B Star, San Francisco

Reviewer: Foodnut.com B Star Bar 127 Clement St (Between 2nd and 3rd Ave) San Francisco, CA 94118 415-933-9900 B Star Bar Website

B Star Bar serves Pan Asian style comfort foods with flavors from Thailand, China, Burma, India and Japan. It is the sister restaurant of popular Burma Superstar Burmese restaurant (And has several of their dishes) and is located a couple blocks from it. Our last visit was in Spring 2023. No more parklet.

Decor, Vibe – Clean modern Asian oriented decor. Small bar area. Some families, couples, and mostly people in the 30’s and 40’s were dining.

B Star Food Picks:

Tea Leaf Salad ($15) GF is a classic. Nutty crunch, garlic, and a lite dressing makes this a hit. Vegetarian on request by removing shrimp powder and fish sauce. Burma Superstar item. 9/10

Rainbow Salad ($14) GFR is made with 22 ingredients. Even more interesting than the tea leaf salad. Vegetarian on request. 8.5/10

Platha Dipper ($11) V – Crispy, Flaky Burmese Layered flatbread, yellow curry dipping sauce hit the spot. Burma Superstar item. 8.5/10

Kau Soi ($17) Coconut chicken curry, egg noodles, bean sprouts was a nice silky soft noodle dish. We got it with rice noodles.  Slightly spicy. 9/10

Lamb Curry ($19.50) GF is one of the weaker dishes. Not very robust curry but tender lamb. Available in a larger dish. 8.5/10

Salmon Ochazuke ($18) with pan fried rice, salmon, green tea broth is a fun dish where they pour the broth tableside. A variety of textures and flavors in a simple yet complex dish. 8/10

Pumpkin Ginger Stew ($17) with Tofu is a large dish with tender kabocha squash slow cooked. Perfect for vegetarians. Burma Superstar item. 8.5/10

Black Rice Pudding dessert ($9) is fruity and has some nice textures. Not too sweet. 8.5/10

Sweet Platha ($10) was on the soggy side. 6.5/10

B Star had very good service that was friendly and had no issues. The food is Asian fusion fare with good quantities and fresh ingredients. The food is fun and approachable, making this a standout restaurant in a neighborhood full of great food. (Chapeau, Wako, Lily)

Prices are reasonable make this an easy choice if you are nearby looking for a decent meal.

Past Visits:

Vegetarian Samusa Soup ($7, small) Burmese soup with flafals, lentils, cabbage, potatoes was delicious, especially the samusa. A little too many potatoes. Slightly spicy, not a lot of broth. Good quantity for even the small size order.

Pork and White Beans ($13.50) had tender braised pork belly with jasmine rice, white beans, and bok choy. The meat was delicious and not very fatty. The rice absorbed the meat juice and tasted very good. Not a lot of beans.

Grilled Calamari ($8) with cherry tomatoes, edamame, shallots, peanuts in a basil vinaigrette had chewy calamari, but very good greenish broth that goes well with rice.

Black Rice Pudding ($6.75) with coconut ice cream, cream, strawberries and sesame seeds had a big slab of very warm rice pudding. Very good ice cream and moist pudding made it a good balanced combination.

Kabocha Croquette ($6) A BStar favorite! roasted bell, curry spices, lightly panko breaded and deep fried was a delicious appetizer.

Tea Leaf Salad ($8.50) Burmese salad with romaine, ginger, garlic, peanuts, sunflower and sesame seeds, tomatoes, and tea leaves is one of their signature salads.  Unique tea dressing on a mixture of delicious ingredients.

Thai Salmon Green Curry Pot Pie ($12) Salmon and veggie curry with scallion inside a puff pastry and with a side salad. This is another signature dish.  Pretty spicy, but flavorful salmon and a fun puff pastry.

Miso Cod ($15) on arugula with grilled zucchini, shitake, oyster mushrooms, and orange zest was delicious.  Perfectly cooked fish and a nice balance combination of greens.

OK:

Portabello Veggie Fresh Spring Roll ($7.75) with tofu, basil, mint, cucumber, carrots and a very good peanut sauce. Without the sauce, the rolls were pretty tasteless. Good for vegetarians.

Wild Rice Salad ($9.50) Hijiki with pickled gobo, avocado, cilantro, cabbage, cucumbers, and pepitos with Grilled portabello mushrooms had a small amount of mushroom and lots of brown rice. Flavors were good and this dish was very healthy entree.

Mango Mojito ($7) was made with Soju and not vodka. A little on the weak side, but very fruity. Soju added a slight after taste.

Prather ranch Braised Ox tail ($16.50) with organic oxtail, baby carrots, shitake mushrooms, and fennel over a parsnip mash was fair.  The meat clung to the bone.  Good quantities, but the ox tail at Coconuts in Palo Alto was far better.

Lychee Tai Chi Cocktail ($6.75) with soju, lychee, jasmine tea was not sweet and had more lychee than just a mild flavoring.  Not balanced.

Pans:
None

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