Pagan Burmese Moving/Branching Out to inner Richmond

[Xiao Yang]

Snooping around Clement St. yesterday I noticed that the former Eva's Hawaiian Restaurant at 731 Clement was closed and undergoing remodeling. An ABC permit application identified the owners as "Pagan 1 Restaurant" with the same responsibles as Pagan Restaurant on outer Clement. The County Clerk's offfice has the address now registered as "Pagan Burmese Restaurant" as well. Wondering if this is a relocation or a new branch of Pagan.

[Melanie Wong]

The new branch is open, and according to the website, offers only Burmese cuisine (no Thai like the original). Any reports?

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Burma Tea Leaf
731 Clement St, San Francisco, CA

[bigwheel042]

Bumping this up to note that the inner Richmond Pagan now offers a $9.95 all you can eat lunch buffet (not sure which days this is offered, but Tuesday is one of them because I tried it today). The buffet includes both Burmese and Thai dishes but, as might be expected from not being made to order, is not quite as good as the one dish I ordered from the menu on my last visit. Dishes I remember from today:

Tea leaf salad (made with romaine lettuce)
Battered and fried squash, tofu, and one other thing I can't remember...maybe eggplant?
Burmese vegetable curry
Chicken curry
Spicy Pork Curry
Steamed Rice
Pad Thai
Spicy Eggplant
Tom Yum soup (no shrimp, mainly just broth with a little tomato)
Green Papaya salad (vegetarian, no dried shrimp or other seafood)
Yellow Curry with Chicken

[Melanie Wong]

Thanks for the news of the buffet lunch. Interesting that the restaurant has decided to add Thai food to the menu after making a conscious decision not to at this location.

[SteveG]

I swear I had reported on it, but somehow I can't find my post now. We have gone at least three times over the months to the Clement street location, and have found it to be very comparable to the original location. Unfortunately for them I don't think the market is there for a dedicated Burmese restaurant as large as their place on Clement, so I hope by adding the Thai dishes they can bring in more people. When we've gone, we've never had to wait for a table and the tables are not crowded in. I worry that they don't get enough business.

Part of their problem might be that Clement street really shuts down after 8 PM, but that should be prime dining time for westerners and non-Chinese.

I never felt like the Burmese items at the original location suffered for sharing a menu with Thai dishes, because the menu makes a clear distinction and if you order all or mostly Burmese classics, they prepare them with a Burmese sensibility.

I don't remember getting sour vegetable at the original, but it's something we always order at the Clement street branch. If memory serves, I give it the edge for my personal taste bud preferences over Larkin Express' version.

[eliu01]

My wife and I walked by on our way to Halu this evening around 6:30 and it was empty. The one time we ate there a few months ago we thought it was better than Burma Super Star. I also hope they can survive.

[Windy]

They had Thai food when I ate there around six plus months ago, so it's not new.

I suspect it's because it used to be a Thai restaurant, in a rare corner of the city where there aren't many for takeout and delivery.

[Melanie Wong]

The original location was a thai place before. The new branch opened this summer and used to be Hawaiian. Was it a thai resto before Hawaiian?

[Windy]

You're right, I mixed up the locations.

[P. Punko]

There is another mention of this here on Chowhound, or maybe Tablehopper. It is a new location, not a move I believe.

[mwd]

Man, I hope it's just a second location. Anyone know?

[rln]

Sad to see Eva's gone. I'll have to find another easy Hawaiian I like. Relied on the chicken katsu. Sign says that Eva's is still catering, though..