Mandalay

444 Edgware Road  
London
W2 1EG

Sadly J & D have moved out of Islington - but now that they're in their new neighborhood it means there are new restaurants to try (silver lining ahoy!) Since Burmese food is difficult to find, it seemed fortuitous that Mandalay, which has been feted by the food blogging crowd, is one of their new local places. J and I met there to give it a try, and took B & R's recommendation for the fritters to start. What emerged was unlike any fritter I've ever seen - a bird's nest of beansprouts and  shrimp tangled together in a crisp, light batter that coated each strand. Three dipping sauces accompanied it and we eagerly tried all of them. For mains, we had lamb in tamarind sauce, a twice-cooked fish curry and a bamboo and mushroom dish, all accompanied with rice and naan. I particularly liked the lamb, though everything was good and tasted like an interesting cross between Thai, Indian and Chinese. Service is sweet but not particularly responsive - we asked to see dessert menus but they never appeared, so we ended up skipping it. For a casual dinner though, I'd be back to try more.