Comfort food of choice: laksa 22 August 2007
When the weather is like it is - rainy, story, monsoony - it’s always great to have a nice bowl of soup. Getting caught in the mall during the downpour becomes all the more bearable if there is a Banana Leaf Asian Cafe. They have these great and very affordable (P12 
laksa soups, our latest comfort food. (Although they have the same name and a lot of their menu items are the same, Banana Leaf restaurant doesn’t have the variety that the cafe offers.)
Curry laksa is noodles served in a spicy coconut curry soup. Sometimes meat, chicken or fish is added to the mix. Laksa is common in Malaysia and Singapore, and derives its name from Vietnamese coriander/cilantro, or laksa leaf (known in Vietnamese as rau ram, in Malay as daun kesum).
At Banana Leaf, you can opt to have either rice noodles or egg noodles. We always get the rice noodles. I know these noodles are usually bought in sheets, and they are simply sliced to about an inch wide. When I first tried this, I thought these were pieces of young coconut meat!
You also get to choose what meat to put in - beef satay, chicken, shrimp, wanton, crabsticks, fishcake, veggies - it’s nice to experiment with what you’ll eventually get your teeth into.
The base soup never changes, thank goodness. It’s a satisfying mix of curry, coconut milk, only mildly hot with dried chili flakes floating right in front of your very eyes. Plop this laksa in front of our family and it disappears pretty quickly, even D can hold her own. We’ve never tried cooking laksa but maybe it’s time to try!
More sites on laksa:
OOOH, a kindred spirit is right!! This looks amazing… I would need two bowls. Thanks for the visit and the comment… I’m adding you, too!
Gina
Mmmmmmmm, laksa! I haven’t tried Banana Leaf’s laksa yet. Must try it next time. We were quite disappointed when we ate there last weekend… everything we ordered was off! The hainanese chicken was salty, as is the char kway teow; the roti was hard, and the curry was a tad bitter.
I told the manager about it as we were about to leave. Here’s to hoping we don’t get spit in our food next time XD (but seriously, she seemed genuinely concerned… I really hope it was just a one time thing)
hi gina, so what’s for dinner tonight … laksa?
great to have found you!
nina, which branch was it? i noticed that the bigger branches (e.g. podium and when it was open - makati) usually have inconsistent food and service. i hope that your next trip is much better.
It was at the Block. Maybe the chef was having an off day or maybe it’s a new one? either way, I’m waiting a couple more weeks before coming back there XD
I LOVE Laksa! I haven’t tried the one at Banana Leaf though! Will try that soon!
Thanks for the lead.