This is my third post on Banana Leaf. You can read my earlier post here and here. What I love about this chain is that it allows you to savor the best of Asia's varied cuisines without having to board a plane. For this visit I tried two of their bestsellers.
First was the Penang Char Kway Teow
Char Kway Teow, meaning stir-fired ricecake strips, is popular in Malaysia and Singapore, and is made of flat rice noodles, soy sauce, prawns, cockles, bean sprouts, chives, egg, sausage, and fishcake. This was originally a cheap source of energy for laborers. Banana Leaf's version is smoky and spicy, with the distinct aroma of fish sauce. I love the crunch from the sprouts, the chewy flat noodles, and how the fried egg absorbed the strong flavors. Imagine how glorious this could be if they didn't dial down the heat (note to self: remind restaurants you don't mind dishes as spicy as they should be).
The second dish was the Pandan Chicken
Banana Leaf's Pandan Chicken was - juicy and succulent, with a pronounced pandan aroma. This comes close to Azuthai's version (click here for my review), which is the best for me. They paired this with sweet spicy sauce. I noticed that they let the meat soak in the mixture a tad too long, but the dish was still good nonetheless
Banana Leaf Asian Cafe
188-189 Level 1 Robinson's Place
Midtown, Ermita, Manila
(+63) 02 567-1888
No comments:
Post a Comment