Skip to main content

Banana Leaf Robson looks better in ad copy

Click to add a blog post for Banana Leaf on Zomato After my last experience at Banana Leaf (on Broadway) I was pretty sure I didn't want to go back to any Banana Leaf. But it was my friend's birthday and her pick, so... back to Banana Leaf. This time on Robson.

TIP: DO NOT BRING CAKE. Not only is Banana Leaf unable to help your birthday celebration with anything birthday-like, but you will be charged a "cakeage" fee ($5 per person??) if you bring and serve cake.

Large restaurant with an upstairs for larger groups and ground floor outdoors eating. If yours is the only party left upstairs AND you have already paid, expect it to be abandoned while they focus on their walk-ins downstairs.
Even if you haven't or aren't the only party there, bussing was also only OK. Empty dishes removed but maybe just one refill of water.

Unless you have an extremely sensitive palate, ignore the chilli symbol next to the menu items. It is nonsense. Even the Rendang Beef Curry wasn't spicy-hot.

Prices are pretty high. If you are not ordering a noodle or rice dish, you can still make an order into a filling meal by getting a bowl of rice ($2+). Consider getting one of the tasting menus, which has added value simply for letting you try more stuff.

Peppercorn BC Oysters ($10)
  • I passed on ordering this when the waitress told me this would be THREE oysters. That's over $3 per oyster!
Eggplant Fries ($7) julienned Chinese eggplant fries drizzled with Thai Chili sauce
  • Eggplant lightly coated in batter and deep fried.
  • Did NOT come nicely stacked as in the picture.
  • Maybe the same amount of fries you get in an order of McDonalds fries.
Rendang Beef Curry ($16) boneless, lean beef stewed in spicy coconut gravy
  • Meat not tender, but not really too tough either.
  • Where's the spiciness?
  • Underlying flavour of beef rendang is correct, but still missing the richness from stronger spices, and therefore disappointing.
Sambal Tiger Prawns ($17) shell-off tiger prawns cooked in a classic Malay spicy robust sauce made with chilli, garlic, lemongrass, and dried shrimp paste (belachan)
  • Where's the spiciness?
  • Sauce really tasty. Try not to waste this -- maybe mix in some rice to get all of it.
  • Maybe six prawns in total. Decent size but not jumbo by any means.
Hainan Chicken ($18 for half chicken) poached chicken served cold with cucumber, sesame oil, peanuts, and soy sauce. Served with sides of ginger sauce and chili-garlic sauce.
  • I have never seen Hainanese chicken swimming in some BLACK soup.
  • Missing the iconic chicken broth, therefore a complete waste of time.
  • Portion is like maybe a chicken breast for the "half chicken" portion. Pretty small for $18 especially when it basically comes with no sides.
  • Hainan Rice (cooked with ginger garlic with chicken broth) is on the "Recommended Sides" list at $2.50. Was NOT mentioned by server when ordering the Hainan Chicken.
Pineapple Fried Rice ($16) fried rice mixed with seafood, chicken, egg, onion, beans, tomatoes, raisin, corn, and pumpkin seeds
  • Rather smallish portion.
  • One-fifth (1/5) of a pineapple was on the plate, instead of the half pineapple in the menu picture. BUT since the pineapple would have been hollowed out for the rice anyway, it is not necessarily the case that they skimped on pineapple.
  • No way there was 1/2 or even 1/5th of a pineapple in the portion of rice, which was maybe 4 bowls worth (?).
  • Very strangely deep green pancakes rolled up into small spring rolls, containing a very sweet sugar-and-coconut mix, and sitting in some sort of white sauce.
  • Tasty. Pandan and coconut and sugar flavours all come through.
  • Very sweet, maybe excessively so.
  • TIP: Isolate just the pancake and taste that. It is strangely tasteless. Yes, tasteless. Not even any pandan or egg or pancake flavour. (Why?)
Jamu-Kunyit ($6) turmeric, tamarind, and ginger drink
  • If this tastes like medicine, it is because it is a sort of traditional herbal medicine.
  • Bitter but saved by some sweetness and sourness (but not too much).
  • Probably an acquired taste, so either know what it is or just be adventurous.
TIP: Bill apparently always reads "Gratuity not included", when it IS INCLUDED if you have a party of 6+ persons.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 3

A picture from my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. I can't remember why I had this couple in the picture, but I do vaguely remember this to be in London, on the first official day of the tour group getting together. Their insistence on my helping them take a picture caused the three of us to be late getting back to the bus. The local tour guide had a "rule" about lateness, that we had to buy chocolate to share with everyone. As it turned out, later in the trip, on at least two occasions, we were stuck on the highway on either a long commute or a traffic jam, and I had chocolate and chocolate-covered marzipan to share. About the chocolate-covered marzipan -- Apparently we were in Austria just as they were celebrating Mozart's birthday with special marzipans wrapped in foil with the famous composer's picture. I'm pretty sure it was Mirabell Mozartkugeln . Anyway, there were enough to go around the en...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 10

The last of my pictures (at least the ones that survived the cheesy disposable cameras) from my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. Below is the obligatory group photo. Not sure everyone's in it, actually. I'm pretty sure this one was taken by the tour director, Mike Scrimshire as I'm in the back row, on the right side.
Post a Comment
Read more

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 9

More assorted couples on my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. An American couple who joked about being from "the land of the giants" -- and with good reason, because both of them were really tall! A cute Jewish mother-daughter pair who ducked out part-way to divert to Israel. I vaguely remember the issue of the daughter being an orthodox Jew was highlighted in France when, to make things easy, she just declared herself vegetarian for the wait staff. I also remember there was some logistics error in France because our party size was way underestimated or simply relayed incorrectly, and there was a shortage of food at dinner. Dessert came as an unopened can of yogurt. It did not seem like they tried to make it up to us later, either. Plus there was smoking every which way in France, and I had a helluva time with that. We were also in a hotel that seemed tucked away in the burbs, and not walking distance from anythin...
Post a Comment
Read more