For the love of Asian food! 3 January 2006

This review has been languishing in my computer for some time. But thank goodness as I can now make a more complete review, comparing two branches of Banana Leaf Curry House, the “original” and the other “rebranded.”

Had been putting off writing about the Banana Leaf for ages. It’s one of my favorite restaurants. It recently rebranded and changed its menu! Yeng and I had been waiting for its grand reopening at the Podium. Finally, with some relief, it was back with a slicker, more modern look and equally slick menus.

They also reformatted the entire space, which I noted with some dismay, as I loved that the glass-enclosed kitchen used to be the center to attention. Seeing the Indian chefs making our roti canai or grilling our order of satay was friendly and comforting. Dui made instant friends with one of them, as she was fascinated with how a ball of dough is rolled out so very thinly and cooked atop those industrial stovetops.

Unfortunately, the menu changes didn’t go our way. Now, instead or raving about the food, some of the raving will be interspersed with rants!

The main point is that this remains the place to go for our fill of authentic Asian cuisine – a mix of Indian, Indonesian, Singaporean, Thai and Chinese.

Don’t be alarmed that they don’t have plates, as the banana leaves laid out become instant plates, and hence, their name. (Aha, so that’s where they got their name!)

Our favorite dishes:

Roti canai (roti cha-nay)/chapatis/murtabak with curry sauce. All the breads some what resemble pita bread. Roti canai is nice and sweetish, chapatis are plain unleavened whole wheat bread, and murtabak is a savory roti with a filling of ground beef and egg. Try any of their Indian breads and dip into their famous hot and spicy curry sauce! Ah, their curry sauce is too die for! I think the fact there are whole green cardomom pods and curry leaf in it makes a world of difference. The serving at The Podium was scant. But we got some curry sauce to go from Makati and they gave us a humungous serving good for two meals! (take my advice, make your own roti at home and buy their curry sauce, it’s only 30 pesos!)

Dalca (dal-cha), a vegetarian Pakistani dish of lentils, okra, green beans, potatoes, among others, in a comforting curry. Unfortunately, they removed this from their new menu. We ordered it on our recent meal at the Makati branch, which is still to go under renovation, and therefore hasn’t changed its menu.

Nasi goring nenas, an Indonesian favorite, of fried rice served in half a scooped out pineapple. A variety of spices, a few bits of chicken, and the pineapple served on the side.

Seafood laksa, with its hodgepodge of seafood with laksa (or coconut flower) in coconut soup. I like that its a little hot, makes it just right.

Satay, now only available in chicken. Tender chicken on sticks, drizzled with honey, with the wonderful peanut dipping sauce. Freshly grilled, especially for you, so there’s a bit of a wait. There used to be a great choice of beef and lamb (Yeng’s favorite), but guess this didn’t go too well with Filipinos.

Thai pandan chicken. Dui’s favorite! Marinated chicken breast, artistically and meticulously encased in pandan leaves and deep fried. Nice , sweet, chicken! Served with a sweet soy sauce, now (funnily) served with sweet chili sauce. (Guess the Pinoys requested this quite a bit, hence the change)

My favorite drinks: Teh tahrik, cold please. I think this is the equivalent of pulled tea in India. It’s a black tea, very sweet with milk. Lime juice with barley. Fresh (and refreshing!) lime juice with a generous helping of barley rolling around at the bottom.

With the new menu, I hate the fact that they removed the dishes that were spicy or atypical to the Filipino palate (anything not sweet? Hahaha). Strangely absent are all the lamb dishes (faves included lamb satay and Pakistani lamb curry), the lovely garnishes I enjoyed with a majority of their dishes (cost cutting?), and a slimming down of their once generous serving of plain steamed rice. The new menu now seems to be dominated with chicken dishes and stir fries, particularly in the vegetables!

As for the service, they did away with the doorbell buzzers at the Podium branch (can anyone say tacky?) but the service is a little on the slow side. But this is tolerable compared to the infinitely terrible service at the Makati branch. I would be scared to bring a small crowd to the Makati branch, as service for three took quite some time, I can only imagine …

The Podium branch is leagues ahead of the Makati branch in terms of the restaurant look. It is spanking new, with a modern striped motif and vibrant mural at the front. But I really miss the old world charm that the unrebranded restaurant had – pink walls, wood carvings, the wooden lamps hanging over the tables, and the ethnic music playing. The Makati banch is badly in need of a renovation with its threadbare seats, dry water fountains, and the scuffed floor. Sometimes I’m reminded of a school canteen rather than a restaurant when I am at the Makati branch!

I dread the time when all the branches follow suit in the rebranding. The menu changes smack of homogenization and commercialization. While the Makati branch serves up the old menu, we will probably be going there over The Podium if but to enjoy the last vestiges of our favorites which hopefully aren’t under a sticker “not available.” That is if we are willing to put up with the sucky service. Maybe we just need to learn how to cook what we enjoy instead of complaining!

Experience Asian cuisine at
Banana Leaf Curry House
Greenbelt, Makati
or
2nd floor, The Podium
18 ADB Avenue
Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong

Tels: 687.6808, 687.6818
Open for lunch and dinner