Paparikas

UPDATE: new favorite item, salt and pepper chicken wings, cooked perfectly, nice crunch on the outside, juicy on the inside, flavor keeps you wanting to eat more. I’d come back for that alone.
New lunch spot serving Chinese/​Southeast Asian food. Great when you need a quick bite, they also have seating for if you want to eat there. I ordered a tea leaf salad, loved that they use cabbage, which is what my family uses, I hate when restaurants use lettuce. I’ve had their coconut curry noodles, tastes were on point, I liked that the sauce was thick and not too watery. My family is from Burma so I tend to get picky about Burmese dishes, so I’m glad i can add this spot to my list of rotating lunch spots. The second time I came I got their two item combo with rice/​noodle. I got the Tom yum fried rice with General Tso’s chicken and Kung Pai chicken. Everything tastes delicious. I tend to like stronger flavors so I’m glad nothing was too bland. I will be returning to try more items.

Came back a few more times and finally found something unique about this place other than the tea salad.
*****COCONUT CHICKEN NOODLE*****
The name and color of the dish makes me think Thai Curry, but Thai Curry it is not. After every bite, i would try to figure out how they make this sauce. At the end of the meal, i just gave up. I never had anything like this before. It’s doesn’t seem to be a chinese dish at all, it’s probably a fusion thing. Oh well, i will just come back for more if i can’t make this myself.

Was in the area for a training and saw this place just opened. Why not give it a try? First of all I Love the coconut chicken with noodles! It’s not too heavy and flavor was delightful. The lemon ice tea is good and all under 12 bucks with tips which is normally what I spend for a tiny meal at the airport. The quality of food is definitely better than some of the restaurant I’ve had in the airport. Oh btw 12 bucks at the airport is with my employee discount and without a drink. I will be 100% coming back next time to try the tea lead salad!

The food here is good and always leaves me coming back for more. I had the tea leaf salad on my first visit. The salad portion was a good size and the fixings were plentiful. I was shocked that I was full off of salad. On my second visit, I got the coconut chicken curry noodles. The chicken was tender and the curry flavor was much to my liking. The egg noodle complimented the curry very well. This is currently my favorite dish. They also serve milk tea and lemon tea (which is hard to find, unless you hike into Chinatown). Overall I think the food here is really good and would be coming here often for lunch. Prices are decent too.

Paparikas recently opened near my office in the FiDi and I decided to stop by and try out their food. It’s standard Panda Express style Chinese/​Southeast Asian food with the option of chow mein/​fried rice and 2 items for $ 7.95 or chow mein/​fried rice and 1 item for $ 6.95. The food is not too greasy and perfectly seasoned. They have several food items on rotation with assorted veggies and tofu and broccoli beef, but the General Tso’s chicken seems to be the best seller. They also have a Burmese tea leaf salad and coconut chicken noodles that can be purchased on the side. The seating area is spacious and clean. Overall, an affordable spot to grab a quick lunch.

Time: 12:27pm/64°F partly sunny
Purpose: Unnamed source told me to try tea leaf salad. First time around they didn’t have it, and a wait of 15 min wait, I left. Place a call to see if any was available following day, and they did.
Ambiance: Paparikas replaces Evergreen with little to not much changes. Structural wise, the same except for the counter area, as it show some effort to brighten up. Nothing to say here other than, its a 28 seater with standard dining table front to back. Rest of place sits a self help beverage fridge and makeshift utensil counter with water dispenser. The counter area is all about steam table with iPad, tip jar, prepare condiment, and to-​go supplies. Hand written overhead blackboard menu panel round off the place. There’s no entertainment of any, and in some cases feels cold and not too inviting. Anyways, its a place to grab a quick bite provided that time is not on your side.
Staff: Two guys mid 30s manning the front. Not too engaging just kept to themselves. I stood about two minutes before one of them acknowledge me, and offer samples. Other guy was helping out with peak lunch rush. I didn’t have any problems, but CS could’ve been better. A BOH worker older asian guy stood nearby watching on to replenish entrée.
Cleanliness: Grade A, knowing the last tenant didn’t have a good history of sanitation. Paparikas shows effort to remedy that problem. It was clean and passable with nothing that would suggest the otherwise.
Eats/​Drinks: Full size tea leaf salad $ 7.95 was just average. I was expecting a knock your socks off experience, but it just fell a tad short. Lettuce were crunchy and fresh, with no browning or excessive water from rinsing. I judge tea leaf salad by their main ingredient. In this case, it was pickled tea leafs. It had a soft paste form with a salted pungent taste when consume itself. Peanut and toasted sesame seeds for garnish, but also added nutty taste. Fried garlic pieces and dried shrimp was a hit without those two ingredients you’re looking at a regular iceberg salad. Tomatoes were a bit under ripe, but had enough flavor to the buds.
Main Features: Rice or noodle+two itmes, tea leaf salad.
Products/​Services: Twelve items on steam table rotated daily-​general tso chicken, fried rice, Singapore, chow fun, chow mein, tea leaf salad, coconut chicken noodle, mango beef, stir-​fry lotus root, mixed veggie, samosa, assorted bottled/​can beverages, takes plastic, dine-​in/​to-​go, most table for two, close early (4pm).
Punch Lines: Standard prepare Chinese/​Burmese, some fusion, cook and ready, under $ 8 combos, samples, warm service, continuous replenishing, quick bites, within steps of Chinatown/​Fi-​Di, street parking (not encourage).
Tradeoffs: You come to get your Chinese food cravings in a Panda Express fashion. Simple, fast, and easy nothing to it, just no fortune cookie.
Final Thoughts: It’s like this, even with a new business name, I still feel iffy about the place. Why? Because of local news pointing that way in the past and offering are about the same. Not saying it’s bad or good, I’m saying it depends on your mood and how much time you’ve on hand. There are better places around, but probably have a wait time. So, it really depends on the person and their budget despite past reputation. It’s really a 3.5 star place, but tea leaf salad, samples, and so-​so service. I’ll round it off to 4 stars, it’s all that I can muster out.

I work near the Transamerica and frequent the restaurants on this block at least three times a week. This is now my Wednesday joint as it replaces Evergreen Café. I had their rice and noodle plus two item combo last week. Got the Tom Yum Fried Rice (kind of interesting as normal places only serve Tom Yum soup or noodles in soup), Tea Leaf Salad and Coconut Curry Chicken. All of them tasted great and the prices were fair, or even on the cheaper side, especially in financial district where a lunch plus drink will run you $ 15. I did like how they let you choose cold and hot items in one «container» as most Asian fast-​casual places only serve hot food. This is a nice addition, will patronize again!

Came here during lunch hour today for a quick bite since it’s the first Asian fusion place I have seen that’s within walking distance from my work and was enticed to check it out. I ordered a 2 item combo with noodles (vegetable chow mein) with sides of stir fried lotus root and mixed vegetables. I also really wanted to try the tea leaf salad after seeing some photos from previous reviews.
First of all, the portions were very generous and the prices can’t be beat! It was $ 7.95 for the combo and $ 3 for a mini tea leaf salad. The chow mein had the perfect level of chewiness for me and wasn’t too salty or greasy. I was pleasantly surprised by the stir fried lotus root since it was very crunchy and had a hint of sweetness which was unexpected but delicious. The mixed vegetables side was pretty standard Chinese fare but wasn’t bland at least.
My favorite was the tea leaf salad though and I love that you can get a mini size! It was made to order and I got a heaping dollop of tea leaf… mmm. So fresh and flavorful… this is definitely a must-​try item here!
Lastly, I also got a hot milk tea to-​go (I forget the price but I believe it was $ 2.50). This drink brought me back to the HK cafes in Hong Kong. It tasted authentic, not powdery at all, and was just sweet enough for me.
All in all, very reasonable prices for a filling and tasty meal that is close to the FiDi and Chinatown. Can’t wait to come back to try other items next time!

Tried this place out today cuz it was grand opening. The Burmese tea leaf salad is authentic and delicious. Young dudes running the show but food is legit. I’d definitely come back to try other things.