While I am familiar with many Asian foods, I am not as familiar with southeast Asian cuisine. I enjoy Indonesian restaurants such as Simpang Asia and Stop Bye Cafe and made a goal to explore more of this region. I recently visited Mutiara Food and Market, a restaurant specializing in Burmese and Malaysian food.
Mutiara Food and Market is located on La Brea Ave. just south of Manchester Ave. in downtown Inglewood. Their regulars know that free parking is available out back, otherwise, metered street parking is also available.
The interior is starkly furnished and despite the restaurant’s small size, they can seat more than 30 people. A couple of tables were set up for groups of eight and the remaining were set up for groups of four. Without the touches of an interior designer, this is a place to go eat and not for its ambiance.
Mutiara’s menu is fairly extensive and includes appetizers, soups, noodles, and rice dishes, seafood, curries, kabab and vegetable dishes. Goreng dishes are popular here with mie goreng (fried noodle) and nasi goreng (fried rice). Lamb biryani, available on Fridays, is also a popular choice with roots from India.
Murtabak is a small tender pastry filled with a ground chicken and chopped onion filling that is deep-fried and served with shredded cabbage and chopped jalapeno. I like the fact that these were fairly light and not greasy. It was a nice way to begin the meal.
Mutiara’s Mie Goreng is made from stir-fried egg noodles, cabbage, and green onions. The sauce is what makes this dish. It is both sweet and salty and quite addictive. I selected shrimp as my protein.
While I am not an expert on beef rendang, I’d have to say that their version includes additional spices and has a bolder flavor than most. This is the kind of sauce that you want to either mix with the supplied white rice or if you happen to be at home, you’d want to lick your plate clean.
I’ve tasted quite a bit of chicken across LA and I was surprised with their Honey Chicken. The chicken had a delicious marinade and was grilled so that the skin was crispy and the inside was still juicy. The chicken was absolutely delightful to eat.
The bill for all of this food including tax was only $35.06! Mutiara Food and Market is a modest Burmese / Malaysian restaurant, and the food speaks for its quality. This is a place that you definitely need to add to your bucket list.
Mutiara Food and Market, 225 S. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, CA; 310.419.7221