When I saw Rangoon Ruby had opened a location in the culinary black hole of Downtown Belmont, I had high hopes for a decent restaurant just a few minutes from my house. I’m a huge fan of Southeast Asian food and recalled nice things being said about the other Ruby Rangoon locations.
After waiting several days to avoid any opening week glitches I had a solo lunch of Ohnoh Kawt Swe (Coconut Noodle Soup) and Burmese Ice Tea.
I’m a fool for coconut curries and found the soup mildly pleasing at first, but by the end of the bowl I was disappointed. Given that RR is a white table cloth place the $13 cost of the Ohnoh Kawt Swe was reasonable, but it was dumbed-down and uninspiring.
I can best describe the sauce as “gloppy”. The flavor was pretty bland and individual flavors did not stand out.
My opinion may have been biased by a very decent Khao Poon (the kind with coconut milk) I had at Cafe Vientian in Oakland just a few days before. Admittedly it’s not the same dish, but CV’s Khao Poon was head and shoulders above RR’s only coconut curry soup offering. The Khao Poon had a thinner broth, a much more complex and interesting flavor, and individual flavors stood out more.
Since RR is so close to me I may return to try something else but I don’t expect much from this place.