Sweet Mango, San Jose

Posted by Nicole

About a year ago, Lauren and I randomly chose to eat at Sweet Mango (1040 Willow St, San Jose 95125). After reading through their great Yelp reviews, we knew that this unique Burmese gem-of-a-restaurant would be worth a visit. We had a great first dining experience there, and last night we celebrated my going-away with a second visit to this sweet restaurant.

Lauren and I both had distinct memories about the customer service at Sweet Mango. Last night, we experienced fantastic service once again. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the extremely friendly staff and immediately directed to a table for 3.

The atmosphere of Sweet Mango is very refreshing. Unlike most restaurants, Sweet Mango has a sense of customer loyalty, and it seems that many visitors know the staff personally.

We began our meal with Sweet Mango’s most famous dish:

Tea Leaf Salad: Salad prepared with imported Burmese Tea leaf, tomatoes, lettuce, fried garlic, fried onion, fried split peas, sesame seeds, and peanuts – $9

The waitress explained the various ingredients in the salad, mixed it up, and gave each of us a serving.

So, so good. The first time I tried tea leaf salad, I thought it was extremely salty, but still really tasty. The various flavors and the packs of crunch fuse together very well. I wish I knew how to make this salad. It is the best salad ever.

Next, our entrees were served. For me, I chose the “vegan” options to the best of my ability.

Mixed Vegetables Curry: Mixed vegetables stir-fried with tamarind curry sauce – $8.50

It was actually a much larger serving than it looks like. I loved the curry and the fact that it was packed with many types of fresh vegetables– cabbage, zucchini, baby corn, carrots, eggplant, potatoes, cauliflower, and green beans. The tamarind curry sauce was creamy and sweet; I wish it would have been more spicy, though.

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce: Eggplant sauteed with bamboo shoots, carrot, green onion in our chili garlic or fresh basil sauce – $8.50

The eggplant dish was great! Lauren is always skeptical about ordering eggplant, and even she was glad we ordered this dish. The eggplant was very soft and full of flavor, as were the other vegetables in the sweet and tangy sauce.

As for the other entrees, Lauren and my mom enjoyed two seafood plates.

Shrimp with Red Coconut Curry: Shrimp braised with our coconut curry sauce $11

In Lauren’s opinion, “It was similar to every other curry I’ve had before. The problem is that I like a lot of curries, so it would be hard to find a ‘bad’ one. As somebody who isn’t the biggest fan of pineapple, I’m happy the pineapple chunks didn’t overwhelm the dish. I would order it again.”

I tried the curry sauce and thought it was spicier than the curry in my vegetable curry dish, which was a good thing! I loved sipping the curry sauce straight from the serving spoon. Lucky for me, my family isn’t weird about sharing and germs :)

And the other entree,

Triple Delight: Chicken, shrimp, squid sauteed with whole chili pods, green onion, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in spicy kung pao sauce. Topped with roasted peanuts – $12

In Lauren’s opinion, “I liked the squid a lot. The variety of the Triple Delight was nice, but I think you could get just the shrimp or squid and be just as happy. To bump up the spice level, I cracked open some chili pods and sprinkled the seeds on top of my plate.”

She’s crazy! But hey, at least she didn’t attempt to eat the chili pod like she attempted to eat the Hellfire Wings!!!

Overall, it was a great dinner at Sweet Mango. I’m glad I got to have one final meal with my mom and my favorite sister.

And now, for the dorm food……….. :/

Q4U: Which of the above dishes looks the most appetizing to you?