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Last week, the team behind Dublin’s super-popular Burma Burma opened its second location in downtown Walnut Creek, and we’re already hooked. The staff of Burma 2 is knowledgable, the food is delightful and they have Burmese-inspired cocktails. Located in the North Main Street spot formerly housing Siam Fine Thai, Burma 2 specializes in traditional Burmese salads, noodles and curries made with fresh ingredients. We popped in for lunch on Tuesday and sat on the work-in-progress patio, which, we were told, is getting a roof and heat lamps come fall.
THE VIBE: Warm and welcoming. The restaurant features booth and four-top table seating, a full bar and friendly servers who make confident recommendations. Ours encouraged us to get Tea Leaf Salad with cabbage (the traditional way) instead of Romaine lettuce (Americanized version), brought us a complimentary coconut rice when we expressed interest and boxed our leftovers in time to make it to an appointment. Impressive.
THE FOOD: We’ll never go back to the romaine version. With cabbage, the Tea Leaf Salad ($12) held its crunch until the next day, making for even more umami goodness. And the portion was large enough for three. For entrees, don’t even think about it — just order the Nan Gyi Dok ($12). This dish of slippery round rice noodles is tossed tableside with coconut curry chicken thighs, yellow bean powder, cilantro, fried onions, crispy wontons, fish sauce, hardboiled egg slices and a squeeze of lemon. It is vibrant, full of flavor and intensely satisfying.
Our other favorite: Pumpkin Pork Stew ($15), a delicious savory stew made with garlic, onion and Burmese spices that gets its balanced sweetness from locally-grown pumpkin. As is common with Burmese menus, you can select from a variety of proteins when ordering the stew as well as kebat and curry dishes. Burma also offers a whopping 15 vegetarian options ($12 each), including Burmese Eggplant Curry, Mango Tofu wok-tossed with white pepper and sambal chili, and an addictive Samosa Soup ($11) with falafel, potatoes, chickpeas and all the spices.
DON’T MISS: Burmese-inspired cocktails ($12 each), like the Margarita with kebat salt rim and the Hibiscus Mojito made with coconut juice. Burma 2 also offers six beers on tap, 14 wines by the glass and more than 30 by the bottle.
PERFECT FOR: A power lunch; noodle fix; cocktails and samosas; or a family-style dinner.
DETAILS: Open from 11 a.m. daily for lunch and 5 p.m. daily for dinner at 1616 N. Main St., Walnut Creek; www.burma2.com