Dining Out: Specialties at Rangoon, a rare Burmese restaurant in Canada, as tasty as they are exotic

Rangoon Restaurant
634 Somerset St. W., 613-680-8821, rangoonrestaurant.ca
Open: Monday to Thursday, 3 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 3 to 10 p.m., closed Sunday
Costs: A lot of shareable meals under $20
Gain access to: Actions to front door, bathrooms upstairs

When we asked our server at Rangoon what the chef had actually done to make her chickpea-based appetisers so tasty, his action was a little cagey.

Short article material

Post material

“Magic!” he stated.

Called little as I do about Burmese food, I may have thought our server had he kept his lips sealed. We were consistent and he spilled the beans. Or, in this case, the chickpeas.

These perfectly made fritters ($9) wowed us with their tastiness and textural intricacy. How did the chef accomplish those crisp-fried outsides with trembling, virtually melting interiors that evoked silken tofu? We were informed that the approach included including water to chickpea powder and gradually preparing the mix, stirring all the while, till it was prepared to be cooled. Later on, the batter was thoroughly fried to purchase. The outcome was as alluring as they were simple.

There was a lot more to find at the no-frills Somerset Street West restaurant. Or, need to I state, re-discover, given that I did make numerous eye- and palate-opening gos to there in 2018.

When I returned in December in 2015, I enjoyed to see that the family-run company, which initially opened in Ottawa in 2010 in a Gloucester Street hole-in-the-wall, was still making a go of things in spite of the turmoils of the last 4 years.

Short article material

The only modification in the menu that I had the ability to note was the addition of a couple of fundamental white wines and beers, consisting of pale ales from Spark Beer down the street. Formerly, Rangoon was unlicensed. Now, you can bring your own bottles too, for the extremely sensible corkage cost of $10.

Mentioning affordable, back in 2018 I kept in mind that the majority of Rangoon’s shareable meals was available in at under $20, and the exact same in some way applies 5 years later on. It’s my turn to state, “Magic!”

In addition to its cost effective rates, Rangoon’s menu consists of a welcome initial page discussing that Myanmar, the Southeast Asian nation of 60 million individuals that was previously Burma, boasts a special food based upon the ethnic cultures of its occupants and the impacts of neighbouring nations consisting of India, Bangladesh, Laos, Thailand and China. It’s up to you to taste chef-owner Ngun Tial’s food and link some dots.

The menu likewise adds stars to a couple of unique meals signified as recommendations by Tial. Follow them!

You will be rewarded, for instance, with mohinga ($12.95), among Rangoon’s 4 soups. It was a huge, mouth-watering, soothing bowl that integrated thin rice vermicelli and littles basa fish in a yellow broth thickened with chickpeas, while a side serving of chiles included some zippy heat. Big enough to be the centrepiece of a meal for one, the soup was divided quickly into an appetiser for 2.

Post material

Mohinga, a Burmese fish soup, plus chili powder at Rangoon on Somerset Street West in Chinatown.

Rangoon’s gently velvety coconut chicken noodle soup ($12.95) was left unstarred, however it too was tasty, in a subtle method.

Another starred product was the green tea leaf salad ($11.95) in which fermented tea leaves imparted bitterness to an engaging dressing for romaine lettuce, while a side bowl held little bits of sliced up chile and raw garlic for extra shocks of flavour.

Similarly appealing was a tomato salad ($11.95), which was blessed with the exact same wonderful dressing. Gladly, the dressing made with imported fermented tea leaves is noted on the menu as a $10 take-home product, however regretfully, when I entered December, the dining establishment wasn’t offering any due to the fact that it needed to save its stock of the treasured active ingredient, which was running a little low.

Of 2 appetisers, Burmese vegetarian spring rolls that included a tamarind dipping sauce ($6.95) were starred, while those dynamite chickpea fritters were not. While those big and un-oily spring rolls were extraordinary, I ‘d have offered the chickpea fritters some additional love too.

Post material

Amongst 10 main dishes, just shan chicken ($18.95) was marked with a star, and appropriately so, it appeared to us. In this must-order meal, remarkably tender breast meat– dry-brined, I would wager– joined punchily sour marinaded mustard leaves, rice noodles, an attractive sauce, peanuts, coriander and more. For vegetarians, the meal is readily available with tofu rather of chicken.

Of 6 vegetarian products, we chose the starred option of chopped eggplant simmered with spices, onion and garlic ($17.95), which included pieces of raw veg and a spicy, watery, tomato-y dipping sauce for great procedure. The eggplant meal was excellent, however most likely the only one of the starred products that I would not immediately re-order the next time I go to Rangoon.

We attempted 2 other shareable meals– a beef and basil stir-fry ($20.95) that was noticeably milder and more garlicky than its Thai equivalents, and a sautée of shrimp in a tomato-y sauce ($19.95). They completed our meals without surpassing the meals that a lot of fired up us.

Beef and basil stir-fry at Rangoon on Somerset Street West in Chinatown.

When we attempted Rangoon in December, we were not its only visitors, however neither was it complete. And yet Tial’s dining establishment continues to be a modest however excellent restaurant that deals with Ottawa food enthusiasts to attractive meals that they would otherwise need to take a trip to take pleasure in.

Short article material

It would appear, provided that if you google “Burmese dining establishments in Canada,” precisely 5 examples pop up. There’s one in Vancouver, another that is presently closed in Calgary, a 3rd in Edmonton, a 4th in Toronto, and last, however probably not least, Rangoon.

Provided how uncommon and even wonderful its food can be, Rangoon should have to be a lot busier.

phum@postmedia.com

Wish to remain in the learn about what’s occurring in Ottawa?Register for theOttawa Citizen’s arts and life newsletter– Ottawa, Out of Office— our weekly guide to consuming, listening, reading, viewing, playing, hanging, discovering and living well in the capital.

Short article material