Yoma Myanmar
🇲🇲 MYANMAR / FREE FRIDAY FAVORITES: As others come and go, the most delicious Burmese in the city is and might always be at this quiet Monterey Park restaurant.
🇲🇲 MYANMAR
📍 713 E. Garvey Avenue
Monterey Park, San Gabriel Valley
🅿️ Street parking
🥤 No AlcoholFREE FRIDAY FAVORITES is a series of articles that revisit choice restaurants featured on eattheworldla.com over the years. These will never be behind the paywall, but will update information as necessary and will always be about meals that are worth returning for again.
📆 Original article 06 December 2018
The Shan specialties at Yoma Myanmar will bring you back again and again. This is the type of place that should be on the itinerary of even those visiting the city. The Los Angeles area is blessed with quite a few Burmese restaurants, but so far nothing can quite hold a candle to Yoma Myanmar.
With roots in colonial times when many folks from the subcontinent were working or forced to work in what is now Myanmar, there are many items that share ancestry with Indian foods, like samusas (above). Like most dishes though, there are unique twists that make the cuisine all its own. Also of Indian descent but not as interesting here is the pae paratha (not pictured).
Shan-style tofu salad (above) is made from yellow chickpea flour, a unique taste ubiquitous in Myanmar. The version here is almost swimming in their lovely sauce of tart tamarind and savory garlic, peppers, and shallots.
The laphet thoke (below) is extremely on point here, so lovers of the fermented tea leaf salad dish will not be disappointed. All the right elements of different tastes and textures, with bird’s eye chili peppers on the side that make it easy to spice up if that is your preference.
The group here at the restaurant is from Shan State, so don't miss the Shan noodles (above). In addition to the ingredients seen here, it is usually served with a small bowl of chicken broth and can be turned into a more soup-like dish if desired. Try it dry first to enjoy the flavors directly.
Especially perfect for breakfast, the fish noodle soup known as mohinga (below) is also done very well. The little condiment tray that comes with it should be used liberally, as the soup cries out for squeezes of lime, dashes of cilantro, and plenty of dried red pepper to spice it up.
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