Best Of Burma

Food was ok. This place has opened at least a year ago and i’ve been there many times. For some reason, it doesn’t get full capacity. Today we were there for lunch and ordered a tea leaf salad, lamb dish, pad thai, and brown rice. The brown rice seemed to be stale. The pad thai was very small portion as well as the lamb dish.

Great Service, Excellent Food!
Came here with my girlfriend on a Friday night, it was fairly busy but we got seats in about 2 minutes. I love Okra, but not with eggs and tomatoes, and the server said she could change it for me, extremely nice! I had fried Okra with Tea Leaf Salad, Coconut Soup, and the California Lemongrass Salmon.

First time here and it was really good. We loved the samousas (a little greasy but still really tasty). He had the pumpkin salmon and enjoyed it, and I had the lemongrass chicken. I asked for no spice, but it still had a tiny bit of heat. Keep in mind though that I’m a huge wimp when it comes to spicy food, and the waiter was very accommodating about it. It was flavorful and good but not a very strong lemongrass taste. Coconut rice was too sweet for my taste. Nice ambiance and right in downtown. Definitely check them out!

First time trying Best of Burma. Glad we found this spot. Closer than driving all the way the city for Burma Superstar. The tea leaf salad, and chili beef were my favorite.

I’m so glad I found an alternative to Rangoon Ruby when I have a craving for Burmese food! My coworkers and I decided to check out Best of Burma for lunch on a Wednesday, and I was able to make reservations for a party of 5 the day before. Reservations are recommended, since the restaurant isn’t that big and they were pretty packed. Although we ran late, our table was ready when we arrived. We tried:
–Palata (Served w/​Coconut Chicken Curry, $ 7.95,
): The palata could have been a little flakier, but it still tasted great. We all loved the coconut flavor of the chicken curry, but wish they gave us more of the curry versus large chicken pieces. This is a solid appetizer though.
–Tea Leaf Salad (Romaine Lettuce, Fried Yellow Beans, Fried Garlic, Sesame Seeds, Peanuts, Sunflower Seeds, Tomatoes, Jalapeños, Dried Shrimp, $ 10.95,
): They served this to us pre-​mixed, and I felt like it was missing the tomatoes and jalapenos. The flavor was still very good though, and recommended for tea leaf salad lovers.
–Nan Gyi Thoke (Burmese Rice Noodles w/​Chicken Coconut Curry Sauce, Egg, Split Yellow Pea, Fried Wonton Chips, Fried Onion, $ 9.95,
): Just ok for me– the curry flavor was lost amongst the noodles, and it needed more curry overall. Skip!
–Sesame Chicken ($ 11.95,
): Yum– the chicken was SUPER crispy, and had a great sweet flavor. Recommended!
–Chili Beef (w/​Dried & Fresh Chili, Onions, Basil, $ 13.95,
): Yum– the beef was also nice and crispy, and also had the perfect amount of spice. Recommended!
–Mango Shrimp (w/​Mango Purée, Basil, Onions, $ 15.95,
): Good mango flavor, and they give you a good amount of shrimp. Although this dish was good, it was on the sweet side, so I would lean towards trying another shrimp dish next time.
–Burmese String Beans ($ 9.95): Yum– good flavor and spice, and a solid vegetable dish to order.
–Coconut Rice ($ 3): Yum– their version of coconut rice had a stickier consistency/​was more dense than the version at Rangoon Ruby, but still delicious. Highly recommended!
Service was good, but the servers are pretty busy. Food comes out quickly though, so we were able to have a quick lunch. We would definitely come back here for more Burmese food in the future! Parking is the most difficult part about eating in downtown San Mateo during lunch and dinner, but we were able to find a spot easily on a Wednesday.

This was my first time trying Burmese food and I am proud to say that I really enjoyed it. It has kind of a Thai/​Chinese food mix in my opinion.
Food:
I really enjoyed the flavors and spice of the dishes. We had four entrees. I especially liked the taste of the crispy chicken balls. I honestly don’t remember the names of the dishes (but I included some photos). If any of them look good, I’m sure you could just pull up the photo and ask the waiter.
Speaking of the waiter:
I thought that our waiter (I forgot his name) was really helpful. He seemed to know the menu pretty well and was able to make good suggestions.
Ambience:
The place is not very big but it looks really nice. It wasn’t super loud, about average noise level. I think it’s good for a date or family dinner.
Price:
The price for each person is roughly around $ 10 – 20, higher or lower depending on if you order drinks, dessert, etc.
Overall:
I would definitely come back here and try more dishes. This place for sure gave me a good experience with Burmese food!

Never really had an eye for Burmese food but lately I have been getting the urges for tea leaf salad. Located in the center of San Mateo, Best of Burma is a pretty good restaurant to fit Burmese food cravings. Although parking is very troublesome especially peak hours… the food makes up for it.
My personal to get dishes here with my GF are the tea leaf salad as appetizer, curry chicken stew with steamed rice and the coconut peanut noodles. Tea leaf salad here is on point, it a variety of ingredients mixed together to create a very unique salad. They help you mix it too so don’t worry about it not being balanced. The curry stew with pumpkin is more for the gf because she craves it with steamed rice. I think its decent but not a WOW dish. I really do like the coconut, peanut sauce like noodles with the egg pieces. It has an unique taste to it that you know it’s Burmese food once u eat it.
Personally what keeps me coming back again and again is the tea leaf salad but the other dishes are also of quality. It does add up in costs because each plate is like 15 a dish but its worth it once in a while. 4 solid stars!

Fell in love with Burmese food thanks to Burma Superstar, so when we needed to meet someone in San Mateo for dinner, we were excited to give this place a try.
Got lucky with street parking right in front of the restaurant, but I doubt that will always be the case, so if you’re driving, make sure you leave some time to find parking.
We got the tea leaf salad, the samousa soup, and the shan tofu to start. The salad and soup were great — pretty much up to par with what I’ve come to expect from Burma Superstar, which is my single point of comparison for Burmese cuisine. I didn’t love the shan tofu though — something about the texture of the tofu felt a little off. And it tasted almost like a cross between sweet potato and tofu. Not terrible, but I wouldn’t get it again.
For entrees we got the tofu with vegetables and the veggie kebat. Both were pretty delicious. Overall, a very solid meal and reasonably priced. Lots of great veggie options as well.

Best of Burma has pretty plates and presentations, but the food is mediocre. I think the sauces for their entrees are good, but the flavors do not get into the individual components. It is as if dishes are cooked separately and sauces are poured over them as an after-​thought. The portions are also rather small.
1 star off: The Mango Chicken did not have much mangoes… nor chicken. It was mostly onions.
1 star off: The Palata (bread) was extremely greasy. The coconut chicken curry dip was fine by itself, but it tastes odd when a super greasy item is dipped into another high-​fat sauce.
I would order Best of Burma in a mall food court, but not in San Mateo downtown.

I’ve only been for lunch so far, but I think it’s one of the best lunch deals mixed with highest quality around.
For $ 11.99, they have a really great variety of lunch options (many of which include the tea leaf salad) where you get to mix and match and entrée with a side or salad or soup off of their lunch menu and it’s made up in the blink of an eye while also being the perfect portion.
Normally I wouldn’t exactly call $ 11.99 a deal but the quality of food is so high and everything one the menu pretty much has like 40 ingredients in it that it definitely feels like a steal.
If you’re not into the lunch menu and maybe just want a tea leaf salad all to yourself, those are good here, too. I wouldn’t mind a larger portion on that but admittedly I’ve never met a tea leaf salad that I didn’t think could stand to be larger. I’m just kind of a bottomless pit when it comes to eating those things.

I’ve never had Burmese food before, and I’m glad my first time having it was here! My first two times I ordered their wok tofu and chicken with brown rice, and the flavors are utterly delicious.
Most recently, I tried their lunch special mango chicken with garlic noodles and was extremely pleased. The sweetness of the mangoes mixed with onions creates the perfect balance. Their garlic noodles are not mind blowing, but they’re good enough for me.
I appreciate healthy options that don’t lack yummy flavors, which is exactly why I enjoy Best of Burma. I’ve only gone here for work paid lunch, but I wouldn’t hesitate to return on my own time and my own money.

First time trying Burmese food! I had the green tea salad and the lamb curry dish with coconut rice on the side to share with a friend. I was very hungry and everything seemed fabulous to me. I like how clean and neat the restaurant is. Prompt service and no rush to leave (even if we arrived pretty late). The salad was fantastic, great flavor, that is something I would like to try to mimic at home, loved the mix of seeds, nuts, so crunchy and original for my palate. The server did a great job mixing the salad for us and telling what ingredients were in there. Also, if you check-​in with the Unilocal app, then you get a free drink!

OK I don’t mean to be a bitchy ass asian here. I’m sure I ate a lot of MSG in my life time, but I just didn’t expect to see MSG clusters in the lettuce of my tea leaf salad (I have attached pictures). I don’t know if this is a common practice, since I’m not Burmese. But I’ve had tea leaf salads elsewhere, and I don’t recall other restaurants sprinkled their salad with MSG (or maybe I just never see it, bc usually they mix the salad as it gets to your table). My suggestion: the next time you order their tea leaf salad, just tell them to not sprinkle MSG on the lettuce.
but I have to say, the tea leaf salad tasted delicious! esp with warm rice. yea I’m weird.

They have very interesting food here! The cute little restaurant is situated on 3^rd Ave dtsm next to rave burger. It is very small so it is easy to miss. I highly recommend the Tea Leaf Salad! The fermented tea leaves and the crunchy peanuts go PERFECTLY together. Not to mention the jalapeño that ties everything together. Hmm let’s see what else… Ooooh the Mango Chicken was very good too.
Be spontaneous, Try it out

The place is really nice. Casual, trendy and culturally influenced ambience. The paintings on the wall are awesome. People are attentive and friendly.
The food is great here, good selection and all done really well. Portions are good enough, not excess nor Michelin star. Taste is at par with some of the best Burmese restaurant in the Bay Area.
Worth a visit.

Was lunch time and glanced across the street and saw Beat of Burma. One of the newer restaurant in San Mateo downtown which I have yet to check out.
A very tiny entrance and with no other patrons were in the restaurants. Always makes me a little anxious about what to expect. (ESP when I don’t Unilocal it first)
Were seated promptly. Ordered the Tea leaf Salad and a Chicken and Shrimp Briyani.
The tea leaf salad was the bomb! The server stood by our table to squeeze the lemon, went through the ingredients as he toss the salad. Think that’s really sweet and like that I know what I’m consuming in detail. Portion was small and just nice for 2 as compared to other similar restaurant.
The chicken and shrimp arrived shortly after. Was really tasty and even bite was so good.
The bonus for this place — Unilocal Deal: Free soda when you check in. The server is very well versed about promotions which I really do appreciate, not always are server aware of what promo they have.
Highly recommend this place!

One of my go to places for Burmese food. They have excellent customer service here. The first time I went here, I went in 15 minutes before closing. I didn’t know they were one of those restaurants that close between 3−5pm. I should know this already since this always happens to me. They still took me in though, yay!
I recommend trying the following:
As an appetizer, I would go with the palata. If you’ve ever been to Banana Island before, it’s similar to the roti canai, just a little different in shape, with the same yellow curry as dip.
I’ve tried their rainbow and tea leaf salads. Both are pretty good. The rainbow salad is pretty unique in that it has 22 different ingredients. The one thing I always get at EVERY Burmese restaurant I go to is the nan gyi thoke (it’s spelled differently sometimes). Ugh, it’s my fave and you need to go and try it. Entrees I’ve tried are the pumpkin salmon, which I really like, and I think the mango chicken because that seems like something I’d order.
One thing I don’t recommend getting here is their mango with sticky rice. I was expecting it to be like your typical ones served at thai restaurants, but man, this one was weird. The rice was black. They gave you a scoop of ice cream on the side. It didn’t taste the same… not the mango with sticky rice I usually crave =/

This place is BOMB DOT COM, peeps! I’ve mulled over between 4 and 5 stars but in the end, their high quality Burmese food and spectacular service truly warranted that extra special star. I came here with my date, Aarize, and we were wandering around DT San Mateo and opted for Burmese food– best decision ever!!!
I’ve had my good fill of Burmese food in SF and San Mateo’s Best of Burma really brought the competition ;) Following suit to my date, we tried these delights:
~~Tea Leaf Salad 4.5/5~~
Comparable to, if not as good as, Burma Superstar’s Tea Leaf Salad! That’s a huge statement as BS has my favorite TLS. The portion here at BoB is slightly less than BS but the cheaper price adjustment is fair. The ingredients are fresh and crisp, and they use romaine lettuce with the fermented tea leaves and various nuts, seeds, and veggies. I thought there was perhaps too much fermented tea leaves which left our salad slightly slimy but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. The server brings the dish out with the ingredients separated and explained to us the origins of the TLS and then proceeds to mix it up. Aarize and I literally could not keep our hands off of it!
~~Basil Lemongrass Chicken 4.5/5~~
Another impressive dish– the chicken was moist and juicy and was tossed in a heated array of basil, lemongrass, and other sauces. The vegetables that accompanied the chicken complimented the mixture very well. Each bite was hearty and the high quality of a spectacular stir fry entrée gets thumbs up from me!
~~Pumpkin Curry Shrimp 5/​5~~
Winning Dish of the night! I am usually weary and suspicious of seafood dishes because the portions are skimpy and quality is subpar… but not in this case! We ordered their special seasonal Pumpkin Curry Shrimp and the pumpkin bits and curry sauce marinated the medium-​sized shrimp in a consistent gooey texture. It may sound like an odd combo, but it really works. I am not one for the fall seasonal special of pumpkin or Chai but BoB cooks this dish to perfection.
Ambiance/​Location/​Service 4.5÷5: Located in the heart of downtown San Mateo, BoB is nested along 3^rd Street. Parking after 6PM is free but challenging. The restaurant interior is gorgeous and clean. I appreciate their new furniture and color schemes, red black and white. The setting sun tends to heat up the front area so I would suggest heading to the further back tables. Service is a definite A+! Everyone was super friendly and attentive. We had nice chats with our server and it wasn’t too busy so we got some personal attention :) ⁵⁄₅ would return for more delicious Burmese food in San Mateo!!!

Came here with my fellow Unilocaler, Donna T. aka Boba Princess on a Friday night while patiently waiting for Merica S. who ended up not showing up because she couldn’t find parking anywhere –_​_​_​_​_​– Lol, sorry Merica you know I love you: P
Anyways, having dinner with the Boba Princess was pretty fun — lots of panty droppin’ puns here and there and talking about how we’re going to be each others date for an upcoming wedding. Lol. Ok on to the food…
Food:
— Tea Leaf Salad: With romaine lettuce, fried yellow beans, fried garlic, sesame seeds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, and dried shrimp (or vegetarian). DAAAAAAYUMMMM. My life has changed! Hella good! I think this is one of my favorite salads to eat now. So the server will bring the plate to you and tell you what ingredients are in the plate and mix them all in front of you. How cool is that?!! Very flavorful salad and perfect if you like nuts in yo mouth (see what I did there? :P) .#hellagood !
— Basil Lemongrass Chicken: Stir fried chicken breast with soy sauce, fish sauce, green beans, red bell pepper, lemongrass, basil, garlic, and chili. Another favorite on my list! Great amount of spicyness as we requseted Medium-​spicy level.
— Burmese Shrimp Curry: Burmese specialty curry made with tomatoes. Medium spicy and topped with cilantro. Another delicious dish on the menu but I’m more in love with the Basil Lemongrass Chicken. Generous amount of shrimp though! Other restaurants are a bit stingy with their shrimps.
Service:
Our server was attentive and was always re-​filling our water whenever we’re running low. Pleasant to talk to as well.
Overall:
I don’t eat Burmese food that much but when I do, I make sure it has 4 or 5 stars on Unilocal and this was definitely in the books for me! Definitely worth a visit if you are in the downtown San Mateo area and/​or live around here. And it’s quite a lot of food for its price point!

Tried out Best of Burma in San Mateo. It’s pretty new, but it’s good. Not many people on a Sunday for early lunch.
FREE soda from soda fountain I think if you Check-​In on Unilocal.I picked Diet Coke which was just ok tasting.
We picked a few things to try:
Tea leaf salad $ 10.95 — it’s brought to your table really pretty, then the waitress tells you what’s in it, then mixes it for you. We shared it.
Coconut noodle soup $ 10.50 — B. picked it and he liked it. I got to try it and I liked it. Small portion, but enough for one person. Lots of noodles and soup.
I picked other fish chowder noodle soup $ 10.50 — it was just ok, I thought coconut noodle soup was better.
Charged it. One unisex bathroom bathroom in the back.