Lily – that’s where we had wanted to go for lunch. We parked our car, walked to the restaurant, then found out that they wouldn’t be able to fit our party of 6 at that time. We decided to walk around to see where else we could eat at. Only 250 feet away, we ended up at B Star, an Asian-inspired restaurant. The restaurant was not that big, but luckily, it wasn’t packed since it was pretty late. We decided to order dishes to share.
Starters
For starters, we got the Appetizer Tasting Platter in addition to an extra order of the Platha Dipper because we weren’t sure if the tasting platter was enough food for all of us.
Appetizer Tasting Platter – platha dipper, veggie samosas, fresh spring rolls, firecracker cauliflower
- Platha Dipper – layered, crisp Burmese flatbread, yellow curry dipping sauce
- Vegetarian Samosas – hand wrapped in-house, filled with curry-spiced potato, served with sweet chili dipping sauce
- Fresh Spring Rolls – tofu, basil, mint, cucumber, green papaya, carrot, avocado, mushroom, rice paper wrapper, peanut dipping sauce
- Firecracker Cauliflower – garlic-chili sauce
Honestly, the portions were a lot smaller than I had expected. My favorite was the Firecracker Cauliflower, which reminds me of orange chicken. The first time I had something like this was actually in Seattle, and since then, I have been seeing it on menus everywhere. There is a bit of a spicy kick to it, but so flavorful I couldn’t stop reaching for it! The starter I liked next was the Platha Dipper with the curry sauce. It was a good decision to get an additional individual order of this! The Fresh Spring Rolls and Vegetarian Samosas came in only four pieces – definitely something to keep in mind if you have a larger party!
Salads
World Famous Tea Leaf Salad – red cabbage, lettuce, peanut, crispy garlic, sesame, sunflower seeds, crispy lentils, tomato, jalapeno, dried shrimp powder, pickled ginger & fermented tea leaf dressing
We ordered a large salad for the table. This salad was very unique. According to my friends, before you would have to mix all the ingredients together yourself, but it seems like this time it was served already mixed. The salad tasted sweet and savory, and the lemon added a freshness to it!
Soups
Laksa – traditional Burmese soup, coconut chicken broth with rice noodles, grilled shrimp, crispy tofu, egg, kaffir lime, lemongrass, chili oil, fresh basil, mint, lime
We ordered two bowls of laksa for the table. What was interesting about this was that it was made with traditional Burmese soup, which I don’t remember having before. I do wish the soup had a little bit more flavor though. This is probably be better not shared so you can enjoy the soup more.
Noodles
Kau Soi – chicken coconut curry, egg noodles, hard boiled egg, pickled mustard greens, fresh cilantro, crispy wonton skin
The Kau Soi was a very interesting mix of ingredients that I would not have thought I would have together!
B Star was definitely a very interesting meal with dishes that I have not had before. It would fall under my list of restaurants that I would eat at again but I would not go all the way there just to eat at this restaurant. The portions, even for the dishes that we ordered a large for, seemed small, so if you are very hungry you might want to consider ordering a few more items. Aside from the food, I really enjoyed the company during this meal, which is most important!