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Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
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Five stars for the food, the service, and the price. Having been in Philly a little over two months, this is the place I go to whenever I get a craving for comfort food. Like many other people have noted, the Roti Canai is absolutely fantastic. I'm also a fan of the HK/SE-Asian style curry they serve here, although I could understand why it might not be for everyone -- the dry chicken curry includes bones.
Note that some of the dishes are priced under $6 and generously portioned. At $5.95, the Nasi Lemak ("Coconut rice flavored with cloved and screw-pine leaves. Served with chilli anchovy curry chicken and hard boiled eggs") is an awesome combination of different flavors and textures and probably the most interesting dish I've had there... yet still oddly comforting for someone who grew up with Cantonese cooking.
I haven't eaten at a *ton* of places in Chinatown yet, but this place is the best so far.
Thai Basil Noodles.
GET IT.
But make sure you tell them to tone down the spiciness, unless you want to become a sweaty, pained mess.
This place is one of Chinatown's gems. I went here with a group of friends and the bill for all six of us was only $115. We ordered a smattering of appetizers, several main entrees, and had dessert. Unbeatable deal.
The tofu satay appetizer was amazing. The tofu had great texture---not too soft but not too crispy. It was easy to bite into but did not crumble. The peanut sauce that accompanied it was lovely.
The vegetable egg rolls were standard, filled with a cabbage and carrot filling. In my opinion, I'd skip it and order something more unique..
As for the entrees, I had the Banana Leaf squid and the Spicy Thai Chicken. Both were delicious! The squid came with a ground shrimp paste which was savory and nutty in flavor. I am really happy that I did not order this as my sole entree though. The squid was great but there's a lot of it, and it can get monotonous. Best bet: share with a friend. The spicy Thai chicken was a perfect summer meal. The chicken is steamed and then cooled to room temp, served with a spicy shrimp paste and cucumbers.
For dessert, I ordered coconut ice cream. It was also standard, so I probably won't order that next time. My friends, however, seemed to enjoy their fried banana ice cream. Mmmmm.
I'll definitely be back. The price is spot on for a great meal with a host of options.
Banana Leaf is just like Penang except you the portion sizes are slightly larger for the same price. I love Penang but I think I found a substitute.
The Thai basil noodles are the sh*t. Hands down, best noodle dish I've had. I'm originally from San Fran, so I've had my share of Thai style noodles. Just the right amount of heat. I think I may have even seen a chef throwing dough for fresh noodles. Great ambiance, byo and a price point that makes sense. Thumbs up.
So so so delicious.
I came here with my mom during a visit to Philly in February. The place was busy and there was a bit of a wait, but the food was soooo worth it. We got the chow kueh teow, a roti canai, and a chendol, all to share. YUM.
Came back about two weeks ago with my parents and sister and it was still just as delicious as ever. This time we ordered the chow kueh teow, roti canai, ABC (no chendol unfortunately), fish head curry, prawn mee, and kang kung belacan. Everything was good, with the exception of the fish head curry which was only so-so. There wasn't as much fish head meat as there was fish head bones, and the curry wasn't spicy at all. The prawn mee had a really good shrimpy broth that I couldn't get enough of.
My parents were born and raised in Singapore and lived there into their thirties. They love food and are my Malaysian food authorities. Every dish at Banana Leaf got their seal of approval (my mom couldn't stop talking about it for months after our first visit) and this time we made it our first stop after arriving in Philly.
The service is quick and friendly, and I'll definitely be here.. all the time.
Mmmm.. it sounds good for lunch tomorrow.
I stumbled into this place one night with one of my best friends, looking for a cozy place to chat and catch up. While a little loud for my liking, the food was so exqusite, I have been back since, and can't WAIT to go back again. My friend had the Thai Basil Noodles, and they were QUITE spicy, and flavorful. I highly recommend them if you want something with some heat! While I can't remember the name of what I had off the top of my head, I was quite happy with the incredible portion they served, as well as the very reasonable price!
While not the place to go if you want to be able to have an intimate conversation, this place is great for groups. And as an added bonus, ITS A BYOB!
I went here last weekend with a friend from work. It's a nice spot with an elegant interior. We were seated and given water immediately.
We ordered different forms of pork rolls. The pork meat was excellent and had a lot of flavor in my pork rolls. The dipping sauces were also very tasty and added even more flavor without subtracting from the taste of the meat or vegetables.
I got a duck dish with a pineapple chili sauce. The duck meat was very tasty and the skin was pretty crispy. The pineapple chili sauce was rather bland, tasting vaguely of pineapple and without much chili/heat to it. I also was annoyed that they skimped on the rice.
The Zombie mixed drink I had was excellent and nearly knocked me on my ass since I hadn't anything to eat before I started drinking it.
My friend had suggested one of the vermicelli/noodle dishes and next time I'll get one of the pork ones.
Note: the other reviewers weren't kidding about it getting loud in there. At one point my friend and I were nearly yelling at each other.
I was in the mood for Malaysian food last night but I refused to leave the comfort of my living room. Low and behold, Banana Leaf (unlike Penang) delivers! I looked to their Yelp page for some suggestions and went with the ever popular Thai Basil noddle dish. I don't know if it's just me, but I found it to be pretty spicy. What I thought was better was the Mee Siam; I really enjoyed the vermicilli noodles (they're like angel hair). Even though I was sharing the meal with a friend, I decided to eat all the Roti Canai. It's so good, sharing goes out the window.
When I asked to pay with a card the lady said they prefer checks. Really? Businesses still accept checks? I gladly obliged.
The meal hit the spot and I even hit up the fridge for leftovers later that night. Sedap! (that apparently means "delicious")
Came here by recommendation of my sister who had recently returned from Singapore in an attempt to be able to share in some of her dining experiences over there.
Tried the Rambutan juice which was sweet with a subtle creaminess to it. I like how they removed the seeds as well.
There are a number of dishes on the menu that are *almost* vegetarian. I'm usually wary of asking places to leave various ingredients out as to whether or not it'll mess up the actual flavor of the dish, or it would be a huge ordeal. That Banana Leaf includes dishes with seafood in it under the Vegetables section of the menu should give a hint that the definition of vegetarian might not match your own. For instance, the bean curd and egg whites has shrimp in it. I'm glad I found that out by asking before ordering.
I instead ordered a Spicy Mango Tofu dish with coconut rice. The rice was great, but the tofu dish itself was only ok. The mango was not ripe, and the tofu a little on the tough side, which is common for a lot of Asian restaurants using packaged fried tofu. The sweetness of the sauce was overpowering, with nothing accompanying it to balance it out. The dish seemed to rely heavily on the sauce. It wasn't bad, but it didn't make me want to clean the plate, which I usually do.
Out of all the dishes at the table, the Mee Goreng soup noodles was said to be great. It has shrimp in it or something, so I took their word for it. Banana Leaf is also BYOB and can recommend carry out places nearby. The redbean complimentary dessert is simple and a nice end to the meal. I think this place might be incredible for non-vegetarians.
The staff/service here is great, although you need to just flag people down, with the exception of the owner (i think) who dropped by our table to see how things were, as well as helping us at the door.
I think this place is probably a 4 or 5 star. I would take visiting friends here for sure, especially to give it a second shot for what I feel was probably an anomaly.
My favorite restaurant in philly to date. I can order take out or dine in with friends and quality of the food does not change. I never pay more than $20 for my share of entrees, dessert, and drink. I would recommend the Roti canai appetizer (thinner version of Jamaican roti), mango chicken, beef rangdang (sp), and any fried rice is a perfect choice! To drink, try the lychee - refreshing and get the fried ice cream if you have room lol
The place reminds me of Penang in terms of interior decoration. Are they owned by the same owner ?
It was my friend's birthday and we let her do the ordering:
2 Roti Canai, Mee Siam, Banana Leaf Satay Beef and Hainanese Chicken. and we shared amongst the 4 of us.
I never ate Roti like that, so thin and stretched out but I really liked the curry chicken with potato dipping sauce. I love potatoes! And the Hainanese Chicken was awesome :D But not so much a fan of the coconut rice.
The mee siam was alright, but several times I had to spit out some noodles because some of them were just really really hard of which my mouth would not be able to tolerate swallowing. And I've grown up eating satay beef but these tasted odd to me, the meat was good but the way they had it marinated tasted all too funny.. nothing tastes better than sugared fried beef on a stick :{
but I overall enjoyed my first time there and would love to go back for some more of that chicken curry with potato.
I'm a pretty big fan of Banana Leaf due to the following conveniences:
-Large seating area
-Non-drab wall paintings
-BYOB
-Thai Basil Noodles (my parents, my friends and I love this dish)
-Pretty prompt service
-Oranges at the end of your meal (but it seems to me that only happens after dinner)
-Instead of a mint to grab as you leave, you get to grab some guava candy that actually taste like the real thing! (I must peruse through stores to find this and those addicting lychee and muscat gummies)
Minor inconveniences:
-The meat entrees are a couple dollars too extra for my liking. I'm used to ~$3-$4 less. (hey, I work on a budget, people).
-No oranges after lunch I suppose?
-Prompt service could be the same as rushed service to some
-Can get loud while you eat. But not as loud as Beau Monde, thank goodness.
It's a pretty great place to get a spicy meal if you wish at a pretty reasonable price in a pretty cleanly environment.
Glad I listened to Yelp again. I went here for dinner and thought it was pretty good. The restaurant is actually pretty big so would be good for large parties. We ordered the Mango Chicken that everyone seems to be raving about, the Roti Canai, and Thai Basil Noodles.
The Roti Canai tasted thin, fluffy and crispy. The curry sauce served with it was also good. The Mango Chicken was also pretty good but I'm not sure if it's really worth the price. The entree itself is $15, which consists of slices of mango, bell pepper, and chicken served inside a whole mango peel. It doesn't come with rice so you will also have to order that extra ($1/serving). I thought it tasted pretty fresh and tasty but probably would order again when it's closer to mango season because it could've been sweeter. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Thai Basil Noodles (tastes more like Pad Kee Mao) only because it was really really oily and I hate the feeling of oil on my lips. Flavor-wise, pretty good though. At the end of our meal, they also gave us free red bean soup. Yay!
I'll definitely come back, especially since the other plates they served looked pretty good. The staff is nice and they accept all major credit cards. :)
Great food at a fair price. Decor isn't dingy either, kinda makes you think of Tarzan ... or Jane ... eating Malaysian food.
Did I mention BYOB?
What else can you say?
Just GO! Need ideas? Here are some sure hits:
-Roti Cani (Indian bread with meat/potato curry dip)
-Beef (or any meat) Satay comes with some cucumber and onion pieces and a sweet dip.
-Haianese Chicken w/ chicken rice. The flavor is subtle so don't get it if you enjoy bold flavors.
-Water spinach with garlic. Ok this is standard anywhere but momma said I need my greens!
Banana Leaf is my go-to place for Malaysian food in Philly. The menu is an almost word-for-word replication of Penang (the super-hyped-up chain Malaysian restaurant), but, in my opinion, offers a better execution of the food.
There is never a wait for a table because the restaurant is large, the service is prompt, and the prices are standard (for Malaysian food).
For an appetizer, start with the Roti Canai. This is roti, an Indian flat bread, and a mild chicken curry.
I usually get the Spicy Thai Chicken, which is steamed chicken with some sort of a brown, pureed sauce. This is delicious!
For dessert, I highly recommend the ABC (which is actually listed under the drinks menu). ABC is perfect for summer - shaved ice with red beans, corn, and other surprises.
Verdict: A decent restaurant which triumphs over its competitor, Penang. There are hits and misses on the menu though - find a dish that you really like!
I love the food at this place. My favorite item is the Curried Chicken. I get that to-go very often.
This place is open really late (I think past 1 AM) and priced pretty well. Most of the menu is under $10.
I have to admit I wasn't super excited to try this place. I had heard good things but wasn't sure if it would live up the hype since I am a very picky eater. I am glad to say that I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. My dinner companions and I have a problem when we try new places. We tend to horrifically over order. I think the excitement of trying a new places goes to our heads and we don't plan out well. We ordered 2 apps, 1 soup, and 3 entrees for 3 people. We took most of it home. I regret none of it though. Everything was so good. Their food even got me to go out of my comfort zone and try the crispy spicy squid. I know that doesn't sound very risque but for me it is, since I don't eat anything that lives in the water. That said I didn't like it but it was still a big hit with my dinner companions. The other appetiser was the Banana Leaf Poh Piah. It was the most disappointing of the dishes we ordered. It was bland and the peanut sauce on it was overpowering. The other dishes we ordered were Seafood Tomyam Soup which only one person ate but said it was very good. The star of the night was by far the Green Curry Beef in a Clay Pot. The adventurous eater among us ordered the Chicken Feet with Chinese Mushroom and said it was pretty good. Although he admittedly put a good bit of sriracha sauce in it to spice it up. I tried a little taste and did not like the consistency or flavor but then I dislike mushrooms. We took some of each dish home and it was just as good reheated later. After all that food we were treated to a bowl of their sweet pea soup as a dessert. It was really good, it tasted a lot like a sweet kasha or porridge you would have for breakfast. All in all it was a really nice dining experience. The wait staff were very attentive, friendly, and helpful making sure we knew what chicken feet were before we ordered.
My choice for my pre-race dinner before the Philadelphia Marathon was Banana Leaf. Sure, an Italian pasta carbo-load may be more traditional, but I wanted Malaysian instead.
We were seated near the front of the restaurant, near the cash register, so we didn't have the best table, but at least we didn't have to wait. I was really craving roti, so we got the Roti Canai as a starter. It didn't disappoint.
We also got the Poh Piah, which was tasty, but not as good as the roti, in my opinion. For our main dish we shared the Thai Basil Noodles. It were spicier than I was expecting, so I couldn't eat too much.
For dessert we got the Banana Pancake. Delicious! I could have eaten the whole dish myself.
I enjoyed our meal, and the service was excellent. Our waters were refilled without asking several times. I think I liked Penang just a bit better though, especially the atmosphere. But you really can't go wrong eating at Banana Leaf.
I'm a fan. Spot on Malaysian food - characterizing the blend of culinary traditions typical of that part of the world. They deliver on the hot dishes, hot dishes really do arrive hot, which is quite refreshing. The noodle dishes are solid. Their roti appetizers are solid, though not as good as Penang or other ones I've had. Our one miss was the spare rib entree. The marinade was a little sour and the meat was tough, and mostly gristle.
Like a considerate lover, Banana Leaf never fails to satisfy.
My go-to place whenever it's late and I want something that's not Chinese and don't want to give up my parking spot to drive to West Philly for Kitfo at Abyssinia! I've never had a bad experience here, and I've been at least 15 times over the past couple of years.
No matter what I order, it always has to begin with Roti Canai, the amazingly crisp and thin pancake which comes with a little bowl of chicken curry sauce for dipping. A good idea is to order a bowl of Hainanese chicken rice, because any extra sauces you have are wonderful with this. The chicken itself is pretty great too. I've had many of their soups, all of which have been good, especially the Tom Yum. The beef tripe casserole is incredible, probably my favourite thing on the menu. It's rich, comforting and is laced with some coconut milk and undertones of spice. Once recently I even tried the crispy pork intestines (please ask server advice before order!), and they were surprisingly reminiscent of crisp Peking duck skin...they came with nice crisp cucumber and hoisin sauce for dipping. The Pad Thai was excellent, as was the mango chicken. The beef Rendang curry was very flavourful, although the meat was a little on the dry side. My friends have ordered sushi and it's not bad, although they apparently stop serving it earlier than the regular menu.
BYOB is nice too - I sometimes bring beer which goes perfectly with this cuisine. The service is friendly and the owner always seems concerned that you enjoyed everything. Most of the time they bring a nice sweet red bean soup at no charge for dessert.
Please don't change anything, Banana Leaf!
Oh banana leaf...
I used to love you. I mean really loved you. I celebrated birthdays with you. I introduced you to all of my friends.. I even brought my mom to you. You used to be awesome, good food, decent portions. But I guess like all relationships things start to turn sour... Your portions started to get smaller, while your prices increased. Your quality started to go down a little bit... enough that I noticed... but not enough that I will stop coming back to you. You still have your good points Banana Leaf... your ABC ice rocks but your Hainan chicken now sucks... *sigh*
Raindrops on roses and banana leaves... these are a few of my favorite things.
Great wooden bamboo type decor and tasty malayasian dishes and the excellent service give Banana Leaf a 4-star rating. It's hard not to, but I have to compare it to the hustle and bustle of Penang, where the wait always seems too long.
Appetizers and main dishes are well flavored and filling.
BYOB and a few good friends and enjoy your meal!
After a long China Town Express bus ride up from DC, I was ready to eat a very yummy and filling meal (and definitely take a shower and go to sleep for a looong time afterward). Banana Leaf had been on my list of places to go in Philadelphia's China Town (is it weird that I have restaurant lists for cities I don't even live in?) so that was the place I requested.
Some highlights from my visit include:
-SUSHI BAR! How fun is that? Okay, so I get a little excited about sushi bars, but seriously...perfect appetizer in this case, or a potential meal if you're going just for sushi.
-Satay Tofu which was *nearly* as amazing as the same dish at Penang (around the corner). The tofu was a little bit spongy for my taste.
-Indian Mee Goreng and Mee Siam...both great in not too heavy (but savory!) sauces. Came with both tofu and shrimp and really made me wish I still ate shrimp.
The whole place had a bit of a tiki vibe...okay, a LOT of a tiki vibe. Everything (furniture, floor, bathrooms, architectural features) was styled in bamboo looking finish. One section of the main dining room was separated and elevated by a step and overhead hung a canopy of what appeared to be dried palm fronds--the sushi bar area had the same canopy as part of its decor.
Everything tasted great. Service was fast, helpful.
PS
They gave us this "dessert" at the end: a sweet bean soup. I didn't like it (I'm not one for sweet beans), but for my friend who took me there, it is essentially his favorite thing about the whole place (so I gave him my soup as well).
My friends and I came in here, after bumping into people they knew, who highly recommended the place.
The dishes here are comparable to those of Penang.
The service is good. The place is big, clean, and nicely decorated. It has a nice atmosphere.
The food is very tasty for an affordable price. I had the Pad Thai. It was very good.
Will definitely be coming back.
Mediocre is a word that perfectly discribe this place. It's a Malaysian restaurant with a few Thai dishes.
I went there twice and both experiences were nothing to be excited about. The first time, I had an indian pancake for appertizer and that was good. My main meal was the Pad Thai and it was the worst Pad Thai I have ever eaten to date. It was slushy and salty but what am I doing ordering a Thai dish at a Malaysian restaurant right!?
The second time, I had the fried squid for appertizer and the Singapore Noodle for the main meal. The fried squid was a bit too sweet but overall I like it. The Singapore Noodle on the other hand was bleh! It was bland and the dish just looked boring. I didn't even finish it.
Overall this place is just OK. Average. Mediocre.
Meet Banana Leaf, the happy Penang clone.
I guess "happy" is what sets it apart from Penang. The staff are welcoming and attentive. You can show up with a big group and it's usually not too hard to get a table. No one rushes you to clear out while you're still chewing your last bite. The prices are affordable. No long wait. Basically, there's no reason for Penang to exist anymore, except maybe to siphon off those chain-restaurant-lovin' tourists.
Because many or all of the chefs defected from Penang, the dishes equally rich and delicious. The vege options are a little limited, but the curry hot pot is like a fragrant, spicy bowl of heaven. I've never tried the sushi, but based on the other reviews here I will stick with that policy.
good thing i live greater than 15 blocks from here, otherwise i would come here for every frickin' meal of the day.
banana leaf is the less-decorated bastard brother of penang. check out the menus and you'll find the same damn typos on both the banana leaf and penang menus.
but typo or not, the food is superb. everytime i go to an asian restaurant i feel compelled to get a noodle dish. so as a self-proclaimed noodle enthusiast, i can say that every noodle dish i had here was awesome, especially the mee siam.
do yourself a favor and stop by for a plate :)
Banana Leaf serves solid Malaysian food at very good prices. The nasi lemak was excellent, and at $6 for a very large plate, not bad at all. The restaurant is also very well decorated, which cannot be said of 90% of the other good restaurants in the area....
I know that I'm giving this a few less stars than the average review, but I really just find this place average. I love Malaysian food, but was able to find a whole host of delicious dishes, all over Malaysia, that were less meat-focused. I think that Banana Leaf suffers from trying to meet the customer's expectations of what Malaysian food is, rather than trying to expose customers to what Malaysian food actually is. I know it's a fine line when you're trying to run a business, but every time I eat here it's because I've forgotten how few vegetarian options there are (just one, folks, without asking for special favors) which was not my actual experience with real Malaysian cuisine.
Please - bring me the delicious noodle dishes that I fell in love with in Malaysia - I miss them!
Super average. Period.
In fact, most of the dishes were in the 2-2.5 star range. Some of our dinner guests ordered sushi (I was afraid) and most said it was either "good" or "average." The wasabi was hard and clearly not fresh. The fish was fishy. I am a bit of a sushi snob and I wanted no part. Prices on the sushi were very good.
The beef satay was good. Tender and priced at under $6.
The entrees ranged from average to totally bland. The $15 sweet and sour chicken was fried chunks of tough chicken in a "store front Chinese" sauce. The Captain's Noodles were literally overcooked noodles in soy sauce. Three pieces of small shrimp with the tails still on, a few pieces of tough chicken, and no pork (even though the menu said there should be some). Even though the portion was huge, the flavors were nonexistant (outside of soy sauce). $7.50 not well spent.
The pineapple rice was presented in an empty pineapple shell, but it, as with most of the dishes, was bland.
The ginger duck Lo Mee was probably the worst dish. The hunks of duck bone with tiny bits of meat were so overseasoned with ginger it was inedible (at least my gf felt so...I agreed).
We did not stay for dessert.
There were a few positives: the meals came out fast, the water was replenished quickly, we were seated immediately, and the ambiance was nice.
There are loads of better places: try Lee How Fook.
Went last week.
BYOB
I would not call this place a Thai place. There were about 4 Thai dishes on the menu. Mainly Malaysian. I did not want to order the chicken feet dish. I ordered the Pineapple fried rice and sub'd the shrimp with chicken. It was good. A friend ordered the Pad Thai. He thought it was the best he'd ever had.
Our group of 5 ordered appetizers. They brought them out 1 at a time. We waited about 10-15 minutes before all the appetizers were out at the same time.
The 4star reviews on here led me to think it was really nice. The menus were kind of dirty and the interior was not all that beautiful.
I'd eat there again but would rather try something else.
How do you give 2.5?
So the weather got really warm this past week and whats better than hot curry dishes and cold beer. We brought a sixpack and it was a perfect evening. The menu is so expansive and has so many choices. I went with a friend, sharing a plate of pad thai. It was great! The tofu was crispy and complimented the noodles well. After much deliberation, we both got the chicken curry. Mine was spicy, and my friends was super hot. We were both so happy! I have been in the mood for some good curry and I got what I was looking for!
For dessert to cool things down, we shared a dish that I have no idea what it is called bc my friend asked for it having had it before. It was a coconut filled with a coconut pudding and it was amazing.
The staff was great and quick with a bottle opener for our beer. Everything was so cheap! I can't wait to go back!
There are certain specific dishes that we try to test the quality of a Malaysian restaurant: Achat, Roti Canai, and Mee Goreng.
Their achat is rich with peanuts, and offers a nice combination of sweetness and spiciness. The pickled veggies are nicely crisp. Their Roti Canai is very good, sometimes it might be paper-thin (I prefer a little body to it, but it is delicious). A big plus: the soup that comes with the Roti Canai comes also in a vegetarian option, and unlike in many other Malaysian places, there is no compromise, the coconut based broth is really good. Mee Goreng is excellent, too.
We'll be back.
What an awesome place! It's ironic that I'm a banana as well (an asian american that is white on the inside, yellow on the outside =) ).
I took http://GoToBus.com aka the chinatown bus from Washington, DC to Philly on the evening of 11/24 and got to the Philly drop off location at around midnight. I was freezing, about to go insane because I that's how I get when I'm very hungry and my ride was running late. To top things off, my iphone died on me and had no way to get a hold of my ride.
Luckily, Banana Leaf was open late and I walked in and order me some Pad Thai, charged my iphone while I was waiting, and warm myself up before heading out. I am a banana and I endorse this yelp. :)
After going about one and half days without sleep thanks to a tempermental phone system at work, I needed some nice comfort food. For me, nothing makes me feel better than some good Asian food. I decided to go to Chinatown and that is my thing, I like to check out the Chinatowns in big cities. The Chinatown in Philly is clean, but the area had some shady looking people. I was by myself, so I had to be overly cautious. Nothing really caught my eye and I forgot to check out Yelp before going to Chinatown, so I took a chance on Banana Leaf. There aren't many Malaysian restaurants in LA, so I decide to try it. The decor was pretty nice for any Asian restaurant and there were a lot of people eating there...especially Asian people...good sign. I had the Nasilemak which is a type of coconut fried rice and per the recommendation of the waitress, the sizzling chicken. Everything was really good! After my dinner they served me a sweet warm root soup...I think, but it sure hit the spot after a gruelling two days. So far, all the food I had in Philly has been pretty good.
Cheap and lots of choices!
Before Banana Leaf showed up, Penang used to be my favorite malaysian place. But now, I'm all about Banana Leaf, all the time. I haven't been to Penang in a long time, and I don't feel a need to do so.
They have the same exact menu (I mean same exact, down to the typos) so don't worry about not being able to find everything you want. It's all good. All good! Apps, noodle dishes, noodle soups. I haven't had anything I didn't like. The portions large, the prices cheap. Two people can stuff their gourds for $20.
The food comes out fast and hot and the service is attentive. Yes, they serve sushi, but that just does not sound like a good idea here. Go there and try one of everything from the regular menu.
I used to go to Penang very often, even after Banana leaf was open.
But Penang 's constantly changing flavor(getting worse and worse), This is the place for me now.
The owner and wait staffs always give us warm welcome.
It's always nice, if you're recognized.
Their food is getting better and better over the time.
Not that crazy about them, but pretty good.
And It's BYO(another great thing about them)
If you and your friends were going to go to Penang for dinner tonight, do yourself a favor and go to banana leaf instead. Your friends will be impressed by the food and by the bill.
Neighborhood: Chinatown
Category: Thai
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