Yoma WAY Underrated

[StriperGuy]

Hit Yoma a few days ago with some pals and basically demolished the menu.

Quite frankly this place is amazing. The nuance and subtlety noteworthy. The breadth of flavors...

We had eggplant with pork, a noodle dish with two different texture of noodles, charred beef salad and the mango salad, chicken in some sauce or other, fermented bamboo shoot and chick pea side dish, the crunchy spicey tidbit sidedish (truly amazing), and the fried appetizer platter.

In short, pretty much every morsel was very good to amazing. The prices are outrageously reasonable and the staff charming.

The place is seldom busy, but the food is superb!

http://yomaboston.com

Yoma
617-783-1372
5 N Beacon St
Boston, MA 02134

[danielle]

Wow, this is very cool to see! One question: I was in Burma a few years ago and remember having a vegetable that was potato-like in texture, but curly (as though ready to be made into curly-fries ;-) ).... does anyone know what these are called, and does Yoma by some miracle have them?

[BostonZest]

Do you mean these- knotroot?
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/crosne.htm

It says they grow wild in Northern China but I don't know if they are served in the Boston area.

[danielle]

YES! That's them- thank you so much!!

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

One of the many, many reasons why I love my neighborhood. Incidentally, they're on Foodler, if you happen to live within their delivery zone. I see no reason why most of their dishes wouldn't travel.

[StriperGuy]

Cool, good tip.

[bear]

The food does indeed hold up well during the 20 minutes or so that it takes us to get home. The soba rice noodles in the slow-roasted spicy pork dish get pretty soft, but that dish is so delicious that it doesn't really matter. I also really like the shrimp-tomato dish with rice.

The vegetarian food is great, too. Loaded with flavor. My son loves the house-made chick pea tofu and the sweet potato dish, and we both love the coconut-shallot rice and the vegetarian fried rice side dish.

[hoolese]

I agree, we have gone there 5-6 times, even though from JP its a hike, and its always great...and always plenty of empty tables. I would add that the TofuJaw appetizer is definitely something to try.

[9lives]

Agreed,

We had 2 of the AAJaw Son on the table; which was the mixed app plate and included the Tofujaw which was a real hit.

[lipoff]

I agree, I really like this place as well. Some of the salads are particularly excellent. It is not the most authentic Burmese food in the world, but I do enjoy it every time and the staff is very nice.

[StriperGuy]

I'm a newbie to Burmese food... what is more authentic Burmese cuisine like?

[digga]

I went to Burma last year and I thought Yoma replicated the food experience pretty closely (save for unattainable ingredients, like some unbelievable homemade tofu that I had several times).

Actually, I thought the food was more spicy at Yoma (I think that's a concession to Western palates, which expect Asian food to be spicy). In any case, the food at Yoma is delicious and I'm grateful for the reminder to trek across the river soon. Thanks, Striper.

[Aromatherapy]

Did you see CornFusion's post on Burmese food? http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/409024

[StriperGuy]

Wow.

[digga]

Yeah, I have that one bookmarked. Wonderful, lovingly written essay!

[StriperGuy]

If you see this post, it IS in fact VERY authentic:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/409024

Not sure where you got your info?

[lipoff]

Whoa sorry I didn't see this for so long, my mistake. But I did want to respond:

I did enjoy cornFusion's post, but all I can say is that while I enjoyed the food I had there, I found it quite unlike the Burmese food I've had at a Burmese friend's house in Maryland, at a Burmese restaurant in London, and at two Burmese restaurants in Yunnan, China near the border, which were all rather similar to each other. I found YoMa to be sweeter, less spicy, and had cuts of meat that were more American-like, and was heavy on fried items. I am sure that the cuisine of Burma is diverse, and that my previous sampling of it incomplete --- perhaps Yoma's food is more representative of a different region than the Burmese food I'd had previously. However, because of the particular way in which I found the food at Yoma to be different, it seemed to me to have been Americanized in a similar way that Thai food is --- perhaps the names of the dishes aren't altered, but their preparation might be. It also strikes me as possible that cornFusion might have received dishes that were prepared more authentically, as I know often happens to me when I order food in Mandarin at a Chinese restaurant.

[StriperGuy]

Does not even feel like you are talking about the same restaurant.

I've been maybe 6 times now and the food was never even slightly sweet. And some of the items have been VERY spicy, not a statement I make lightly. Finally, the only fried things on the whole menu are apps...

I'm pretty sensitive to the dumbing down / Americanizing of any food and I have never gotten that vibe at Yoma. You might want to hit it again and try some more of the menu.

[9lives]

What a great meal. Superb range of flavors and textures. Great staff. Not a clunker in the bunch.

They have a fried chili, shrimp paste condiment that we ordered at the end. Next time, I'd get a double order at the beginning.

[barleywino]

i especially enjoyed the noodle dish listed as #Y9, and the chickpea(?) pancakes (more like papadum than dosa) in the fried app platter, plus the shrimp dish. The 10% cask (on the bar) ale at Deep Ellum a couple doors away was very tasty too.

[StriperGuy]

How could I forget the shrimp and pumpkin dish? This was recommended by another poster and I agree it is one of my absolute favorites.