History

Lephet thoke arrived in San Francisco with the Burmese community that settled in the Bay Area through the 1990s and 2000s. Burma Superstar opened on Clement Street in the Richmond District in 1992; current owner Desmond Tan acquired the restaurant in 2000 and built it into the Bay Area Burmese reference, making tea-leaf salad a cult dish. The Burmese fermented tea (lephet) is mixed at the table from a divided plate. Today Burma Love, Burma Bites and Mandalay continue the San Francisco Burmese tradition; the salad remains the city's most distinctive imported dish.

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Common allergens: Crustaceans (dried shrimp), Sesame, Peanut, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 150g fermented tea leaves (lephet, available at Asian or Burmese grocers; or substitute: 100g brewed green tea leaves blitzed with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp garlic and salt for 30 minutes)
  • 100g yellow split peas, soaked overnight, fried in oil 8 minutes to crisp, drained on paper, salted
  • 100g raw peanuts, fried in oil 4 minutes to crisp, drained
  • 50g garlic cloves, sliced and fried in oil 3 minutes to crisp, drained
  • 30g toasted white sesame seeds
  • 30g dried shrimp powder (sold in Asian groceries)
  • 1 small head of butter lettuce or romaine, cut into ribbons
  • 200g savoy cabbage or napa, very finely shredded
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, cut in 1cm dice
  • 4 fresh Thai bird's-eye chillies, finely sliced (optional)
  • 2 limes, juiced (around 60ml)
  • 60ml peanut oil
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Mix the fermented tea leaves with 2 tablespoons peanut oil to loosen them.
  2. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan 2 minutes until lightly golden.
  3. Arrange the components in piles on a large flat plate: the tea leaf mixture in the centre, surrounded by piles of fried split peas, fried peanuts, fried garlic, sesame seeds, dried shrimp, shredded cabbage, lettuce, diced tomato, and sliced chilli.
  4. At the table, the diner mixes everything together vigorously with two spoons.
  5. Drizzle with lime juice, peanut oil, and fish sauce. Taste and adjust salt.
  6. The salad should be vibrant: sour, salty, slightly bitter from the tea, with multiple crunchy textures.
  7. Serve immediately, before the crisps soften from the dressing.

Tip from the editors. Real fermented tea leaves (lephet) are the dish. Find Lucky brand lephet at any Burmese grocer or order online from Burma Superstar.

Where to eat lephet thoke (burmese tea leaf salad)

Lephet thoke (Burmese tea leaf salad) in San Francisco

Burma Superstar ★ 4.3

$$ BurmeseRichmond

Burma Superstar in San Francisco is the Clement Street Burmese room that taught the city to eat lahpet thoke; the tea leaf salad is the order.

OrderThe tea leaf salad, tossed table-side with crunchy lentils and fried garlic.

TipNo reservations; put your name in then walk down Clement to B Star for tea while you wait.

Directions Book

Mister Jiu's 1 ★ ★ 4.7

$$$$ Tasting $185 chef's selectionChineseChef Brandon Jew

Mister Jiu's in San Francisco is Brandon Jew's one-Michelin-star Cal-Chinese flagship in Chinatown, with whole-duck dinners and an upstairs cocktail room.

Book3 weeks ahead

TipBook the whole roast duck 48 hours ahead by phone; it does not appear on the website ordering form.

Directions Book

Ferry Building Marketplace ★ 4.7

$ Market

The Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco runs daily inside the 1898 Ferry Building, with Hog Island Oyster Co., Cowgirl Creamery, Acme Bread.

TipHog Island's bar opens at 11:00; arrive then for oysters before the lunch line stacks up.

Directions

House of Nanking ★ 4.0

$$ CantoneseUntil 23:00

House of Nanking in San Francisco is the Kearny Street Sichuan-Cantonese hybrid since 1988, with a sesame chicken set by an opinionated counter.

OrderWhatever the owner brings; tell him you trust the kitchen and let him pick three plates.

TipSkip the menu; ask the owner to feed you. Cash and card; the wait is shorter for lone diners at the counter.

Directions

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