Think Asian food and what comes to mind is the more popular Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines. The rich flavors of Malaysia and Indonesia won’t even merit a mention to the ordinary Filipino public — a shame considering that these countries are our closest neighbors. Well, this will surely change with the growing popularity of Banana Leaf Curry, with outlets in The Podium (Ortigas Center, Pasig City), Greenbelt (Ayala Center, Makati City), Powerplant Mall (Makati City), and The Block (SM North Edsa, Quezon City)
Expect the flavors of curry, coconut milk, peanuts, and tons of chili! No need to worry about burning your tongue, though. Spiciness of dishes are on a requests-basis.
A delight for curry lovers are the various curry dishes on their menu — red curry, yellow curry, green curry, you name, they have, and they have it good! A word of advice, however. Order plain rice since Malaysian food is very rich and full of different melding flavors. It can overwhelm the palette if you top all these interesting dishes with fried rice. If you like your food hot and spicy, pair it up with a bottomless iced tea.
Chefs at Banana Leaf Curry House are trained in Hong Kong and Malaysia so food is as authentic as you can get for the price you pay. Five hundred bucks is enough for a family of four. If you’re a beginner in Asian cuisine, we suggest the Chicken Satay and the Roti Canai — an original Indial dish cooked like crepes, it is fluffy and flaky, like pancakes and croissants combined. It is dipped in an excellent curry sauce. Follow with the Char-grilled Sate Shortribs Madura and the Hainanese Chicken. Also try Penang Char Kway Teow, made of stiff fried rice noodles with shrimps, bean sprouts, green chives, and egg. This combination may send you boarding the next plane to Malaysia!
Bamboo and rough cement finish are the basic decorating elements of the resto Banana Leaf Curry. Not exactly Indo-Malay in theme, but then, people don’t come for the decor. Service is excellent, attendants are prompt.
Banana Leaf and Curry satisfies the appetites of both cuisine conservatives and culinary daredevils. The food may be different, but it’s good, with enough selection that the kids will love, a perfect intro to more exotic food. They’ll also get a kick out of their food being served on banana leaves instead of plates. and since it’s at the heart of an upscale mall (Greenbelt, Powerplant, The Block, or The Podium), it adds points for accessibility as well.