Banana Leaf

NO MORE SINGAPORE LAKSA My first spoon of the Singapore Laksa years ago was one that brought ELATION to my taste buds. When I started dating the woman who is now my wife, I had to bring her to taste the Laksa and she loved it as much as I did. We returned many times to Banana Leaf, one of us suggesting getting Laksa and the other having to oblige in UNANIMOUS agreement. When Banana Leaf was temporarily closed we were eagerly awaiting its reopening. We were joyous when it reopened, and shortly arrived at the restaurant to find that THE SINGAPORE LAKSA IS GONE! We got noodles that tasted good but the portion size is smaller than before the temporary closure. There are other Laksa options, but none with the same ingredients. The Singapore Laksa was a staple of Banana Leaf, and it was what brought us to eat here. We ask the owners to please add it back to the menu.

Where's the rice????So surprised that only four tables were filled, so it was easy to walk in and find a table on a Saturday night around 7 PM. This used to be a family favorite and we were prepared for a long wait. At one point, they were so busy that they built a second location across the street in the H-Mart shopping center. That was not the case on our most recent visit. Considering how empty they were, we were surprised at how slow and how disorganized they were with not only our order, but other people dining. As we waited and waited and waited for them to take our order, they brought the wrong order to almost every table that was near us. Beef instead of chicken, roti to the wrong table, forget an order completely. This should have been a clue to our meal that followed, but we remembered our family dinners in the past so fondly. So we stayed and we waited. Just as we were about to leave, our waiter finally took our order. Roti, chicken curry and a sizzling tofu with veggies with glasses of water. Not too complicated. The chicken curry came out first. We asked about the plain rice. The waiter said, oops I forget it. I'll bring it right out. Then came the roti. Still no rice. We watched as the tables that came in and ordered their orders after us get red bowls filled with rice and for our table, still no rice and the same oops, I forgot again. The sizzling tofu came out. Surprised at the veggies, but still no rice. Finally the busboy clearing the table next to us helped us with our order of plain white rice. Used to be a family favorite, but next time we are craving Malaysian food, will make the drive to Katy and eat at Uncle Chin's Kitchen. The Roasted Hainanese Chicken with chicken rice and Malaysian Chicken Curry are so delicious at Uncle Chin's Kitchen.

A great restaurant for family style and plenty of space for larger parties. We tried 6 different dishes:-Roti Canai (5/5): really crispy and flaky southeast Asian pancake with some sort of curry based sauce. Definitely one of the best appetizers-Stir-fried flat rice noodle (4/5): very standard noodle dish. I do think there could have been more flavor but overall not bad. Add some of the spicy sauce for an extra kick. -Chicken and beef satay mix (3/5): the skewers were pretty small and the chicken was on the drier side. -Curry laksa (5/5): I love a good noodle soup and especially one that is curry based! This was my favorite dish of the evening as the soup had really good flavor. -Malaysian style spare ribs (4/5): they came out really hot and crispy. The sauce was a sweeter sauce and went well with the ribs. -Nasi Lemak (3/5): this dish was kind of hard for sharing and I probably wouldn't order this again, but that's only because of the anchovies. Overall, if you're looking for some Malaysian food in Chinatown, this is a decent spot!

I've been here three times now, and I'm dying to go back! Twice on weekends and once on a weekday. The weekday food experience was not at the same level as the weekend experience. They're able to accommodate small to medium size groups (about 6 people is probably the max). The restaurant is pretty small. The service is excellent. The servers all work together, and they're very efficient.Onto the food!Appetizer: Try the roti kanai!Sizzlers: pepper chicken and pepper beef are both delish!Curry chicken and Beef Rendag are also favorites.I'll be back this week... hehe

Very small place in the china town section of bellaire in Houston. Have been here many times so decided to give a review. Have not been for a long time so finally decided to leave some thoughts. Had the sizzling beef dish for main and I always start with the roti, some of the best I have ever had. The roti comes with a curry sauce and the satay is char grilled to perfection. Many speciality drinks like coconut water to choose from as well. I usually just get water to enjoy the awesome flavors!

dinned here many times, absolutely love banana leaf. you can be seated easily most times. i will say it's a smaller restaurant with lots of seating so it can feel a bit crowed sometimes but the food makes up for that. they serve fresh coconut and also thai tea, along with other soft drinks etc. as for food, we order a lot when we go, and we usually get the same thing most of the time but switch it up from time to time. here are the go to's i recommend:for starters roti kani, and chicken satay. then pad thai (i usually ask the tofu to be removed), beef rendang, and another noodle or rice dish. i've tried the laksa and it is yummy but just doesn't go with me. the mango chicken is delicious as well. the most delicious menu item we've recently tried was the sizzling beef... so worth it!!! sizzling beef so tender, flavorful and juicy -yummmmm!!!banana leaf is always a yesss!

Best Malaysian restaurant in Houston. We tried a few places but keep on coming back here. There are a few dishes that we always come back to. - Sizzling Malaysian bean curd - comes in a sizzling hot plate. Use egg tofu which is much tastier than regular tofu. It comes with mixed seafood sauce and egg at the bottom.- morning glory with belachan sauce. Belachan is made of shrimp paste and has a distinct flavor. Used in Southeast Asian cooking.- Beef Rebdang. Beef was very tender and sauce is amazing! Eat with rice. :-)Staff is very friendly and you can always ask for recommendations. Other dishes worth mentioning are the Roti Canai (Indian crepe with curry sauce)z. Great starter. We also like the Hainese chicken (steamed chicken) and noodles dishes. Restaurant is pretty casual with rustic Asian feel. Dark wooden tables with glass top and chairs. Hope you give them a try. Food can be spicy so you should ask before ordering.

love the new way they serve bf rendang right now! the fire on the bottom not only keeps the heat,but also add more aroma into it, highly recommand!

Banana Leaf is indeed under new management and removed many of their old dishes from the new menu. The food that remain do not taste the same...in fact they taste much worse.Most disappointing is the Sizzling Tofu...it is now bland, and the sauce contains no pork nor shrimp mixed in. Many of their other dishes have sauces with hot chillie oil mixed in which they never did before. When you order take out, they don't provide you rice either.We unfortunately will never return and will tell all our old friends that use to love Banana so they won't make the same mistake we did. I can't imagine this place staying in business for long.

We use to eat at this place so many times. They change owner or chef and the food is not the same anymore. It does taste as good like before!