Vincent Bradley

Hi Everyone! Aung asked me to chime in. If there ends up being a closure it will be in late summer and will result from a gap between a lease ending and a new/or the same space being ready. A lot of this “news” really isn’t determined. However, to be clear, there are *no* plans to close Mandalay permanently. Additionally, Aung has you all covered - if there does end up being a period where Mandalay Silver Spring is not open for service, you will still be able to get your Burmese salad fix in Georgetown! Watch for more news about Bandoola Bowls soon ... https://m.facebook.com/bandoolabowl/

Thanks for the review, Rieux. We are continuing to perfect the experience. If possible please stop by for a curry in the downstairs bar, or our 'late brunch' 2pm- 10pm Sundays that just started today (more info at end of post). I'd like to see if we can duplicate the music issue you experienced - I think I was here that night, and sound is a challenge for us. We only have one sound system, and we are attempting to use the open ceiling to the 2nd floor to channel the music for both seating areas. I forwarded your email to the staff so they can see it as well. I'm sure the head chef would love to talk to you about your Burmese dining experiences, and what you like most about the cuisine. He loves to hear from people about their experiences with what he loves. I do hope you will come back sometime soon. If I can help facilitate a meeting for you, please feel free to email me at questions@mandalaydc.com I apologize for the late response, it seems I still do not have my alerts set correctly here on donrockwell.com, and, of course, the holidays made me a bit busy. Have a great evening, hope to see you soon. Regarding the brunch program, we are currently offering 3 courses for $20, $2 extra if the red-meat curries are chosen for the curry. Choices of the courses are from 3 different salads, 3 different fried rice dishes, and 5 different curries, and comes with a burmese iced coffee. Desserts are an extra $6, a choice of two. Tonight there is an additional mushroom curry being offered, but this is just for tonight. The cocktail special is a red-eye, a burmese variation on a Michelada, using the house hot sauce, a house pickled brine, and Singha beer, priced at $8. On Sundays we also feature all day half priced bottles of wine. I hope everyone had a great holiday, and a great start to the new year. - Vincent questions@mandalaydc.com

it was a bad joke related to "walkin"

Hi Bill! I will work with the chef to determine why the spice level wasn't what you had hoped, and I'm glad you liked the food and cocktails. We hope you come back soon. We are considering a hot pepper evening, perhaps once a month. If you would like to be alerted to when that occurs, please send an email to events@mandalaydc.com Regarding the three courses coming together, I must reiterate, for us it's a tough call. For me, I could eat one course at time, reach the end, and feel mildly stuffed, unless it is a particularly starchy slant in the 7 course theme (the vegetarian courses sometimes are starchy even as they are wonderful). However, many guests that have joined us, like Gadarene mentioned in his post, are filled up much sooner than I. For them, bringing out the three courses at once allows a tasting of each, while they are the temperature that they ought to be served at, with the option to then pack them to go and enjoy the dessert on a less full stomach. The number of guests that prefer one or the other is about equal. I definitely agree the pacing would be better if they were brought out one at a time, and we are trying to figure out how to work that out better, though, again, sometimes our guests actual are fine with faster pacing. I think this needs to be addressed better as we greet our guests. Thanks for all the great feedback, sorry I had disappeared for awhile. For those keeping track, we have some news regarding Palace goings -on. The downstairs lounge will be having regular half-priced bottles of wine during our Sunday happy hours. And if it's a particularly blustery day please check out our facebook page (www.facebook.com/themandalaybuilding) to see if head chef Aung is serving up some free boothee hingar (long squash with peppered clear-broth soup) to help everyone stay warm. Have a great week, everybody. - Vincent

Hi Lackadaisi, There are no reservations for the same day because the menus are drawn up the night before the dining experience, and the ingredients are bought the morning before preparation and service. It's not that we were fully booked seats wise, but we were fully booked for the amount of service that was reserved in advance. We can't accept walk-ins (aside from The Christopher, since saying 'no' to him seems risky) for the tasting experience because we only purchase enough food for the reserved seats. The standard price is $70 for a 7 course chef's choice tasting experience, catered to all individually specified per guest dietary restrictions. We are having regular, but not regularly scheduled yet, vegetarian discount nights where the vegan 7 courses are $50. If you'd like to be notified about that, please email events@mandalaydc.com or keep track of our facebook page at www.facebook.com/themandalaybuilding . Meanwhile, due to demand, we have expanded the menu downstair's Palace Lounge and Bar, which is walk-in only dining, to include curries starting tonight. The specific items that are present on the menu in The Palace will change daily with the changing of ingredients bought daily for the 7 course tasting reserved seatings. Today, Tuesday, November 5th, The Palace is offering: Potato and sweet onion marsala curry, Pork and cucumber curry Three chili Ground Pork Curry Three chili Fried Tofu Curry Pork cucumber salad Roasted chicken salad Long bean salad Samosa salad Papaya salad Spring rolls ( chicken/ bean noodles) Samosas ( dice potatoes, onion, curry) Eggplant wrap with spring roll skin Pepyoke ( fried yellow beans with onion on top of flour chip)

Hi Cheezepowder, I'm still catching up, but wanted to reassure and clarify that the head chef, Aung Myint, at The Mandalay Building in Shaw loves the challenge of catering to dietary restrictions per guest. He makes it a point of personal pride to make sure people never feel 'left out' of a good dining experience. The reservation form asks for dietary restrictions per guest. - Vincent

Hi Cheezepowder! Thanks for the welcome! The bar lounge, "The Palace", is subject to the whims of the reservations. At this point with how busy it isn't yet, the restaurant is purchasing ingredients for the reservations in The Tower (7 course tasting prix fixe), and extra, with some staples, to make items for The Palace. We guarantee some great fried goods with Burmese hot sauce, and two Burmese salads, but the feature ingredients in all could change daily. There will always be vegan items and meaty items. I myself am hoping the home-sprouted pepyoke (yellow verdana beans, like a small and very savory chick-pea) on house made tortilla chips will remain a staple. Perhaps I should change my moniker now that I wrote that. We are planning on offering hot soups as well, when the weather makes them even more desirable. Drinks wise, the happy hour menu currently features craft cocktails made with house made infusions, and discounted wine and beer. And we are working on a signature cocktail, currently focused on the only cocktail we found that was invented in Burma, the Pegu. Come on in, give it a try, and tell us what you think. - Vincent

Thanks, Gadarene! Glad to help. Regarding the follow-up on reservations, one of our staff will be trying to follow up on all reservations well in advance of the day before to make sure all dietary restrictions are adequately communicated. In this particular scenario, I responded when the re-schedule for the next day arrived. Head chef Aung Myint prides himself on being able to make meals for restricted diners that make the unrestricted eaters envious. At 5pm the night before a seating is when he takes all the reservation requests and restrictions and composes the 7 courses per guest. The next morning he buys all the ingredients, and what he finds while shopping will sometimes alter the plan if he finds an ingredient that he finds particularly inspiring. Great to e-meet you, and thanks for the introduction to Don Rockwell.com - Vincent

Hi Everyone, I'm a new member, my name is Vincent, and I'm helping out with PR and events management at DC's newest location for Burmese cuisine, The Mandalay Building in Shaw at 9th and P Streets NW. We feature a 7 course tasting menu in "The Tower", and a bar and lounge area on the groud floor, "The Palace". In the spring we hope to open up asian themed beer garden, "The Grounds". I've primarily joined in order to answer questions any Don Rockwell.com members may have related to the new restaurant where I am, but I am a native DC area foodie and recent dabbler in the arts and enjoyment of mixology. Vincent questions@mandalaydc.com