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I grew up around where Yoma Burmese is located, but never knew about it until recently. It’s a hole-in-the wall Burmese restaurant that’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it.

Always willing to try different ways of preparing bittermelon, I ordered the bittermelon with spicy bean paste off the appetizer section of the menu. Bittermelon, as you’d imagine, is pretty bitter. But the way it was cooked in this dish, with plenty of spicy paste, the bitterness wasn’t that bad. As long as you can stand some bitter, you’ll have no problem with this dish.

The spicy paste was savory with fish or shrimp paste, salty, and coated each slice of bittermelon perfectly. I can just imagine eating this on a cold day with a bowl of warm rice porridge. I’m not sure of the science behind this, but I’d think that the cold qi of the bittermelon would balance out the hot qi of the spicy bean paste.

I also ordered a bowl of the fish stew/chowder with rice noodles because it’s kind of like Burmese comfort food. The stew was full of slices of fish paste, crunchy soy beans, and rice noodles. Whenever I’m craving Burmese food, I think of this.

The broth is tomato-based with lots of spices I can’t name and a nice heat to it that won’t leave you gulping for water. It reminds me of a tomato-based seafood noodle soup my mom makes on cold days.

The interior at Yoma Burmese is a little hard on the eyes, but for some down-home Burmese food, there’s no where better in the area. The price is right, the people are accommodating, and the food is tasty. They also have a tea-leaf salad I want to try next time.

Unfortunately, the menu isn’t too vegetarian friendly other than some potato samosas. The chef was nice enough to make a plain veggie chow mien for the BF, but we were disappointed he couldn’t eat any authentic Burmese food. If there are vegetarians in your party, a better place to go is Golden Triangle in Whittier. It’s a bit more of a drive if you’re coming from the west, but it’s safer for vegetarians.

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713 E Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91755
(626) 280-8655

Louise absolutely LOVES filthy, cheap places! (See more of her posts). You can also find more of Louise's writing at her own website NakedSushi.