Golden Triangle

Possibly the most compelling culinary reason to visit Whittier, the suburb that gave us Richard Nixon, M.F.K. Fisher and conceptual artist Mark Kostabi, Golden Triangle may be the best place in California to taste Burmese food, a phantasmagoria of a cuisine that draws from the cooking of nearby India, China, Thailand and Laos ? the country is in a pretty good neighborhood. The restaurant specializes in the garbanzo-flour-thickened catfish chowder called moh hin gha, the biryani-style rice dish called dun buk htaminh, and lap pad thoke, a salad made with pickled tea leaves that have the consistency of stewed collard greens and the caffeine kick of a double espresso, and also in a sour vegetable dish made with a special Burmese green that the owner grows in his backyard. Then there's the incredible ginger salad, biting shreds of the spice tossed with an almost-too-crunchy melange of coconut, fried garlic, fried yellow peas, peanuts and sesame seeds. If the world ever gave it a chance, ginger salad might have the universal appeal of spaghetti Bolognese.

• Cuisine(s): Asian, Burmese, Thai

  Hours: Sun 11am-9pm, Mon-Sat 11am-10pm

  Price: $$

• Payment Types: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover

  Features: Takeout, Vegetarian Friendly

  Serving: Dinner, Lunch

• Alcohol: Beer/Wine

  Reservations: Accepted, Not Necessary

  Parking: Lot Available, Street