Really great papaya salad at Two Fish ★★★★★
We tried the Burmese restaurant, Two Fish Myanmar Cuisine, in Clarkston for dinner. Clarkston, GA is one of the most diverse small towns in all of America, being the starting point for many refugees and immigrants. Lao people like us settled here as well in the 80s, and I remember back in the day visiting family and watch soccer matches. The restaurant is about a block away from the old square (the one with Refuge Coffee, the Asian grocery stores and other diverse eateries) in a new shared space complex type that is growing in popularity in metro Atlanta. The ones with the artificial turf in the middle that’s made for gatherings and hanging out with friends.
Here are my thoughts and opinions–it’s pretty good! The papaya salad is top tier in my opinion, a bit sour citrus-y and a bargain at $9.99. You can even pour that leftover sauce/gravy on jasmine rice or vermicelli if you want. 😉 The little fried bread things weren’t all that great imho, it’s just like really plain cornmeal. The cups of noodle were just like home, one similar to our fish sauce and fish meat and vermicelli (very humble common folk comfort food) and the other a light curry and noodle type of dish. It’s a bit light on flavor on my scale, but I think that’s just because Lao folks are too used to very flavorful, saucy, pungent and salty dishes back home.
The fish we ordered was not the fried kind, it was steamed and swimming in some pretty flavorful sauce. The most unique dish we had was a vegetable medley based around tea leaves. It was similar to what I think elderly folks eat in northern Laos, and we were told it’s like the most popular dish in Myanmar. It can get crazy hot with the fresh minced chili peppers.
The location doesn’t hold that much sitting room, you’re supposed to hang out in the shared turf space. There’s ample free parking right across the street. They have other dishes that I’ll have to try next time, like a mango salad and the desserts. And oh, in the drink section they have Pokeyman and Sailor Moon drinks! 🙂
Top: Monhingha: Rice noodle and fish soup with catfish, lemongrass and boiled egg
There’s a Psyduck drink?
Steamed fish with lemon slices and cilantro in a lot of flavorful sauce
Tea Leaf Salad: fermented tea leaves mixed with crispy green tomatoes, split peas, garlic and shredded cabbage
2nd Visit! I totally forgot about these photos from a random Saturday adventure:
The beef salad isn’t like the one we are used to (as in Lao larp, or Thai nam thok). It’s a bit dry without the saucy cues that I’m used to.
The mango salad is a lot different than the papaya salad here. I was hoping it was like the Cambodian kind (as in just like our papaya salad but just different shredded fruit), but it doesn’t have as much sauce. Using the leftover sauce just might be the thing!
Forgot the name of this dish, but it was interesting. It tasted like pho meat without all the broth! So it’s kinda like a more portable beef pho.
Again, the papaya salad was on point! At the end of the day I think we’re all comfort food people, not matter the ethnicity or social class. Papaya salad, a bowl of beef broth, and jasmine rice would do just fine for me. That’s a meal that many less fortunate would be glad to have back in the old country. When we pig out at family dinners now, it’s definitely not lost on my dad the memories of fish porridge and an egg or two feeding an entire family.
As far as the other dishes, it’s just different from our own (Lao) tastes. Different country, different cultures and interpretations. I mean Asia is a big place and you combine that also with the randomness/variability of restaurant cuisine. I still don’t see how we still can’t have a long lasting true Lao restaurant in Atlanta (besides Hot Cafe). I know if done right it would be packed and sustainable here on the northeast side of town. I could help! 🙂
@imnotvee. Thanks Viv and Sean for lunch! I think I’ll post some of these photos next. Portraits is still my thing even though the hangout opportunities are just not what it was like in the past.
More Food!
Papaya Salad, still top tier! 🙂
After covering an event in Clarkston the other day I stopped by for lunch. The thing about a lot of home style SE Asian cuisine is that it never photographs well. By that I mean the home cooking that I grew up with just isn’t food photo/instagram ready. And that’s okay. Examples would be Lao “Aw” “Bamboo stew” “kaeng kee lek” or a whole host of dishes that I grew up with that taste amazing but most folks might not give it a chance simply because it’s not photo worthy.
Two Fish has a rice vermicelli and fish sauce broth that tastes EXACTLY how mom used to make. It’s almost a Rattatouille moment like from the movie. It might be too pungent for some western tastes, but seriously this tastes exactly how Lao folks would make this comfort “common” person’s meal. I’m definitely common so that’s okay with me!
“kow poon nam pba” It also comes with chicken and pork loaf slices, tamarind sauce and more pepper garnish, but I forgot to take a photo
I forgot that the first time there I also tried the premade chicken offal curry. I liked it, but I think again, some westerners (heck even some Asian folks) might be turned off by organ meat. It’s good guys, give it a try sometime.
For this visit we tried the beef curry, and you know what, it’s excellent just like the beef rendang at the Indonesian place! I definitely recommend this and regular ol jasmine rice for a great meal for $10+ dollars!
Beef Curry
I didn’t expect this simple food post to become a rolling post, but hey I like supporting things are cool, unique and well worth it. Food is definitely one of those. Even with all the crazy Asian options that we have in Atlanta, it’s nice to be able to find ones that taste like home cooking.
