Continuing our trip through Chinatown Week, Collin Flatt landed at Banana Leaf and found that she’s a saucy multicultural mistress, and oh so tasty. 

True fusion. That’s all there is to say about Banana Leaf. The inappropriately named Chinatown can point any visitor to the door of this establishment for a great culinary journey through the most complete melting pot in the neighborhood.

Heavily influenced by India, Cambodia, and Vietnam, Malaysian cooking is the best of all worlds. Big on sauces and aromatics, the Leafers have put together a thorough and challenging menu. Not shying away from the more exotics the homeland(s) offer, you will find Duck Web, Fish Heads, Tripe, Chicken Feet, and a bevy of stuff I can’t even pronounce. All listed with Warnings For Whitey, at least they’re giving us the choice so many other establishments pull from the roster. Fear not, they also serve chicken.

These exotic offerings aren’t parlor tricks or shock value, either. There’s genius in the details, in the presentation. Mango Chicken is served in halved fruit, hollowed out and filled with fowl and fixins’. Pretty touches like this show up on a number of dishes on the menu, which is MASSIVE.

I had the very Indian Roti Canai to start, a puffy naan-like flatbread, sidekicked with a peanut curry dip that was swimming with potatoes and chicken. The bread was good, but the sauce was amazing. I kept the little bowl with me for the entire meal, fending off the server’s attempts to remove it after the other courses arrived. The heavily perfumed aroma kept me tuned in the whole meal.

The Banana Leaf Poh Piah was a bit of a letdown, were it not for the dried onions and spicy sauce that crowned the dish. The actual spring roll itself was beautifully made, but the filling was flavorless and textureless. Even the bean sprouts couldnt manage to give the baby a crunch, and I was woefully disappointed.

Ayum Curry was what I’ll go back for. A chicken dish, the sauce was absurdly complex and layered, heavily nuanced with coconut and peanut and a little chile paste. I had hoped for a little more chiliburn, but the soft edges of the gravy really made me a believer. Not too thick or heavyweight, I found myself making little mountains of rice bound together with yellow dreaminess.

The Black Pepper Sizzling Chicken was exactly as advertised. Hot as Hades in both temperature and spice, the attack on your nose was almost smelling salt intense. Joined by thinly sliced mushrooms and peppers, the dish was very good, but not great. The attention paid to black pepper starring in the dish was appreciated, but overall the plating wasn’t any better or worse than I’ve had before at numerous other Asian establishments.

The Dried Beef Curry was big on taste and portion, creativity be damned. But that’s what made it a fantastic option. The flavors screamed at me in Hindi, even though the dish was beef-based. Value priced to move, it’s a great to-go dinner pick me up, and came with a heap of white rice.

Banana Leaf is the most well-rounded restaurant I’ve visited in recent memory. They have something for everyone (Fish-head eaters, rejoice. I am among you, my friends) and present exotic spins on traditional fare. The sauces are worth the price of admission, which is not cheap. If you find yourself with friends who can’t make a decision, let the good folks here do the deciding for you. Otherwise they’re all eating tripe and chicken feet.

– Collin Flatt