Bagan

Bagan is the name of an ancient city in the Mandalay Division of Burma. The ruins of Bagan cover an area of 16 square miles and the majority of its buildings were built in the 11th to 13th century, during the time Bagan was the capital of the First Burmese Empire. As such, the restaurant had decor that attempted to reflect the rich history of its country (with a heavy Buddhist influence).

On their appetizer list included the following two dishes:

Green mango seasoning ($5.50), a great way to intrigue the taste buds! If you enjoy sour tastes, this is definitely your dish! And then the mains arrived, starting with their famous pork curry with green mango pickle ($8.50).

Okay, down the fat lane for sure now. Imagine rendang (okay, weird to have pork rendang) with a tinge of sweet and sour because of the mango. And spicy because of the curry. Yes, symphony of tastes - thumbs up, especially with the pork so tender!

The Bagan chicken ($12) was a little like honey chicken just done lots better. We even kept half to bring home.

I did not take down the name of this dish and the price of it but if my memory serves me correctly, it was salt and pepper bean curd and we totally loved it!

For the bean curd crazy like me, the fried bean curd with special chilli sauce ($10) is a must have. I remember one of us ordering another serve to takeaway for lunch the next day. I am salivating now thinking of the spicy sauce that layers the crunchy piping hot bean curd.

As we hardly buy fish to cook at home, we ordered one.

This steamed barramundi with lemon (market price), which was served on a stainless steel plate with a candle holder (what is the proper name for it, help?!) underneath brought back memories of us having dinner out at a 'dai chow' (大炒） Chinese restaurant. The sourness from the lemon in the sauce went really well with the spiciness of the chilli. We cleaned the entire plate.

Now, we cannot try new cuisine without having their dessert, can we?

We tried the Burmese version of sago pudding but with taro pieces in it. It was too sweet for my liking and had too much coconut milk but hey, if you like the combination of the two, it is not too bad.

Be sure to ring them up to reserve a table for yourself and friends, especially if you plan to eat there on a weekend.

Bagan Burmese Restaurant
Shop 4, 41, The Boulevarde, Strathfield, NSW 2135
Tel: +61 2 8746 0666
Tuesday to Sunday 12pm-10pm