Banana Leaf

The only thing I know about Malaysian food is that it has a lot of influences from other parts of Asia. Today, our party of three decided to educate our taste buds and brains about Malaysian food. We ordered roti and vegetable samosa off the appetizer menu (Indian inspiration?), Golden shrimp with white rice and egg roll from the lunch special menu (Chinese influence?), and coconut shrimps from the main menu (Malaysian origin?). The roti which was paired with a type of sauce that I had never tasted before. The roti sauce was so good, I dipped the samosa in it and I poured over my white rice. The samosa was not spicy like the Indian version. It was ok but I did not like the sweet and sour sauce that came with it. I used the roti sauce. The Golden shrimp was cooked I think with Chinese red chili oil and onion. The heat level was medium and there were good numbers of medium size shrimps. I enjoyed this dish because the heat was not so high that it ruin the taste of the shrimps and onions. The star of this show was the coconut shrimps. The shrimps were fried perfectly and not greasy. But what really defined this dish was the fried crunchy coconut shaving and herbs. I don’t know how to describe the taste and texture of the saving, it was just good eating. The shaving was so good I could eat it with rice without any protein. We plan to return and explore the menu some more.

I love how reasonable the prices are and the flavor a are bold. I would say it is almost a mix of Thai and Indian, in a great way. Service is great, prices are so reasonable, and food comes out quick. Yum!

I ate here twice and the food was just ok. They take card. The service wasn’t the good. Typical Chinatown service where you have to wave at someone to get served, but actually they still sometimes ignore you for a bit before finally getting to you. Since the food was just ok, I also think that this place is very overpriced! I remember getting coconut shrimp in New York for half the price they charge here! And the fried intestines my friend ordered had hairs and bone in it for some reason…

Roti canai. Start and end of my review. There’s like a million options on the menu but, the only thing that draws me back here is the roti canai. It’s the epitome of pleasure, of indulgence, pure bliss, unadulterated happiness. On this occasion, its all we ordered, that and two other appetizers — roti telur and roti murtabak (roti with egg and beef respectively).
Very friendly waiters and impeccable service. Must visit if you are around in that complex. Roti canai. *drop mike*

To be honest, i never knew this restaurant was located in Bellaire until a friend showed me. Nonetheless, the food was really good (ask your waiter for recommendation) and service was really nice and friendly.
Now i am not exactly sure why this place only have 3 and a half star on Unilocal,but that doesn’t matter because it does not reflect against how good the meal last night was: D So if you guys are looking for a place to eat in Bellaire, do not hesitate and give this place a try!

I remember when I always said that I would try this place out, but I always end up dining elsewhere, but after the initial sit-​down dining I immediately fell in love. My family and I have become obsessed with this place to the point where the servers know exactly what we’re going to order and how we like our food.
There are plenty of different dishes to choose from. I always get a noodle dish, a rice dish, a tofu dish, and a veggie dish. This is the basic order and depending on who I’m with I’ll add more as I go along.
The food is pretty consistent and very flavorful! I love that everything is so saucy and have much seasoning. I come back time and time again. Service here is good and everyone is friendly. Just writing this makes me hungry. Time to visit again!

Always good food!
Come here every time we have out of town guests; nice to have the reminders of Malaysia in Houston!

My husband and I went here on a whim and I’m so glad we did! Aside from Hainanese chicken, I’ve never had Malaysian food and neither has my husband.
The inside of the restaurant is very clean and there were a lot of Asian people which is always a good sign that the food is good! We got the roti with egg. It was incredibly flakey on the outside and soft on the inside with egg and some vegetables and a delicious curry dipping sauce! My husband ordered the Hainanese chicken curry noodle soup (extra spicy) and I ordered the Singapore laksa curry noodle soup that has chicken, pork, shrimp, tofu puffs, green onion and bean sprouts. The noodles were delicious and the soup was very good; I’ve never had anything like it. The bowl of soup was also HUGE for only $ 8-​$ 9. We’ll definitely be back!

It was hard to pick since there was so much to choose from. We ordered based on earlier reviews. Very tasty! We had the bean curd or grilled soy, really tasty. The best tofu I’ve ever had. We also ordered the eggplant vegetable dish, which my guy said was the best he had. And we got the veggie casserole which is actually a veggie curry. Great flavors and more impressive the next day for left overs. They also have a Banana Leaf II across the street which has an alcohol license, if you want to order beer or Sake with dinner. Now we know.

–great customer service!
–food tasted delicious !
–I really like this place, I will totally recommend it to anyone

I been to Banana Leaf and Banana Leaf II many times with my family and never been disappointed.
Banana Leaf and the second location taste the same in quality but if you’re bringing a large party like my family DEFINITELY go to Banana Leaf II next to H Mart, it’s two times bigger than the one on Dun Huang Plaza.
My family usually eat family style when we go here because I believe it’s cheaper like that and we share lol. But the Pad Thai, Beef Curry and the chicken/​beef satay are my favorite things here!
If you like Malaysian food come here! It’s a great experience!

Quick, tasty food. Popular, so arrive early or during off-​hours.
Banana Leaf is located in a strip center just inside the beltway on Bellaire. If you hit Corporate Drive, you have gone too far. The restaurant is so small and popular that it has two locations. The second BL location is close, a short walk away on the north side of Bellaire.
Before you arrive, get the Groupon deal. I arrived with some coworkers with a $ 22 Groupon that cost me $ 17. Two appetizers and three main courses came to around $ 52 prior to applying the Groupon.
We started with some Indian Roti Canai and pork intestines. The bread was light and tasty. I’m usually not inclined to eat tripe when I have Dim Sum, but the pork intestines dish was very crispy and the onions enhanced the taste. I liked it.
Although BL had a lunch menu, my group decided on three dishes to share family-​style. We had the Sizzling Malay Bean Curd, Beef Rendang, and the Curry Jumbo Shrimp Casserole.
My favorite dish was the Shrimp Casserole. It was almost like a Cioppino stew, but with shrimp only. The sauce is like a thin curry, but is very tasty when ladled by itself over a bowl of rice. Lots of big chunks of vegetables included with large bites of shrimp.
The Beef Rendang had a thick, tasty sauce, but there was nothing special about the meat. The bean curd/​tofu dish had a delicious sauce and I enjoyed it.
One thing I really liked was that the food came out very quickly. My coworker said the food arrives at that speed on busy weekends as well.
When you are done with your meal, I like the fact that you have a few choices for dessert in the shopping center before going to your car. We walked to nearby Kung Fu Tea for some tasty green tea slushies.
I would like to return sometime and try a different dish. My buddy Vik was not as keen on the idea. The only thing that got me was a sulfur-​like smell that I noticed when I entered the restaurant. I put up with it, but am sure that would be an instant turn-​off for my wife.

It has been more than four or five years since we visited Houston’s Chinatown. We’re from Big D, and Houston is much bigger. We know the Chinatown here is more developed than the one (s) in Dallas. Among other things, this place is packed with restaurants of different Asian cuisines, such as Chinese, Malaysian, Vietnam, Thai, etc.
Banana Leaf is kind of a family style Malaysian restaurant. It’s not huge. In fact, it looks quite crowded when you walk in. We got here early in the evening, so the wait was brief (about 10 minutes).
We ordered some typical Malaysian food items. To start with, we asked for some roti with curry sauce. The roti was fresh off the pan. The curry sauce was very authentic. Malaysian curry carries a coconutty aroma. It didn’t take us long to empty the plate.
For entrees, we ordered a few: the sizzling tofu, Hainan chicken, fried okra, and fried noodles. Among them, the fried tofu was awesome. It came elegantly on a hot metal tray over a flat wooden stand. The tofu itself was nicely seasoned, unlike other tufo I had before, which was rather plain. The tofu was dressed with a very delicious dark sauce. What was interesting is that the bottom of the iron tray has a thin layer of egg, which we didn’t know until we used a spoon to scoop up some tufo. It was like they poured a thin layer of beaten egg over the hot plate before placing the tofu on it.
The okra was nicely fried with their «secret» sauce. It was very tasty indeed. The other two dishes (Hainan chicken and fried noodles) were good, but not as good as the tofu and okra.
The service was good. The server who took our order did show his patience and knowledge of the dishes. I have to say he has a good memory. He didn’t write down anything on what we ordered. All the items we asked for came out correctly. He didn’t miss anything!
All waiters/​waitresses from other restaurants should get training from him so as to save paper and chemical ink.

Malaysian place with 2 locations across from each other. confusing!
Food: quite tasty. although not the best ever. sone dishes are better here than the competition next door.
mee siam: yum! go-​to non-​fried recommendation. bit of variety from usually pad thai
curry laksa soup: soupy-​curry noodles. default soup choice
beef rendang: meh. too much cinnamon flavor
mixed appetizer plate: not worth. split an extra entrée instead
Service: 2 stars for dine-​in. 4 stars for takeout.
dine-​in: felt rushed and staff seemed very curt (to near unfriendliness). seemed reluctant to help understand items on the menu. gave generic answer of «everything is good» when asked for recommendations. seemed annoyed to refill water.
take-​out: efficient and well packed. still could work on friendliness.
Bottom Line: good malay food but don’t go late. sign says closes @9:30p but kitchen is closed earlier and they usually don’t seat dine-​in after 9p.

I came here for the first time with a group of 11 last week. The restaurant is pretty small, so if you have a large group I would recommend coming early, as it can get pretty crowded.
Roti Canai (⁴⁄₅) — Thin and crispy roti with with a tasty curry.
Satay Chicken (2.5÷5) — Kind of dry, but the sauce was good.
Sizzling Malaysian Style Bean Curd (4.5÷5) — The sauce on top was very flavorful, and the tofu was perfectly cooked.
Hainanese Chicken and Rice (⁵⁄₅) — I loved this dish. The chicken was tender, and the sauce had a nice ginger kick.
Pineapple Fried Rice — (3.5÷5) — Standard
Chow Fun (³⁄₅) — Fine, but kind of mushy
Beef Rendang (3.5÷5) — Nice flavor, the but the meat was tough
Crispy Calamari (4.5÷5) — Nicely cooked, and the onions and peppers and onions on top were great.
Sambal Shrimp (⁴⁄₅) — Big shrimps with a kick.

Houston, TX: First time trying Malaysian food.
Upon entering, I was immediately greeted with a friendly, «To Go?» in Chinese. Guess it was my not pausing in the doorway but made a bee line towards the cashier at the rear of the restaurant that gave him the clue. I was able to take advantage of the reduced lunch period prices as well.
FOOD
Beef Regnang with Rice
Huinanese Chicken with Rice
The portion sizes were perfect for lunch. The Beef Regnang was a tender curry stewed beef, with just a bit of spicey kick. The Huinanese Chicken was a bit bland but tender. Leftovers kept well to be reheated the next day. Perfect, tender white rice!
SNAPSHOT THOUGHT
Much thanks to generous Unilocal friend Momo B. for the great recommendation. Not only did I have an opportunity to sample a new cuisine, but in the process of getting to and from the restaurant, I had a chance to see a bit of Houston’s Chinatown and Vietnamese shopping areas along Bellaire Blvd.

Banana Leaf was my first Malay food experience, and because of this place, I’m in love with the Malaysian cuisine!
My first time here, I was searching for good Hainanese chicken and «bak kut teh» (Malay meat stew), and found them here. The Haianese chicken was to my expectation: moist and tender complemented well with the delicious soy-​based sauce, and it even came with the uniquely flavored ginger-​infused rice! The bak kut teh was also as good as I have expected and came at an unexpected large portion.
These has been my go-​to dishes since, but Banana Leaf has opened my eyes to the many other awesome dishes in the Malaysian cuisines, like the sizzling bean curd and the Malay style fried noodle. I don’t know any other Malay places aside from this and Mamak in Houston, because these two places have been doing a great job fulfilling my Malay food craving!
If you are looking for a good Malay food experience, Banana Leaf is a good place! Banana Leaf also has a weekday lunch special too with smaller portioned entrees with rice at a much cheaper price.
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NOTE: This review is for the Golden Food Plaza, which is about the same as the branch in the Dunhuang Plaza across the street. However, this newer branch has larger dining space and the parking lot is much less crowded.

I have only gotten to-​go orders at this location. First of all, they’re really nice on the phone. And because of sir proximity to the other location, they make it a point to specify, «we are the smaller location!!!»
Tom Yum Soup: hot and sour soup with seafood
Pad Thai: pretty standard
Pineapple fried rice: no, to-​go orders don’t come in a pineapple half. Loooove the succulent shrimp cooked just right.
Food is ready when I arrive; I never have to stand awkwardly and wait for them to pack it or anything. And they’re as nice in person as they are on the phone.

The first time I came here, it wasn’t really my choice. The group had a vote and I lost :-(anyways, I never had Malaysia food before and didn’t know what to expect. Fortunately I went with a bunch of foodies so they knew exactly what to order.
The restaurant is small, tables for party more than 4 are harder to find, so keep your party to 4 or under. We did family style and I thoroughly enjoyed the food. FYI, you can do a «half order» on some of the food so you can diversify your options.
The foodies in my group ordered the following:
Roti canai – loved the curry dipping sauce
Sizzling Malaysia style bean curd – my favorite dish, something about this dish that takes me back to my childhood. Loved the eggs at the bottom of the tofu.
Hainanese chicken – highly raved but I didn’t really care for it much
Sizzling seafood – decently good
First time had Malaysia food and loving it. I’ve been back once since then and planning on coming back.

When our group of 8 decided to go out to eat on a Friday night, we knew we had to arrive at our restaurant by 5:30 to have any hopes of avoiding a wait. Happily, we were seated immediately upon arrival. The servers were all very «attentive» and different ones kept swinging by to ask if we were ready to order as soon as we cracked open the menu. For over half of us, it was our first visit here and we had no idea what they had.
We started off with 3 orders of the Roti Canai. The pancakes were fluffy and crispy and the curry sauce was tasty. It was very good, but not as amazing as I thought it would be. The pancakes had a strange aftertaste in my opinion, and the curry sauce could have been more flavorful. A good start, though!
The servers brought out 2 containers of rice — one had your normal, steamed white rice. The other, a golden yellow, was rice mixed with some juice or stock from the Hainanese Chicken, the server said. The yellow rice was very fragrant and a welcome change to plain rice.
The rest of the dishes came out at a rapid rate.
Beef Rendang — The beef chunks were super tender and had that «melt in your mouth» quality that I love in stewed meats. The curry sauce was very good, although the coconut milk couldn’t be detected over the strong blend of spices used. This was one of the favorites of the night.
Hainanese Chicken — The chicken was juicy and moist. It definitely needed the soy sauce that came with it, but it still lacked a touch of salt or seasoning. It’s a good dish, but nothing too special or particularly delicious.
Sizzling Bean Curd — The platter topped off with golden brown chunks of fried tofu draped with a variety of vegetables and a brown sauce sizzling against the hot plate certainly looked gorgeous and appetizing. The tofu was delicious. However, the «special sauce» didn’t taste very special. It had an odd viscous texture that coated all the vegetables and lacked flavor.
Stir-​Fried Vegetarian Flat Noodles — The noodles were soft and chewy and the vegetables were cooked well. Like the Hainanese Chicken, this was a perfectly fine dish, but that’s all it was. Fine.
Banana Leaf Peanut Pancake + Banana Leaf Banana Pancake — These were basically the same pancakes from the Roti Canai dish with either some crushed peanuts or paper thin banana slices sandwiched in between. Kind of just… disappointing. They were very small and thin. Save your money and go to one of the nearby bakeries for dessert. For $ 5.50 and $ 6.00 each, this is a rip off.
Overall, the whole experience at Banana Leaf was pleasant. The food portions were rather small and the dishes ranged from mediocre to very good. Servers were attentive and the food came out rapidly. Get here early during weekend dinners, especially if you have a large group. By the time we were finished, a short line had began to form.
DON’T get dessert here! Go to one of the many bakeries or shaved ice stores in the plaza instead.