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[wsfc-blog1]

Burman in Gran (26.11.17)

Phil and I were late.

We hadn’t trusted Google maps when we’d been organising lifts, but surprise surprise, even on a Sunday afternoon heading out of the city, Parramatta Road was clogged. I was not a patient or constructive passenger; my stomach grumbled, as did I. I commented on every single roadside ad we passed that mentioned food.

By the time we got to Granville the gang had already ordered for the table. We didn’t bother asking about what was coming out, and took some free spots at the end of the conjoined 12-ish seater that was taking up most of one wall of the restaurant. Lewis walked in moments after us, and then everyone was here.

Phil and Lewis got to talking about Burma (he’s heading off there early next year), Dariusz passed me a beer and we got chatting together with Katherine, Amy and Ondrej about what everyone had been up to.

All had recently been on adventures. Dariusz, Amy and Ondrej had spent the weekend climbing, with a quick jaunt down to Point Perpendicular (a spectacular sea cliff just past Nowra), and Katherine had been on trips to Darwin and the Philippines. We got to talking about both of these places, and Dariusz revealed himself as a student of world history - I learnt that Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Phillipines were all Spanish colonies that were subsequently possessed by the USA in the late 19th century.

Around that time, the first dish arrived. Louis had ordered it off the menu, consorting with the waiter to bring out a tray of bamboo shoots with a complex, spicy dipping sauce. People approached tentatively, but we’re a curious bunch and everyone had a try. The sauce had layers of spice, flashes of chilli that hit the tongue first and then the mouth - it was definitely something different.

After a small break, everything started arriving and the chatter was joined by clatter as scraping spoons got mixed in with, drawn out mmmmm’s and happy slurps.

There was a real variety of dishes at the table. Not a lot of us were familiar with Burmese cuisine, yet some of the dishes sparked small elements of recognition, the country’s many-bordered geographical position played out in the spread on the table. A dry, beef curry (maybe reminiscent of an Indonesian Rendang) with a side of buttery rice sat next to a starchy peanutty noodle dish served with minced chicken, maybe seeming like a pad thai/dan dan mian hybrid.

The real highlights though were gloriously unique.

The Tea Leaf Salad was a textural delight: green tomatoes, grains, nuts, beans and of course the lea leaves - some things chewy, some things crunchy, absolutely delicious and worth ordering a second dish for.

The banana leaf wrapped steamed fish was exquisite. Apparently a common inclusion as a side dish in Burma, ours was prepared spot on - the flesh firm, yet yielding to a fork, the natural juices trapped by the banana leaf in a perfect case of the simple done right.

After we’d polished off the mains (and our second round of salads) the debate began over dessert.

Although we were right next to Abla’s, baklava was left for another day and we went for a shaved ice dessert and a side of banana bread.

Something that swayed the decision though was this photo of a baby next to a bowl of shaved ice.

“That dessert is huge!” someone said

“Nah, it’s just a really small baby.” said someone else

“Nah, it’s actually just a doll” chimed in a third

Theories of relativity aside, there were no shy spoons when the shaved ice came out, and any concerns about hygeine amongst relative strangers were abandoned but for one more scoop - the rosewater and heapings of peanuts really changing the game from other shaved ice desserts like cendol and ais kacang.

We finished the meal happy and satisfied, our plates licked clean but the tablecloth a mess with sauce stains everywhere.

The final price of $24 a head was icing on the cake, and we strolled into the night in good spirits, revelling in yet another successful WSFC adventure.

Restaurant: The Burman Kitchen, Granville

Attendees:

Miki, Julien, Gus, Louis, Katherine, Amy, Ondrej, Dariusz, Andrew, Phil, Lewis