MANILA -- Rangoon Ruby brings Burma to Manila by way of California.

The Burmese restaurant was founded by the Lee family back in 2012. The first branch was opened in Palo Alto, in the middle of Silicon Valley in California. It now has four branches all around the state.

Bringing Rangoon Ruby was a happy surprise for G2G Allspice Eatery. Rommel Ng, president of G2G Allspice Eatery, shared that he was in the US to bring another concept to the Philippines but it was the Lee's warmth, hospitality, and food that got him to bring Rangoon Ruby to Manila.

Chef Max Lee, second-generation owner, flew in to cook and open the first branch. He shared that the restaurant was a way for the family to share the culture through his mom’s traditional recipes. He also set me straight on what food from Burma, now Myanmar, was really like.

“Burmese cuisine is a complete mix of Indian, Thai, and Chinese,” explained Chef Max.

Chef Max Lee flew in to cook and open Rangoon Ruby in Manila. Jeeves de Veyra 

The jet-like whoosh of high-pressure burners from the kitchen are an indication that there’s a lot of stir-frying with a wok going on. This, together with curries made with Indian and Thai spices, it’s food that’s hearty with a lot of heat, the opposite of what I thought it was.

There are familiar dishes in the menu with a slight Burmese twist. There are samosas, biryani, and paratha with a mild chicken curry that wouldn’t be out of place in an Indian restaurant. But the dishes to try are the ones that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Burmese Milk Tea and Red Dragonfruit Shake. Jeeves de Veyra 

The iced Burmese Milk Tea was robust and not that sweet. In local milk team lingo, think 25% or less sugar level. The Red Dragon Fruit shake was sweet and refreshing.

Pork with patis chili sauce. Jeeves de Veyra 

The Thai sweet chili sauce has more fish sauce or patis. It’s saltier and the stronger flavors do go well with the crispy pork.

Fermented tea salad. Jeeves de Veyra 

I’d guess that the tea leaves were used in the salad. The fermented Burmese tea leaf pesto-like dressing together with the dal, peanuts, and sunflower seeds made this salad very different. Toss this well with a spritz of lemon to make sure no ingredient, particularly the sunflower seeds, takes over.

Noodles with chicken coconut. Jeeves de Veyra 

The Nam Gi Duoc -- udon-like noodles with a mild coconut chicken curry -- showed how Burmese food can hold back the spice. Mixed in with cilantro, fried shallots, fried wontons, and soft boiled egg to complete the fresh notes and textures of this dish.

 Pork with coconut rice. Jeeves de Veyra 

Rommel and Chef Max joked that the food in Manila is more authentic. “The more oil, the better,” said Chef Max.  They could also add more pork and fat as seen in this Pork Belly with Coconut Rice.

I’d say this is the must order dish in Rangoon Ruby. Though it tastes like a spicy version of Chinese hong shao rou, I'd like to think of it as a pork curry. For other pork curry, meat is usually cut into small lean pieces. For this dish, the cut of pork was like that used in humba or  a  rich pork adobo -- thick melt-in-your-mouth chunks of pork belly -- with a spicy sauce just goes well with all that rich fat. Even better with spoonfuls of the sweet creamy coconut rice.

You could find this Eggplant with Thick Soy Sauce dish in Chinese restaurants. The difference here is the heat from the chilies and ginger.

Ruby Shrimp. Jeeves de Veyra 

The Ruby Shrimp is their version seafood curry. Spicy with a hint of freshness from the basil.

 Desserts. Jeeves de Veyra 

For dessert, they had a version of sapin-sapin with toasted coconut and peanut balls in glutinous rice. I particularly the coconut mousse topped with properly chewy boba.

Burmese halo-halo. Jeeves de Veyra 

Swe Sin Eye, the Burmese version of halo-halo, was a refreshing end to the meal incorporating the peanut mochi and boba from the other desserts mixed in gulaman, sago, cendol, coconut bits and ube. It did come with slices of white bread that I used to slop off the remaining milk in the bowl.

Rangoon Ruby is located at the Upper Ground Level East Wing of Festival Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.