247116 Tue Aug 23 18:08:54 -0700 2005 21 19 Outer Boroughs 0 1313145 Trekked Saturday from Brooklyn to the heart of Briarwood, Queens for the Burmese Food Fair. What I discovered was a small Burmese community celebrating their culture among themselves, yet at the same time friendly and outgoing to outsiders. As an introduction to the scope of Burmese food it might not have been the best route. However, what I did try, in combination with the perfect weather and festival vibe, was unique enough to have made it worthwhile. Varieties of noodles dominated the vendors’ offerings, from a noodle salad composed like Thai green papaya salad, to a fish noodle soup, to fried noodles. Only noodle dish I tried that stood out was the fish noodle soup- a substantial yellow broth studded with fish cake and thick white noodles. Intense fish flavor, and the most striking dish I sampled. Other items included a selection of fried foods, including a fried bean cake and triangular dough filled with something like spring roll filling. These were improved immensely by the flaming red yet medium-spicy sauce on the side. Burmese style parathas were stretched and fried fresh to order, served with a yellow bean mash and topped with fried onions. Oily, flaky, hearty, and the only indication I got of India’s influence on the cuisine. Another dish similar to a Thai salad was the fish salad. Also made fresh to order, I tasted the lovely woman’s first go and pronounced that it needed more spice and lime, which greatly pleased her. The fish in this was thinly sliced white fish cake, which comprised most of the flavor along with the lime and a little heat from the chile powder. Also noteworthy were what I took to be Thai kanom krok, the delicious hemispheres of sweetened coconut milk, rice milk, and scallions. While made with scallions and cooked in a similar, poached-egg like setup, these were studded with a white bean and were completely savory. Not what I expected, but satisfying and probably protein-rich. Sadly no one had any lepet thoke, Burmese green tea salad or gin thoke, ginger salad. Dessert meant shaved ice topped with peanuts, various dried fruits, and coconut milk. Colorful and refreshing, with a different flavor in each bite. Also there was a hot pink cold soup that I saw the locals happily slurping up. A scoop of vanilla ice cream was plopped into the tub, joining ice cubes, tiny tapioca balls, a stringy gelatinous thing, and the odd piece of fried sweetened tofu. Surprising and addictive! One table ran out of highly praised items by the time I arrived- some kind of dessert and a “chicken with yellow rice” dish. These were both brought from the Myanmar church in Boston. Instead I bought a tub of Burmese furikake-like rice seasoning. These came in either fish or pork forms mixed with what look like nuts and various seasonings. I opted for the fish on the vendor's word. Haven’t tried it with rice yet. The fellow who sold them assured me that it’s very spicy, but the initial taste was mostly of the baby sardines. Happily slurping our desserts, the climax of the day came while enjoying the soulful efforts of one young teen girl backed by the endearingly metal Burmese youth karaoke band. It wasn’t the first familiar tune we heard, but finally someone nailed it. Behind the language barrier she clearly was belting out Joan Jett and the Black Hearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” We cracked up, joined the chorus in English, and it was perfect. Thanks to the OP below, More Kasha, Jonathan Saw, though I got his tips too late (and the dishes he described didn’t seem to be there), and the Myanmar Baptist Church community. You rock! Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/247056#1312880 Tue Aug 23 18:08:54 -0700 2005 0 Spoony Bard 1 1313158 Sad I missed it. Couldn't get back from the beach house in time. Thanks for the shout out. I might be able to help you out with some names of the dishes for future reference. The fish noodle soup was probably MOHINGA, although the presence of fish cake and the yellow color may mean it's not. The hot pink soup-like dessert was PALUDA or FALUDA (same thing, different pronunciation). Strawberry flavored right? The stringy gelatinous thing was a kind of agar agar. The tofu is weird as it's more customary to put small scoops of Burmese flan in this. (Burmese flan is called PUDDING for reasons probably related to British colonization, and tastes exactly like regular Mexican flan as far as I can tell.) The chicken with yellow rice is most probably DUMBOW TA MIN. The rice is colored and flavored with saffron and rosewater and often has golden raisins in it. The chicken is curry flavored. This dish is also Indian-inspired. Did the folks give you an idea of often they do this? Frankly I'm surprised this centers around a church, there are various Burmese Buddhist temples in the city that have lunches on weekends (although I think they are tied directly to the religious ceremonies that follow, so I don't think we could just stop by for the chow... damn.) I'm assuming all of this was better than at any Burmese restaurant in the city. Tue Aug 23 22:51:22 -0700 2005 1313145 0 Jonathan Saw 2 1313186 Hi Jonathan. I'd assume you're right on for all of what you mentioned. My mental notes weren't exactly made with scientific precision. Mohinga: Definitely yellow, but the fish "cake" could have been a deep-fried piece of fish (it was kind of crispy). Paluda: Gotta be Burmese flan! I knew tofu wasn't right, but couldn't imagine what else it could be. They were in cubes and were much more dense than a Mexican flan though. The entire dish was very surprising. Milk products? From cows? In Southeast Asia? Flavor did remind me of strawberry- as interpreted by Nestle Quick. One of the most playful desserts I can imagine. Dumbow ta min: Sounds amazing! Is the sweet-savory contrast very apparent? And rosewater, wow. Wish I could compare to Mingala, but haven't been yet. Sadly, from reading the boards this is a once-a-year, summer event. The Buddhist temples deserve at least a looking into, right? Is the food ritually consumed, or just served first? Wed Aug 24 11:46:11 -0700 2005 1313158 0 Spoony Bard 3 1313204 Spoony - PALUDA: Yeah, I always thought that the milk products in Paluda were strange. I think it's traditional Burmese, in that Burmese eat it. It's proably another Indian influence. By the way, you are SO right about the Nestle Quick. That's how my mom used to make it when I was little. DUMBOW TA MIN: The savory-sweet contrast isn't very apparent, if it is made well. Some places in the city, when they have this go for the sweet bursts, alas, but the sweetness of the raisins should be a subtle counterpoint to the savoriness. The rosewater is more for the aroma. There is very little if any "flowery" taste to this dish. BUDDHIST TEMPLES: The food is ritually served to the monks, as an offering. It's considered a mitzvah to do this. (Obviously mitzvah is not the word they use, but I'm not up on the Buddhist terminology, much to the chagrin of my mom.) For the lay people, the food is eaten after the monks are served (never before.)No ritual. Skip Mingala, as it won't approach the quality you got at the fair. However, they do have a passable lepet thoke. By the way, lepet is served in two distinct ways. Mongala serves it mixed with cabbage or lettuce, along with the peanuts, fried sesame seeds, fried garlic, dried shrimp, etc. 9collective known as "A CHAW") I hate this version. (Apparently it's a class thing, as lepet is comparatively expensive and mixing with cabbage is a way to stretch it.) The best way is to have it with just the lepet and the A CHAW. The A CHAW can either be mixed in or put in little mounds on the side which can then be dipped into separately. (You'll have to ask specifically for this version at Mingala and they may not believe that you want it without the cabbage or lettuce.) Hope you have more fun discovering this. Let everyone know if you find something new and exciting on this front. There hasn't been anything in a while on this in terms of restaurants. Wed Aug 24 15:41:29 -0700 2005 1313186 0 Jonathan Saw 3 1313237 Paluda must be the Burmese version of Falooda, a (northern) Indian dessert drink that, I believe, orginated with the Parsis who brought it with them when they moved out of Iran to India. Milk, as in cow's milk, has been part of SE Asian cuisine ever since Indian immigrants settled in Singapore and Malaysia in the 19th century, and also from the influence of India on neighbouring Burma. Plus the long period of British and Dutch colonization of the region may have led to milk being incorporated into the local cuisine. Thu Aug 25 00:12:52 -0700 2005 1313186 0 ju 4 1313280 Fascinating! Thanks, ju. The wisdom of the 'hounds never ceases to amaze. Anywhere in NYC to compare the Indian or Persian variations on Paluda / Falooda / Faluda? Thu Aug 25 13:36:55 -0700 2005 1313237 0 Spoony Bard 4 1313907 Ju, you're quite right. Here is a link to a recipe for Falooda. http://www.recipezaar.com/120560 Below the ingredients list is an advertisement under which the cooking method is given. There are many other recipes available if you google 'falooda'. Note: in the ingredients they mention Chinese pasta noodles or 1-2 falooda sev. The basic ingredient is actually rice (or wheat) vermicelli. Some recipes use Agar-Agar (China grass). I don't quite know what the 'takmuria seeds' are, which apparently can be quite messy to handle however are said to be good for the system particularly for women during menses or hut flushes. Shall investigate takmuria seeds and report back later. Falooda is specially made on festive occasions Another site: http://www.bawarchi.com/cookbook/chiller2.html Amin Link: http://www.recipezaar.com/120560 Sat Sep 03 02:18:20 -0700 2005 1313237 0 Amin (London Foodie ''OrientRice@aol.com'') 5 1313923 tukmaria is the same as tulsi or basil seeds. You can buy packs of it in an indian or south asian store. I grew some in my garden this year and it seemed to be holy basil. This is used in drinks by soaking - it forms a gelatinous outer layer over a black center. Sat Sep 03 13:41:48 -0700 2005 1313907 0 jen kalb 6 1313927 Thanks Jen, some of you hounds are truly a wealth of information. Amin Sat Sep 03 15:11:08 -0700 2005 1313923 0 Amin (London Foodie ''OrientRice@aol.com'') 1 1313184 I was there for about an hour, from 3 to 4 and had a good time. This event is tiny, and although everyone could not haver been nicer, I felt like a bit of an outsider. It is about ten vendors and a couple of tables to sit at in the backyard of the church. I had a dish that was dried shrimp, chili peppers, fresh garlic and slivers of something. The women was using a mortar and pestle to grind and create each order,it was fantastic. The fresh fried paratha with the bean paste was outstanding. I was a little afraid when I saw the guy stretching the dough on a formica top party table, but assumed the hot oil would make it safe. The samosas were filled with pot and with the dipping sauce were also really good. It was a great experience and unlike any other street fair or festival I have ever been to. It was like being invited to a family backyard party. Thank you to Utopia Mike for the link to the site with info and directions. I may have been born and raised in Queens, but this was not any easy place to find. Wed Aug 24 11:31:46 -0700 2005 1313145 0 stuartlafonda 2 1313187 The salad made with a mortar and pestle looked exactly like a Thai green papaya salad (sum tom), with the exception of the garlic. If so, then the slivers were shredded green papaya. In a sense it was indeed a family party in the backyard, only the backyard was the church’s and the family the Burmese community. Part of the fun for me was how closely it resembled the food fairs at Thai temples in California. And whatever anxieties I might have had (though I can’t remember feeling any) were dispelled by the warm welcome I received at the front table. Plus it was all for a good cause, and they were happy to receive our donations! Wed Aug 24 12:05:14 -0700 2005 1313184 0 Spoony Bard 2 1313192 can't wait to try some of those pot-filled samosa's! Wed Aug 24 13:15:20 -0700 2005 1313184 0 rosten 3 1313197 Thought that would be more of an Indo thing... Wed Aug 24 14:06:03 -0700 2005 1313192 0 Lambretta76 3 1313201 must be a a Jamaican thing. For those reading along I meant potato Wed Aug 24 15:22:36 -0700 2005 1313192 0 stuartlafonda 1 1313238 I was there from about 2pm-4pm. I really liked the food and I would certainly recommend going the next time they hold this fair. I think this organization would make a fortune if they printed a Burmese COOKBOOK. I would buy it for sure. I did have one quibble...I wish they had signs in both Burmese and English. I had to interview every vendor to find out what they were serving. Everyone was very nice and friendly but it did get tedious to constantly have to ask for menus and explanations. Not one printed word was in English. Bilingual signs/menus would have been very helpful at this fair, for everyone. Thu Aug 25 05:27:22 -0700 2005 1313145 0 LoveaFair 2 1313311 We had a cold salad dish with creamy-pale yellow noodles dressed with the standard garnishes. We were told it was tofu, but it didnt taste or feel like tofu - more like fresh rice noodles. Anybody know what this was? The packaged fried pork or fish snack/garnish mixes they were selling in the back (by the sign for the boston church) and the black sticky rice dessert sold back there too were great. A lot of the dishes were blander than I like - next time I will be more aggressive asking for additional chiles, lime, etc. great event! Thu Aug 25 16:18:23 -0700 2005 1313238 0 jen kalb 1 1313441 I (finally this year) attended too, from around 2:30 until 4. I tried a few dishes and I bought a ton of things for take-out, then enjoyed them tremendously over the next few days. Unfortunately I didn't write down descriptions of anything, and my memory is atrocious. A nice short middle-aged Burmese lady was showing two non-Asian folks around and giving them descriptions of the food items in English, and since I am a near-clueless white dude, I jumped in and tagged along for the info. Later I talked to my fellow non-Burmese and discovered one was the hound "el Jefe." Great to meetcha, Jefe. Oh, and I asked the short lady about green tea salad, and she said they usually DO have it, but the particular woman who usually sold it didn't show up this year. :( But then she told me I could buy the ingredients and make green tea salad myself, but she couldn't remember the address of the place -- she gave me a napkin with the phone number written on it: "Thiri Store, 718-595-1704, Burmese Goods." I haven't had a chance to call yet, but maybe some of you will. My favorite at the fair was the item she described as hundred-layer bread (or paratha, as y'all've been calling it). (I believe Village Mingala terms this a thousand-layer pancake.) It melted in my mouth. The yellow bean mash vaguely reminded me of really really good hummus. The lentil fritters and the white fish salad were also very good. And I got a lot of items for take-out that came with broth/soup, generally including lots of noodles, often rice noodles. One was a fish soup, I think cod, with lots of noodles. As someone else here mentioned, more spice would've been good. Well, there was plenty of red spice powder, but I would liked more *complex* spicing. I had to convince one Burmese lady that I liked spicy marinated mustard greens in my salad (or whatever it was... can't remember), and she made me try a tiny piece before she'd give me any, and even though I said it was delicious and I loved it, then she only gave me a few, in the corner of the dish, segregated from the other stuff. Heck, they weren't even really spicy, though they WERE very tasty. Nonetheless, it was all delicious, and I'm very very glad I went. Perhaps it wasn't quite as good as Myanmar Restaurant in Falls Church, VA (which I've only had a chance to visit once), but anyway, I wish I'd taken notes. I wish that the NYC area had a *good* and authentic Burmese restaurant. Also got the pork rendition of the little tub of snacky stuff that Spoony calls "furikake-like." It has peanuts. The short lady described it as a peanut snack, I think. Spoony, you said, "Haven't tried it with rice yet." Is that what you're supposed to do? I didn't know it was rice seasoning. I may have to try that. Sat Aug 27 17:24:43 -0700 2005 1313145 0 Ike Hull a.k.a. D'Argo 2 1313491 I did an Infospace search on the phone number you posted, and got what looks like a private person at the address of 88-34 50th Avenue in Elmhurst Queens. I can't tell if this is a storefront or a private house. A search for "Thiri" yielded nothing. Perhaps the lady gave you HER phone number? Mon Aug 29 07:54:04 -0700 2005 1313441 0 LoveaFair 3 1313905 "Perhaps the lady gave you HER phone number?" It didn't seem that way from the context of the conversation. She started telling me about a store in Manhattan's Chinatown where she was certain I could get the ingredients, but then she couldn't remember the address. She actually had to wander off and get the information somewhere, and then write it on a napkin, and bring it back to me. And then it turned out to be just a phone number instead of an address. Clearly it's not a Manhattan number since it's 718, so I presume it was a different "store" than the one she was originally thinking of. Maybe the Manhattan one no longer exists (I think she implied it was a store where you could buy ingredients native to various Asian countries, if my memory's not playing tricks on me), or she couldn't find its number. I live in NJ and my phone's not behaving lately (personally not much of a fan of the telephone anyway) so I haven't tried the number yet myself. Sat Sep 03 00:39:48 -0700 2005 1313491 0 Ike Hull a.k.a. D'Argo 2 1313530 Thanks for your report, Ike! When I bought the fish-peanut tub mixture the guy told me it was to be eaten with rice, since it's too intense on its own. Whether he meant on the side or on top like the furikake I mentioned I don't know, but with rice it's a deliciously spicy, fishy complement. Mon Aug 29 13:50:22 -0700 2005 1313441 0 Spoony Bard 3 1313531 Oh, and it's nutty too. Btw, "furikake" is Japanese rice seasoning, often containing sesame seeds and seaweed (among lots of other things). Mon Aug 29 13:53:13 -0700 2005 1313530 0 Spoony Bard 2 1313573 Ike, I was pleased to meet you too. Just be careful what you wish for. After spending a month in Myanmar earlier this year, I thought the food at the fair was equal to, if not better than, what we got in most restaurants there. It was certainly spicier here. For a country sandwiched between India and Thailand, you'd think the food would be spicier. It was a fun day. I enjoyed meeting Bryan Pu-Folkes who is running for City Council and I thought the band playing the Burmese version of American rock classics was great. Mon Aug 29 20:40:15 -0700 2005 1313441 0 el jefe