand layer bread was good. It had a nice spicy kick to it and I look forward to returning in order to try it with the chicken curry dip.
the Jungle chicken is basically an excellent thai green curry but with more lime flavor in it. Highly recommended.
The Kung Pao chicken was underwhelming. It was too heavy on the soy sauce and did not meet expectations set by the previously mentioned items.
I could make an entire meal out of their thousand layer bread with chicken curry (or any of the sauces). But then again, next time I will, because my southern burmese noodle dish was... well... mushy.
The place is unassuming outside and in, but a nice place to kick back with a group of friends. The story of the owners is a must-read in the menu.
Chicago does not have a Burmese restaurant, so I went to Philly.
Tea leaf salad. Awesome. Hard to find. Go try it.
I have passed this place about a million times over the last five years I've worked in Chinatown & it just never looked very inviting. When a client recommended it as a lunch meeting destination, I was a bit hesitant. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. The decor is simple but interesting and offers a relaxed setting in a typically loud & bustling part of the city.
The menu is huge and has plenty to offer for meat lovers and vegetarians alike. I tried the tomato tofu rice dish on a recommendation and loved it. It was very flavorful with a spicy kick without being overwhelming. I was so pleased that I have since brought my coworkers back for a second round & gave the potato curry dish a spin...it was equally as satisfying, even to a meat lover like myself.
Portions are reasonably large. I recommend checking out their lunch specials which are very modestly priced around $6.50-$8.50 and include a salad (which comes with a sesame dressing which is very unique and extremely tasty) or soup along with your entree.
Definitely a big thumbs up to this Chinatown gem.
3.5 stars
I like Rangoon, especially because it offers something different from most of the Chinatown establishments. Having had some AWESOME Burmese cuisine in San Francisco, I feel bad about not having a super duper love affair with Rangoon. The entrees are tasty but nothing spectacular. However, I'm open to trying it again so I can get a feel for more of what they have to offer.
That said, the Asian Tea Leaf salad is delicious! I love the satisfying pop of the soybeans and the wonderful medley of textures in general. My Southeast Asia Noodle entree was okay--similar to a pad thai.
All in all, not a bad dining experience. I'll be back to try out more of the menu!
It's been less than 24hrs since Rangoon and I met... I think my heart finally stopped pounding and the butterflies have subsided, my hands are still a bit clamy though. I mean I just never thought that I could meet a genuinely nice restaurant . What did little old me do to deserve such a wonderful gift in my life?
All i know is that it makes me want to be a better person, someone who they can be proud of and carry on their legacy with honor. I was kinda shy when we first met but by the time I had finished my appetizer (thousand layer bread with curry chicken dipping sauce) I knew this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship and we were meant to be in each others lives. By the time I finished my entree (Basil noodles) I knew that it was the closest thing to love at first bite that I have ever experienced!
I've passed Rangoon a bunch of times and even went there with my family years ago. It had been so long ago, that it was almost like trying it for the first time. I ordered the Mango Salad and the coconut tofu.
First came the mango salad, it was very colorful, slivers of green mango mixed with red onion, cilantro, sesame seeds and fried onions on top. I definitely have to make this at home! it was so good! Light but filling and all the different tastes melted together perfectly! Then came the coconut tofu.
A beautiful plate of tofu, cauliflower and carrots in a light orange peach colored coconut curry sauce. I pretty much love coconut milk with anything and I'm also a huge fan of curry, so I knew this couldn't be bad! Luckily my instincts were right, because it was awesome! I only need a little bit of rice to balance the flavors, but honestly if i did without the rice it would have been just as good.
Unfortunately my friend Moe didn't have the same luck as I did.
He ordered the Chopped Watercress Salad and Curried Potatoes. I pictured the watercress salad to be more on the raw side with radish or another crispy vegetable and a really good dressing, but instead it was a a thick mixture of watercress, fried tofu and cabbage and carrots in a super sweet sauce that was somehow all cooked together.
I wouldn't say it was horrible but a couple of bites was all I needed. The potatoes would have been excellent had they not been by themselves in the curried sauce. A little boring for my taste and really spicy. They would have been great mixed with a darker green vegetable or even Broccoli, instead of just potatoes by themselves.
I'm definitely coming back to try more Burmese food! Hopefully my choices will be as good as this time.
Rangoon is one of my favorite southeast Asian restaurants. First of all, Burmese food is very hard to find, and this is the only one in the city (that I know of).
South and Southeast Asian food is like a perfect gradient going from India to China. If Thai is a perfect mix of Chinese and Indian then I suppose Burmese is the mix of Thai and Indian with a tad more South Indian. I've never ordered anything I haven't liked. Like Thai and South Indian cusinine, Burmese uses a lot of coconut milk. It may not be that great for you in huge quanitites but it is DELICIOUS. The dishes I often stick to are:
- Thousand Layer Bread with curry (Indian inspired layered roti with yellow curry)
- Coconut Galanga Soup (similar to Tom Kah but a little more flavor and spice)
- Rangoon House Noodle
- Lemon Grass Beef
- Basil Beef/Pork (like Seth A. said--anything with basil is spicy and delicious)
The decor has improved in the past few years (I believe they got rid of the pink decor that every Asian place seems to like). It also draws a huge Indian crowd, which I guess is the closest to a Burmese crowd I can hope for. If you love Indian and Thai food, you'll love Rangoon.
A great experience and great prices. You will not be disappointed.
Worth a detour.
This place ROCKS.
Tried it today just cause i was in the 'hood and wanted something not too expensive. Worked out great. Seated fast, fast service, great food and great price.
I ordered the spicy fried rice (there is a pic of it in the pic section). Crazy delicious.
Coconut rice is sweet which goes well if u are eating it with spicy meal.
I would like to go back to try the thousand layer stuff which I've heard is really good too.
I just love Rangoon. It doesn't matter what I have had there, it is always delicious. I recommend going for lunch, as the lunch specials are terrific. The salad comes with a delicious sesame dressing. I have had the Coconut Curry Chicken and the Sweet and Sour chicken. YOU MUST order the 1000 layer bread with any of the dips. Just to die for. Very reasonably priced, lunch specials a steal! Service is also lovely.
I really enjoy the food here at Rangoon. It's really hard for me describe what Burmese food is because I could say it's like Malaysian and Indian food but then we could argue that Malaysian food is like Indian food and Chinese food and so on and so forth. Just know that any asian food is most likely good food :)
It's a tad overpriced but it's still enjoyable. My family and I have been there two times and the second time definitely wasn't as good as the first. Oh well.
I'm giving four stars because I think they will still get good business and the food is definitely good. Service may be slow at times but you eventually get what you want.
I've been going to Rangoon for several years now, so this isn't a one time thing. The atmosphere of the restaurant is nothing special, but that's about where the mediocrity ends. The food has a very "home cooking" element to it, both in presentation and taste, which has made it something of a comfort food for me. If you've never had burmese food, the easiest way to describe it is that it has many elements of thai food but with subtle but profound differences in flavor-- like if thai and indian food had babies on a tropical island. I've yet to have anything here that I downright didn't like, though favorites are the banana leaf fish and jungle- anything.
For some reason I didn't think I'd try ethnic food on my trip out to Philly. I was pleasantly surprised when my friend chose this place. The food is yummy and the staff are so nice. The place is located in this jenky street of Chinatown (though I've never been to a non-jenky Chinatown) and the decor and atmoshere is much better on the inside than the outside.
We had their award-winning fried tofu that was battered in lentils and dipped in a sweet/spicy sauce. Surprisingly yummy, though a bit dense. I had the chicken cocunut curry which is similar to a Thai curry, but much milder. My friend had the beef and lemongrass stew, which was packed with flavor, though the beef was a bit dry. The sweet icetea was delightful--fresh, mildly sweet, and with no milk.
Overall, a good place. I'd come here often if I lived here.
Rangoon offers delicious Burmese food at fair prices. The service is very friendly.I have been going for years and never had a bad meal. The food is a combo of Thai and Indian so really what could go wrong. I recommend the golden triangles and evil jungle princess tofu.
This place never a disappointment. I have loved every dish I have tried and they have a great vegetarian selection.
I had heard about this place for years. But i never tried it until one night I was craving Crab Rangoon. I could not find them anywhere in my area (Chinatown) but then I remembered Rangoon. I figured if the place was named what I craved, they would have it. That night, Rangoon easily took the top spot as one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown. Between the Basil Tofu, Mango Chicken and the Night Market Noodle; I always leave satisfied. Top my night off with Sweet Rice in Coconut milk and I am golden.
To top it off, the staff is very pleasant and always have a smile all. They are polite and well attentive when dining in. Well decorated on the inside too, so it would be a great spot for a quite date.
Best Asian food in Philly.
OK, so I've only been here once, but what an awesome experience. Super-duper cheap, awesome food. The 1,000 layer bread is as good as everyone says, and the noodle dish I ordered was outrageously good. Wash it down with an Asian beer.
Don't make it to Philly all that often, but I am definitely returning to this place.
Good food, at a price.
I enjoyed Rangoon, it's your typical semi-obscure Asian food restaurant. Kitschy decor, attentive service, a mixture of authentic and bastardized food. Burmese food was fairly similar to Thai and Malaysian, so it didn't open up my dining world but it was a bit sweeter so it was nice change. Dishes come large enough for one or easy to share for two.
But a lunch for two there shouldn't cost $40. Maybe if it was a bit more upscale, or we got alcohol, but for the food we ate there's gotta be a place nearby with the same quality.
Great burmese food. Okay. Great food in general. This is probably one of the nicer places in Chinatown. Good service. Good beer.
The fritters are awesome and the dinner portions are big. Share them.
Appetizers and soups. That's as far as I've gotten in the menu.
Tea-leaf salad, festival soup (very strong, an acquired taste), ginger salad, golden triangles home-made tofu (I could eat these like Pringles), thousand-layer bread - all my standards are so good that it's impossible to make it to the entrees!
You also must know that it is owned by three ladies who are all as cute as dumplings and as sweet as the spiced tea they serve.
Um, can you say "yummy"??
I ate at Rangoon tonight with some friends, two of whom ARE Burmese, so I knew this place was gonna be good.
Honey, we ATE! We ordered the works, starting with the Asian Tea Leaf salad and the Spring Ginger salad (you want to talk about GOOD?!?). Both salads were really flavorful and tasty.
Next we ordered Thousand Layer Bread with the Curry Potato dip, which was also very tasty. Contrary to it's name, the bread is like a thin croissant...all nice and buttery.
For my entree, I ordered the Chili Beef, at the waitress' recommendation (I couldn't decide between the Spicy Kung Pao Beef or the Chili Beef), and it was also really good. We all shared our food, so I also tasted the Jungle Shrimp (which I'll be ordering next time), one of the soups (I forget which one), as well as one of the noodle dishes, and I was pleased with everything.
For dessert, I had the Farluda, which is a mixture of coconut milk, rice, jello and some sort of custard. It was really sweet, and I was kind of enjoying it until I got to the custard...I've always hated custard because of its texture.
All in all, I was thoroughly pleased with Rangoon and with my food, and I'll definitely go back.
I've been wanted to visit Rangoon for years based on recommendations from friends but it took me until now to finally make it out there. While I was satisfied with my meal & found the cuisine interesting, I am not sure I would make it a point to seek out Burmese food again. Its not that anything was particularly bad (except the soup) but that the meal was incredibly inconsistent.
Thousand Layer Bread with Curry Potato Dip: Excellent. The bread made me think of a greasy, slightly chewy, thin sheet of naan. Based on that description, it could be either great or awful but definitely enjoyed it. (The girl tried one bite and then declined to eat more of it, so I recognize its not everyone's thing.) The curry potato dip had just the right amount of spice and flavor to it. I could taste both the dip and the bread in every bite, which is about where the balance should be struck. I could eat this every day for a long, long time before getting sick of it. Then I'd take a hiatus and get right back to it.
Yellow Pea Soup: Very mediocre. I was expecting something thicker and more flavorful but what I got was a tepid broth with some unidentifiable and bland particulate matter settled at the bottom. Is this the Burmese version of gruel or something?
Coconut Curry Chicken: Sweet and flavorful, from what I sampled. The girl said the flavors reminded her of Nigerian cooking but I cannot verify that. In any case, and excellent entree & worth trying.
Chicken Mint Kabab: I have mixed feelings about this. I enjoyed it and thought there was a nice spice to the dish. But I'm not sure WHY I enjoyed it or what the flavor accompanying the spice actually was. In other words, I don't think I can articulate the chef's "theory of the dish," which is something I think you should be able to do with good food. I'm going to have to reserve judgment on this for now. Also, one of the pieces of chicken still had some bone attached.
Service was relatively fast and efficient... for the first half of the meal. However, when it came time to pay the check, our waiter was distracted for a full twenty minutes with another customer who was trying to decide what to order for take-out. We tried to make contact with every possible employee so we could resolve the check and make our exit, to no avail. We finally just decided to make due with what we had, resulting in slightly meager tip. Hey, they earned it.
Try their thousand layered parota with potato curry; also the faluda. Very good food, affordable as well. Friendly servers and open for a long time for lunch.
Our Burmese friends drug us here and we love it. The Ginger salad is crazy different delicious - one of my favs. The thousand layer bread with curry dipping sauce is a staple. These flaky delicious pancakes are the best IMHO, save for the ones at Penang. We regularly stop in here and order Southern Burmese noodle as a take-out while getting an extreme buzz from the sweet Burmese tea. Very friendly staff.
It had been quite sometime since I last visited this place - so I was glad my friend suggested dining here, especially when he reminded me of the thousand layer bread.
We got two orders of thousand layer bread with both curry potato dip and vatana dip (I preferred the curry dip) - the bread was delicious, although I wish it were warmer when it was served.
Since it was lunch, I took advantage of the lunch special (quite a deal at $6.50) and chose the coconut tofu with white rice. It was delicious and not as rich tasting as I thought it would be (which is a good thing). The special also came with a negligible salad with seasame seed dressing on the side.
There's a good selection of vegetarian options - Monsoon Vegetable and Jungle Tofu are on my to-do list for next time...
Recently visited this place based on a recommendation from Lyla, a lovely minister we met on the ferry to Camden. The food here was really fantastic, and while the Thousand Layers bread didn't actually have 1,000 layers, it was one of the highlights of the meal. The squash tempura was nicely battered, and was also delicious.
My entree, the house noodles were perfect, dense yet silky, with a great tomato-based sauce. My only regret? The leftovers got smashed in my backpack and we didn't get to eat them later.
Rangoon is great. The only reason that I cannot give it a full five stars is because the food is inconsistent. I'll go once and a dish will be amazing. Then I will eat the same thing again the next time I visit and it will only be so-so. However, there's always something wonderful and it keeps me coming back. I've never had anything there that I thought was awful (well, there are these dumpling things I thought were not so wonderful, but maybe they were having an off day).
My most favorite things at Rangoon are the ginger salad and the thousand layer bread with coconut sauce. So wonderful. So good. Always. I've never had bad thousand layer bread. Furthermore, I've never had bad service, which is very important to me. I ate there last night and our server was very sweet, gracious, and attentive.
I'm not wild about the remodel. The space feels a little less personal and I miss all those wonderful paintings. But the minimalist approach does give it a very clean look.
All in all, the food is good, often great (but no guarantees!).. They have a decent selection of wine and beer, plus a few fun drinks, like tamarind juice, etc. The prices and portions are both very reasonable and the service and setting are always very nice.
Mmmm, Burmese. A cross between Thai and Indian - you can hardly get better. Though the restaurant can sometimes feel empty, and oddly spaced, and the service can occasionally be a little slow (especially with a really large group) the food is delicious. And the vegetarian selections are more than acceptable.
Unlike some restaurants in Chinatown, you won't get heaps and heaps of food, but you'll get a fair serving for a fair price, and a much nicer atmosphere than you'll get in many spots in the area.
Rangoon is my favorite restaurant in Chinatown, but I sometimes have trouble getting other people to eat there. They'll say "What is Burmese food like?" and I struggle in giving an answer...I'm all "uh, you know, it's a sort of Chinese/Indian food hybrid that is actually sort of similar to Thai food?" Fortunately, the menu does a good job of explaining the cuisine (and also provides a lot of pretty pictures of the Myanmar countryside, along with information about the country's history and culture).
My inability to accurately describe the cuisine aside, I've loved pretty much everything I've tried at Rangoon. Start your meal with the thousand-layer bread (a misnomer...there aren't really 1,000 layers) and then move on to one of the salads (I've heard that tea leaf salad is the most authentic Burmese dish) or entrees. There's a long list of vegetarian entrees, including my favorites: monsoon vegetables (heavy on the cauliflower, which I love), jungle tofu (green curry), and mango tofu (has a nice sweet and spicy thing going on), but there's more than enough to satisfy the most demanding carnivore too.
Ok, I lied about liking everything I've tried at Rangoon. Once I made the mistake of ordering the "jello crunch ice" dessert. Yeah, crushed ice, rope-y gummy-worm like strings of jello, coconut milk and peanuts do not a delicious dessert make. But everything else is great!
If you haven't been to Rangoon in a few years, you may not know that they've spiffed up the decor a lot. It's actually pretty fancy-looking now. Check it out!
Wow, yes! Any place that makes their own tofu is okay in my book! We had a great meal, complete with appetizers and tea for about $30. It was all excellent. And the service was oh-so-fast! It's also kind of a large restaurant, so we didn't have to wait at all to be seated, even though there were quite a few people there. Mmm, yes! I will dine there again. Soon.
Truly excellent pan-asian food, especially if you love seafood. You can Malaysian, Thai (their curries are better than any other Thai restaurant in Philly) and of course Burmese food here. They have about 15 fish entrees, 15 shrimp entrees and as many other seafod entrees. I'd give it 4.5-5 stars.
Service is reasonably quick and the corking fee is $ 12 per bottle. It became our favorite Asian restaurant in the area after just one visit.
Well, I never had Burmese food before, but there's always a first time for everything! This is probably the only Burmese place that I know of in Philly, but interestingly enough, the food totally reminds me of Thai/Malaysian food. I mean their Thousand Layer Bread totally reminded me of the Roti Canai that I always order from the Malaysian restaurants (but it's just as decent!). They also had some familiar Thai food similarities with curry dishes. I tried some of the chicken and beef... definitely not bad at all! Since I'm a fan of Thai and Malaysian, why not Burmese? Hopefully I'll find something that's unique on another visit :)
This place is good, but I'm not sure I'd say that it's amazing. The service is great; the owner was there and she was very nice and attentive. The monsoon vegetable dish was pretty good. The tamarind sauce was a little on the oily side, but I'm told that it should be very oily, so that's good. I wasn't impressed by the tea leaf salad. I couldn't really taste tea; it just tasted like a bitter cabbage salad. I'm definitely coming back to try more. Perhaps other things on the menu are more to my liking.
One of the hidden gems of Chinatown.
Great for both spicy and mild tastes, this restaurant showcases the food of Myanmar (Burma) as it is a crossroads between several Asian cuisines. One can find the influences of China, Thailand, Viet Nam and even India both in name and flavor across the menu.
Less adventurous diners will find Chinese-American classics like sweet and sour and kung po. Lovers of Indian food will find curries and even samosa.
As far as the more unique and regional dishes, my personal favorites are:
pumpkin soup
shrimp and lemongrass soup
thousand layer bread with potato curry
mango chicken
jungle chicken.
There are also a great number of vegetarian dishes. Try the cripsy tofu appetizer. And pretty much every stir fry dish has a tofu option.
Desserts are a must try and really showcase the pan-Asian mixture of cultures.
There is a decent selection of beer and wine as well. I only wish they were open later!
I loved this place. The Mango Tofu is just outrageously good. I will most definitely visit it again and soon...
This place has some of the best food in the city- A MUST if you are in Chinatown... The service is great- the restuarant is very clean and well-taken care of, and they serve beer. It's the food, however, that will keep you coming back for more. My favorites are the thousand layer bread with vatana dip, the chili chicken, and the shan rice noodles. They also do killer curries that I highly recommend. We eat here (or get takeout) at least weekly.
Anyone who's remotely close to me will know that I adore Indian and Thai... so imagine my delight in discovering Burmese. Sadly, Rangoon is far--119 miles to be exact. Thus, keep in mind that it has been a while since I've been there.
What I remember is their Thousand Layer Bread. Looking at what the other reviewers have to say about it, I'd agree with them. I don't guarantee many things to others for fear they'd bet on it, but I'd bet you'd like this. It's flaky, pastry-like bread that you use to scoop up your choice dip... and the sauce is wonderfully flavorful. I don't remember for sure, but I believe I had it with the curry potato dip and I think I could definitely see the Indian influence (naan and vindaloo with potatoes). Essentially, this ties with Kaddo Bowrani (Afghan food) for the best appetizer of my life.
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Asian Fusion
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Malaysian
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Chinese
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