Burmese House - Richmond

The business has been in operation for over a decade and I dropped in last week for an evening meal with friends. It's open daily from 5:30pm – 10pm, BYO ($3.00 / person corkage) and conveniently located on Bridge Road, which means that this restaurant is accessible for many.

The venue is located over three levels and the group I joined for dinner was ushered to the top level, where we were surrounded by exposed brick work, a cathedral ceiling and authentic artwork. For a hot humid day the air-conditioning and regular supply of jugs of water made for a comfortable experience.

I need to confess that this was the first time I sampled bona fide Burmese and I was not disappointed with the spices, curry and noodle dishes. To sample the maximum number of plates in one sitting the four of us decided to share and started out with the following entrees:

• Deep fried fishcakes served with sour cucumber sauce

• Roti bread with a dipping chickpea sauce

Both entrees were fresh and light, awakening the taste buds for the mains to follow. After careful consideration at the table and assistance from our waiter we selected the following mains:

• Mergui noodle – stir fried rice noodles with chicken, prawn, mussel, squid & dried prawn
• Stir fried chicken with cashews and dried chilli
• Ginger beef curry
• Burmah sliced fillet of fish curry – cooked with tomatoes and red chilli paste.

The catch phrase with this restaurant is that ‘the food speaks for itself’ and it did! My favorite was the fillet of fish curry as it simply melted on the palate and worked perfectly with the accompanying flavors. Second to that was the Mergui noodle dish. Our group opted for BYO as I had a few new wines to show, however the wine list is both very affordable and supportive of smaller producers. If you like beer with this cuisine you will be spoilt for choice.

Burmese House is definitely one to remember for a quick mid-week meal, early Sunday night feed before the beginning of a new week, or great to recommend for group bookings. Definitely a ‘must visit’ if you have not experienced Burmese cuisine before!