A journey through six kingdoms - A restaurant review of Burma Social, Singapore

By Dirk Heinz

If there’s one thing to know about Pacific Legal Network, it’s that we’re culinarily versatile. Throw a PLNer into just about any epicurean scene and we’ll find somewhere to enjoy a drink and some food. Our home ground is obviously The Pacific. On a combined count, our team have had more hot meals and cold beers (and cold meals and warm beers) than most could have in 10 lifetimes. But once in a while it is good to break new ground. Nothing sharpens the palette like fresh flavours and cuisines. Which is why when in Singapore recently, a pit-stop at one of the city’s hotter new eateries was in order.

Before we get to food, let’s talk layout and scene. Duxton Hill is the spot in Singapore for food. Consisting of a smallish pocket of tightly packed windy streets in Chinatown, restaurants and bars take up most of the real estate in the area and this place comes alive at night. Nestled in amongst this buzzing food scene, is Burma Social.

As you walk into Burma Social you’re greeted by the downstairs bar area, a funky little space with bar dining if you want to keep dining experience casual and need a direct line of sight on the drinks selection. Upstairs, a cozy dining area hosts another 15-20 tables of varying sizes where a more traditional restaurant dining experience can be enjoyed. Positioning itself on the Singapore food scene as the restaurant that delivers ‘The Feast of Six Kingdoms’, Burma Social brings together cooking styles and flavour profiles from across Burma, China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Laos. An enticing array of cuisines for the tastebuds to navigate, but one that, on paper at least, feels slightly overwhelming. Thankfully, any such concerns proved to be unfounded!

Sitting down with some time to consider the menu, the staff clearly saw a diner in need of some gentle guidance and were quick to come to my aid. On the menu is an extensive list of curries, wok cooked dishes, sushi rolls and alluringly labelled ‘silk road delicacies’. Together, the helpful waiter and I landed on an assortment of light snacky dishes which included some Gold-Dusted Prawn & Chive Har Gao Dumplings, Crab Spring Rolls, Tibetan Momos and Burmese Spiced Squid. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it was. If you’ve read any of our reviews before, you know our standards. All in all, they’re pretty modest. Drinks (preferably cold), vibes and dumplings go a long way to keeping us happy. Burma Social delivered on all of those. The highlight were the prawn and chive dumplings and the crab spring rolls. While I’m big on dumplings, an essential ingredient to great dumplings is a strong array of sauces and condiments to pair them up with. The crew at Burma Social made sure I wanted for nothing on the fancy condiment front. From a crushed chilli and spring onion paste, to a sweet peanut satay mix and of course good soy sauce, their dumpling game was very strong. As for the crab spring rolls… lightly fried in a variegated tempura mix and served with a tasty mango chutney meant my flavour journey through the six kingdoms, while ephemeral, was a satisfying one. I tried less than a quarter of the things on the menu that I would have liked and all of them hit the spot.

If you find yourself hungry in Singapore, Burma Social is a spot. Enjoy!