Most of the time we dine outside we end up eating in fastfood joints and Filipino, Chinese and Korean restaurants. There's just too many restaurants in malls that serve the same thing over and over again to be called food attractions. Don't get me wrong, I still find Chinese and Filipino food superb, but at this point in my life I think I've exhausted all the meals they have in store: Fried this, Sauteed that, and Grilled something. You get my point?
So yesterday as early as 4PM in the afternoon, I was already planning what we'll eat on dinner. Pasta? Nope. Takeout? Forget it. I was running out of ideas, it was getting dark fast. I thought I'd try something different. I want something different. Something with dishes I haven't eaten yet. Something like
Banana Leaf. And I was spot on.
For starters, Banana Leaf is an international restaurant which specializes on Southeast Asian cuisine. And when I say they specialize on Southeast Asia I'm not kidding. They serve Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai dishes. Banana Leaf is also a multi-awarded joint, and has been awarded the Philippines Best Restaurants' "Philippine Tatler" for six years straight.
Okay enough about the facts. I got to the Quick Delivery website and checked if they have Banana Leaf in their partner restaurants' list. Of course it was listed, why was I not surprised? See, Quick Delivery has 170 plus partner restaurants around the metro – and the list is still growing! So you betcha your favorite restaurant is listed there. Anyway, I looked up the Banana Leaf menu enthralled, decided what's up for dinner, grabbed the phone and dialed 212-1212 – that's twenty-one twenty-one twenty-one two, not two one two one two one two. In a jiffy I was able to order something new.
In an hour a Quick Delivery driver knocked at the gate carrying my Banana Leaf bag. That's four dishes, plus the travel time – in only an hour. Now that's what you call "quick delivery", get it? So anyway, this is how the Banana Leaf delivery bag looks like:
There's this adage that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this is a situation you can't help but to. And of course, food presentation comes hand on hand with the food's taste. If the presentation is mediocre, you'll not get that fulfilling sensation no matter how delicious the food was. These Banana Leaf people are serious on how they present their dishes, and I like that. That said, let's start with the food already.
First up is Banana Leaf's Stir Fried Malaysian Noble Leaf veggie dish.
Now, I don't know what vegetable this is. I don't even know if it's available locally. All I know is it tastes great. It's not fibrous, not too oily, it's crunchy, and it's good for your health. Sells for P188.
Now, this is Banana Leaf's Malayan Style Deep Fried Chicken. I know what you're thinking: It looks nothing out of the ordinary. That might be so, but remember, what we're after here is the presentation and the taste – both passed with flying colors. I can't describe the chicken's delicious taste, probably because it's Malaysian. No, really. There's something in there you can't quite put your tongue on. Try it, you'll know what I mean. Sells at P278.
Nooope, that ain't chicken strips in garlic. This is Banana Leaf's Deep Fried Squid Flavored in Homemade Spicy Garlic dish (see: looks can be deceiving). Trust me, at P238 it's taste and texture is nowhere near the Mediterranean and local calamari you're accustomed to. Definitely one of the best fried squid dishes I ever had.
This is my highlight of the night. At P288, the Malayan Lamb Curry with Potatoes just puts the exclamation point in the sentence. When you hear curry, usually the first thing that comes in mind is the word "spicy." I've tasted Indian and Thai curry before and in comparison Banana Leaf's curry is mild, and I like that.
The lamb itself is tender and good. It doesn't taste gamey as mutton and would pass as beef. Meats you're not accustomed to i.e. mutton, venison will have a slight "off" taste – game taste if you will – that you won't taste in domesticated meats like you can find in the supermarket. The curry sauce is creamy and thick and it doesn't have as much oilspots as you would find in other curries. The Malayan Lamb Curry with Potatoes is a must-taste. I urge you to try it, especially when you reckon of the fact that there are not much sheep raisers here in the Philippines.
As an additional, the difference between lamb meat and mutton is the age of the sheep it was derived from. Lamb meat is taken from sheep that are between 4-12 months old while anything older than that is called mutton. The latter has a much stronger flavor and is tougher to chew at when compared with the former. Serving lamb rather than mutton is a real plus to food connoisseurs. No wonder Banana Leaf has plenty of awards under their name.
I just want you to take note that unlike other restaurants which charge P500+ per plate that's good only for one person (and I'm not talking about buffet restaurants here), Banana Leaf's P300+ food servings are good for 2 persons or more depending on how strong of an eater you and your companions are. That right there makes Banana Leaf one of the more economical but more than delicious restaurants in the Metro.
Anyway this night was a great night. Not only did we taste something new, my family was delighted as well. Plus the fact that it was delivered warm and fast in our doorstep thanks to Quick Delivery.
Speaking of Quick Delivery, they'll bring any food from any restaurant of your choice warm at your doorstep. Food from Orchard Road, copy. Anguses from Brothers Burgers, check. Sweets from Xocolat and BanApple, easy. With a roster of
170+ partner restaurants, you could have Chinese, Italian, Filipino and American all at the same time before dinner time. All you need to do is dial 212-1212 on your phone and say what you want. As I've mentioned above, the Quick Delivery crew are very friendly. Just talk your heart away and order.
You don't want it by phone? How about ordering online or texting them an SMS? Just head to their website and create an account. It's a piece of cake. They're ready to deliver 24/7/365. They've recently revamped their website too. Now you can download a small .pdf file and listed in it are all of their partner restaurants' menus. You can literally prepare your order before calling up their crew. Really really handy.
The best part is, if a snafu happens with your meals, Quick Delivery personnel will quickly contact you at a moment's notice and let you know. This is how professional they are. Now you don't need to grab your phone and call angrily for an order follow-up.
So the next time you want to taste something special from the Southeast, call up Banana Leaf via Quick Delivery. Or you could drop by at their various branches in Metro Manila.
For more information, log onto:
Banana Leaf
www.bananaleaf.com.phQuick Delivery 21
www.quickdelivery.phwww.facebook.com/quickdelivery'Till my next installment.
