I’d been meaning to go to Rangoon Green Gallery since I first opened up Trip Advisor in Yangon and found the restaurant ranked number one. By the time I got round to visiting 
last week, it had slipped down a few places but I did discover why it was so popular, especially with travelers.
The unassuming restaurant on a quiet section of downtown’s 52nd Street has a menu of Thai (or Thai-inspired) dishes that I found—spoiler alert—pretty tasty. The reasonably-priced curries, noodles, soups, and salads were simple but flavorful and served up in a cosy, non-pretentious diner with wooden tables and art on the walls.
The authenticity of Green Gallery’s dishes sparked a hot debate among my Thai friends, which concluded with agreement that though the food was not necessarily authentically Thai, it was well-cooked. We started with the larb moo, or spicy pork salad. All my favorite Thai flavors were there: lime, mint, basil, fish sauce. Refreshing but at the same time comforting and you could taste the quality of the meat.
The Thai green curry let me down just a little bit. Not an incredible amount of flavor, the sauce was too creamy, and the only other ingredients were big chunks of chicken breast and mini eggplants.
The Vermicelli salad was delicious; soft, slippery, vermicelli that contrasted with the crunch of onion and the tang of chili. Perhaps a little too much fish sauce. Out of curiosity, I ordered the spicy fried egg salad. I had never had a dish quite like it. A whole egg, deep fried, served with the classic Thai combination tomato, onion, chili, coriander, fish sauce. I
liked it, but I’m not sure why. For dessert, the mango with sticky rice was okay. A great texture and flavor on the rice, but the mango was a little watery and flavorless (which perhaps we can excuse them for as it is not local mango season).
The “comfortable” nature of the dishes, inoffensive yet uninspiring, is made up for by Green Gallery’s general vibe. The staff are really friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the setting is relaxed. Go now if you haven’t already.
Address: Mahabandoola No 58, 52 Street Lower Block, Between Mahabandoola And Merchant, Yangon 11160. facebook.com/yangongreengallery/
Phone: 09 313 15131
Opening: 12pm to 3pm and 6pm to 9pm.
