Ten years ago restaurateurs had cold feet over introducing new cuisines on Oahu because diners were conservative, fearing the unknown. They were loathe to veer from ordering the same thing off the same menu with every visit to a favored restaurant.
What a difference a decade has made. Fueled by social media, the search for the new is constant and consuming, and everyone wants to be the first to boast about their latest find.
Well, better put down the paper and finish reading this at Dagon, which just became the latest hot spot. It has a winning combination of delicious Burmese cuisine that’s new to most, at prices that are reasonable.
My introduction to Burmese cuisine came via pop-ups at Pacific Gateway Center, and there was no one better to assist in my assessment than PGC executive director Tin Myaing Thein, who hails from Burma.
In this space near Spices in Moiliili, you are witness to culinary assimilation at work, as owner Khun Sai treads the line between local and Burmese preferences. Mostly, it’s the local side winning because, face it, how many Burmese are in this community?
Like authentic Thai cuisine, Burmese cuisine is more salty, fishy and spicy than most Hawaii diners can tolerate, so you can get fish sauce, lemon and chili pepper flakes on the side.
At this point you have to go early for the best service. There are about 32 seats but only two people in the kitchen and two people in the front of the house to feed and serve a crowd.
To understand a cuisine new to you, start by pulling out a map. Burma is bordered by India, Laos, Thailand and China, and the influences are all on the menu, from coconut to masala curries and stir-fries. Yet the dishes are unique.
“In Burma we have so many tribes. We speak different, we eat different. We have so many different dishes,” said Sai, who was born in Kachin state in northern Burma and grew up in Rangoon (Dagon is the ancient name for Rangoon) before moving to San Francisco. Opening Dagon was his dream, and he’s assisted in the kitchen by Njip “Ahpri” Pri, who also grew up in Kachin but moved to Malaysia, where she opened two Burmese restaurants.
Start with the tea leaf salad ($10), a beautiful medley centerpiece of lettuce arranged on a platter with accouterments of fried garlic, yellow split peas, peanuts, sesame seeds, fried garlic and tomatoes. Layered over the lettuce is a dark green paste made from young tea leaves. All of this is then mixed together at your table. If you want to try it the Burmese way, with more spice and fish sauce, they’ll make the additions and mix it in the kitchen.
I loved it. Thein said she and her fellow students lived on this tea-salad combo while at university.
“We didn’t have Red Bull in those days. This is what did it for us and kept us going for exams.”
Fried tofu ($6.99) here is also uniquely Burmese, made from yellow split peas instead of soybeans. It’s more light, airy and crisp than the dense block we know, and is served with a light homemade chili sauce.
Other appetizers are Indian-influenced, such as the samusas ($7.99), a quartet of savory fried pastries with different vegetable fillings. These are also served with the chili sauce and a tamarind sauce.
Baya kyaw (pronounced “baya jo,” not “buy a cow”) is the equivalent of Indian pakoras, a crunchy fritter of yellow split peas, onion, mint and spices. The split-pea exterior is reminiscent of a cornmeal crust.
The soups here are stellar. Start with the national dish, moh hinga. In Burma it’s considered a fish chowder with a catfish-based broth. Here most of us would look at it as a noodle soup, thickened with fried rice powder so it has the consistency of jook, and embellished with slices of hard-boiled egg. It is the ultimate in comfort food.
If you prefer something heavier, there is the Oh No Kauswe, or coconut chicken noodle soup. Simply divine. I loved it as is, but Thein said that back home it would be much more assertive, with fish sauce and the sourness of lemons, which those “in the know” can request. It comes in a ramen-size bowl intended for one in Burma, but for lightweight Americans, family-style sharing is the way to go because of its richness.
My vegetarian friends will be happy with the no-meat options. Those who enjoy both the veggie- and meat-eating worlds will love dishes such as pumpkin chicken stew ($13).
There are also a number of curries, such as masala ($13) with a choice of salmon, mahimahi or red snapper, and the house special of coconut curry beef ($12) with the essence of cloves and other spices. (Meat curries are almost all meat.) Try ladling it over Burmese-Indian basmati rice ($5), tossed with cardamom pods, cinnamon, golden raisins, cashews and butter.
Dagon doesn’t yet offer desserts, but now that Sai knows it’s one of the most important parts of a meal for some of us, he’s working on it.
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
