Cheap Eats 2009: Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe

Reviewed by Todd Kliman , Cynthia Hacinli , Ann Limpert , Kate Nerenberg , Rina Rapuano

Great food, low prices, lots of fun

Mandalay Restaurant & Café

930 Bonifant St.
Silver Spring/Takoma Park, MD
Phone: 301-585-0500

Cuisines:
Burmese, Vegetarian/Vegan

Opening Hours:

Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Nearby Metro Stops:
Silver Spring

Price Range:
Inexpensive

Dress:
Informal

Noise Level:
Chatty

Reservations:
Not needed

Special Features:
Kid Friendly

Website:
Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes
Crisp, deep-fried fritters of Asian squash; a salad of shredded ginger, yellow peas, and carrots (with or without the addition of fish sauce); an earthier salad featuring fermented tea leaves; sliced pork with sour mustard greens; LetThoke Sone, which combines four styles of noodles; and ShweJi, a cake of Cream of Wheat, coconut, and milk.

Price Details:
Appetizers $4 to $7; entrées $8 to $11


 

Reader's Rating:
No Reader Reviews

Why go: At its best, Burmese cooking is a riot of color, texture, and flavor, a mixing and matching of Indian and Chinese cooking that tastes like neither. This family-style restaurant manages to make the exotic feel familiar.

What to get: Crunchy ginger-and-shredded-cabbage salad; garlicky tea-leaf salad; salmon and green peppers in tomato-based curry sauce; sliced pork sautéed with sour mustard greens and cilantro; ShweJi, a sweet custard dessert of Cream of Wheat, coconut, and milk.

Best for: A satisfying meatless meal. Servers ask if fish sauce is okay with certain preparations, plus there are vegetarian and vegan designations on the menu.

Insider tip: Children are warmly welcomed—a Sesame Street floor mat is placed under a high chair, and paper plates and plastic utensils are furnished.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.

>> See all 2009 Cheap Eats restaurants here