Went here with a local friend who recommended it. Disclosure : first time eating Malaysian cuisine. She suggested the mango chicken and a side of coconut rice. The food came out VERY fast and it was ok. Mango chicken was a little sweet and a little sour . Perfectly flavored and balanced sauce with a hint if heat and coolness from sliced mango. Served in a mango shell. Chicken was a bit tough. Coconut rice was delicious. Fast and fairly efficient service but had to remind server of rice order . $38.00 for 2orders of chicken and rice seemed a bit pricey to me but not outrageous..it was ok. Lots of locals seemed to eat there. Always good sign read more

Banana Leaf - Mango chicken - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My husband and I have been eating here for nearly 10 years. This is our favorite restaurant in Philly! Not only is the atmosphere great, their Hainanese and spicy Thai chicken w/chicken rice, shrimp puffs and crispy golden fried squid are amazing!! Those are the only 4 dishes we order every time we go here and it never disappoints. We've tried many other Malaysian restaurants in other states but nothing can be compared to Banana Leaf. We will always be a fan! read more

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After reading the reviews and overhearing compliments of this restaurant while walking around China Town, my colleague and I went in for dinner. We were seated within a minute - no joke. They are amazingly efficient with their service! In less than a minute, we were seated.;within 2 minutes, we had menus and water; within 5 minutes the waiter came by and took our order; and I want to say in less than 10 minutes, we received both my Thai Ice Coffee and Thai Basil Noodle while my colleague quickly got his white rice and Chicken Basil. We loved our meal and enjoyed it thoroughly while watching numerous people come in and leave - adolescents, families, couples, and groups! No one seemed to leave unhappy. There is a Banana Leaf in Houston - - perhaps I'll try it when I return. This Banana Leaf is hard to compete with! Great food and affordable prices! read more

Love the place! I am deaf and we went with a group of sign language students. We all signed (no talking allowed as part of the sign language students' assignments), and the waiters were incredibly friendly. They were helpful and understanding to us, and some even picked up a few signs from us! The food was excellent and very filling. BYOB too Some of the food I've had in the past here: Roti canai - awesome curry Martabak - similar to scallion pancake, pretty good but a bit too much onion for me Beef chow fun - always good. Beef is very tasty Thai basil noodles - delicious. Not very spicy really. Fried pearl noodles - interesting... Never had pearl noodles - it's just a bit weird to me, so I wouldn't get it again Spicy thai chicken rice - not impressed. Not spicy at all really. read more

Pretty standard Malaysian/Thai food but there was seriously some restaurant direction Asian confusion, with the Chinese food, Malaysian food, Thai food, and then there was sushi as well. Got the Thai basil noodles - slightly on the greasy side, and was a bit spicy but turns out I liked the spicyness. Visit #2: Got the Singaporean noodles. So flavorful, and the egg in it made it all come together. Delicious!! Really loud, good for BYOs (this was my first BYO) but not good if you're trying to have a conversation. read more

Banana Leaf - Thai Basil Noodles (I asked for vegetarian) - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Roti kanoi veg version is very tasty . Shrimp Tom Yum soup surpasses my expectations . Shrimp fried rice is tasty but the rice is bit hard . Staff is very helpful and attentive unlike Penang read more

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). read more

Banana Leaf - Banana Leaf Soup! - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A nice dining experience...friendly servers, prompt service, big portions.. Got to try some new things like the roti cani and beef with ginger & scallions in a tasty brown sauce. My husband tried the pineapple fried rice which was served in a carved out pineapple. He liked it very much. We were all too full for desert. If you're ever in Chinatown, stop in! read more

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Two words: Roti Canai Crispy/Fluffy pancake to accompany a curry chicken + potato dipping sauce. What more do you need? Chow Kueh Teow: stir fried rice noodles with a variety of add-ins (egg, shrimp, etc.) that leaves you a bit thirsty, but wanting more at the same time The place inside is nicely decorated with more than enough space to sit down and eat. Food comes out very quickly and it is can be a somewhat lively (loud) environment on busy nights! read more

Don't know if I ordered the wrong thing or what; but I was extremely unimpressed. It was some type of shrimp& rice dish. It was nothing compared to the menu description. It pretty much was a typical fried rice you would fine at any basic Chinese joint.Considering the price they charged and what they served I felt extremely ripped off.Don't think I would return cause of that bad experience. Malaysian iced tea was very good but not worth a repeat visit simply based on principle of false advertising. . read more

While visiting Philly, I was swayed by the Yelp reviews and took my team out to dinner here. I was quite disappointed. First, all the women were just screaming in their language and you know how some languages come across rude even when they don't mean to be, well shouting it out makes it worse. It seemed like they just wanted us in and out of there. The roti canai was not how it should be and I know because I lived in Malaysia/ Singapore. The Singapore noodles were also not too great. They brought out entrees all at different times which made it stressful who had the food, because they had to wait for others to receive it, and for those who didn't yet have their food, because they felt like they were holding others up. read more

Lets start with.. CONS Roti Canai - Disappointed. It wasn't crispy enough, and seemed kind of chewy. The curry sauce that came with it seemed water down. Mango Shrimp - Shrimp was on the small side, and other than it being sour, I tasted nothing else, it's like they just poured the sour sauce over the shrimp and shredded the mango and threw it in.. PRO Service was good, didn't feel rushed at all even when they were packed with people... Hainanese Chicken - way better than Penangs I must say. The chicken was not frozen, which is where Penang seems to fall short on.. Lacks a bit of flavor on their soy sauce part, but other than that, I still give it a thumbs up. read more

Since it was 11pm and I just walked two miles from the cheesesteak section of town, I didn't want to overthink the menu as I sometimes do, so I went with the Yelp-consensus items roti canai and mee siam. You shouldn't do the same. They were fine but not distinct from those at other restaurants. I suspect there are greater rewards further down the menu. I'm especially curious about the items that request you talk to your sever about them before ordering, the sambal shrimp being one. The standout of the evening was the ABC. It's listed under beverages but it's a dessert, a giant and excellent one. It's "shaved ice with red bean, corn, plum seeds, jelly, red rose syrup and milk." read more

I always get the hainanese chicken, it's around 6.25 and pretty tasty. It's a decent portion and cures my hangovers (strange I know). I should probably try something else next time I come here. read more

First, I have to note that I got dinner here to-go, so I can't comment much in the waitstaff. That said, I was rather confused when I walked in because the front door looks like a side door (if you go here, you'll see what I mean). I made my way to the register and grabbed a menu--realizing that the proper menu is only for sushi and the real dinner menu is of the takeout paper variety. Wanting to get local input, I asked the lady behind the register what she recommended for a spicy fish with no seafood. She went through a few options and landed on the curry chicken with rice, which is what I went with for takeout. The wait was reasonably short, and the chicken curry was good. Not amazing but certainly not bad, it came with a healthy portion of rice. It wasn't overly curried, which was nice. All in all, definitely not a bad choice, but not a place I would write home about. read more

The food was great and the customer service was even better! they were so kind and came around refilling our cups without us even asking, I definitely plan on coming back so I'm able to try more. read more

Banana Leaf - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Solid food, solid prices, BYO! This place is household name among Penn students for being a very cheap, fun, delicious BYO. I have been over 15 times in the past three years and have always left happy. The place is pretty spacious and they take reservations for large groups all the time, which makes scheduling a little easier. They have a dinner menu as well as sushi menu, although I have never ordered sushi here. I usually order some variant of noodles and drink. A couple of menu highlights: Roti Canai: I don't think I've ever come here without ordering at least one. Although it might be a bit pricey for what it is, it's a great way to start off the meal. Toasty and crispy pancake-like bread with a delicious chicken curry dipping sauce. Tasty, a little spicy, an overall table-pleaser. Chow Kueh Teow: Classic fried noodle dish. The flavors are solid as are the portion. Only complaint is that they can be stingy on the shrimp. Chicken Rending Rice: Bang-Bang-Bang-for-your-buck. One of the cheapest items on the menu, but not cheap on portion or flavor. If you're just there to chill with friends or just want to save money, this is the dish to go with. Big fan, going to miss this place once I leave Philly. Pros: prices, flavors, seating Cons: sometimes servers can be snappy read more

Place is really big inside with plenty of tables. The food was very interesting. Ordered one of their famous noodles (see picture) but I forgot what it's called. There were pineapples in the bowl which was surprising. We also got the golden fried squid thing (pretty much calamari -- but better). This was definitely worth getting. Just make sure you eat it while hot read more

Banana Leaf - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Authentically..Southeast Asian. Malaysian food with some other stuff added in. Served by Chinese-speaking people. The roti canai could have been much crispier, although the curry sauce alongside was pretty delish. Chicken satay was pretty good. Thai basil noodles were good, but not something I'd come here specifically to eat. Efficient service. Overall, not super impressed, but it is what it is. read more

Banana Leaf - They did us the favor of adding the tip for us...hmmm... - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My go to vegetarian option: The sizzling tofu. It is absolutely wonderful here. It's nice to get hot creamy tasty tofu that actually has flavor. So many places just dice it up and serve it without any actually time put in attempted preparation. I had the seaweed salad and it was a large healthy portion, which is nice because it's my favorite salad in the entire world. The food is the reason why you come here. The decor is tacky and it can get pretty loud toward later evening because most people start to come in with bigger parties. I think it's interesting that they have such a combination of cultures on the menu. You can easily get a high quality meal of the diverse cultures they have represented, and it's a good representation of the food. read more

Banana Leaf - Sizzling tofu - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I wanted to like this place and, to be honest, the two stars are for the server who was really nice to us. The good: Service. We were also there when the place was completely empty with one other couple there. The bad: the dishes were lacking in flavor. They all looked so delicious but man were they lackluster. For instance, the "pancake" dish that was recommended to us was good at first but after 6 minutes the pancake got cold and didn't absorb any of the delicious sauce so it was a waste. The ugly: I got the pineapple shrimp fried rice and it was a cool concept but it had no flavor at all besides the pineapple chunks. The worst part is NONE OF THE SHRIMP WERE DEVEINED. I had to eat with my eyes closed to get through it knowing that I was eating shrimp poop. All in all: I won't be back but maybe you can give it a try, just don't order any shrimp dishes. read more

Dropped by while in Philadelphia for an event in the nearby convention center, and we've come back to Philadelphia almost specifically for this place!! It is AMAZING Malaysian food--some of the most authentic and flavorful dishes we've had. They don't water down the strong flavors of lemongrass, garlic, and shrimp paste. Plus, the staff is incredibly friendly and efficient. The place gets very busy at night, so they've got their order processing down pat and dishes come out amazingly fast. BYOB is another plus--there are a ton of groups that book out large tables for this place. Come here for a loud, good time and great food. Order the roti canai, chicken rendang (or nasi lemak), sizzling tofu, and kangkung belacan (stir fried water spinach in shrimp paste)! read more

Forgot to mention that this place will accomodate any large party and on weekends it can get pretty rowdy with all the birthday parties! Ordered delivery for the first time. Mee Siam and thai basil noodle were perfect but the green curry was half spilt everywhere--the bag was delivered to be sopping wet and covered in curry (and it took about 15 min longer than they said it would on a sun night). Not sure what happened there but when I called to complain, the lady who had taken my order said she'd remember and give me a free green curry next time, which they did a week later when I also ordered a thai basil noodle that is always delicious! I think this place could be a notch cheaper though for what it is. read more

Banana Leaf - Mee Siam and lemongrass & Ginger beef! - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Great place, no trendy profile like nearby Penang, usu go for the roti & curry mae w/ young tofu! i do notice that more families eat here vs the other place, have yet to try the appetizer mango something, i forgot but it was a head turner. I was just here tonight; had my taken my young brother here, we both devoured 2 orders of the roti ... enter oink sound.. highly recommended!!! No complaints at all. I have yet to try the green chicken curry.. there's always a next time.. read more

I really like this restaurant! The service so great! Everyone who is working, serves you! It's a pretty cool thing! It's a BYOB! Don't forget your bottle! Great restaurant for groups! I really enjoyed the food! Be adventurous and try something new! Ask the servers...they have great suggestions! Sushi is also good! read more

Banana Leaf - Yummm - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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My boyfriend and I came here for lunch after getting the covid vaccination since this restaurant was only a block away. We got roti as appetizer; it was crispy and the curry was spicy and delicious. I got the Hainanese chicken, the rice was aromatic and fluffy, and the chicken was tender. The food was so good that I forgot to take a picture beforehand. I would definitely recommend this place to people who are looking for an inexpensive but delicious lunch. read more

Banana Leaf - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My sister and I were ignored twice when we were waiting to be seated. The server (a brunette) totally overlooked us and sit others behind us first-maybe because they were white and we are Asian? Maybe there's some interalized racism at play in here. We were quite upset by that. The food itself was mediocre, and not filling enough. read more

I usually order from banana leaf 2-3x a month and Ive never had a problem until yesterday. I ordered the Indian Mee Goreng and I got food poisoning. The dish was poorly cooked and the shrimp was on the raw side and 20-30 minutes after eating, I ended up throwing up for 3 hours. I would not recommend ordering from Banana Leaf, this was a horrible experience. read more

When it comes to Malay food, I am a HUGE fan and have lots of expectations going into any restaurant that attempts to capture the magic of that region. So I was stoked to learn that my latest conference took us here for lunch. In my opinion, the menu is a bit congested and convoluted with similarly named items across different food categories, so it takes me a bit of time to peruse through everything. I guess the upside of that is there are various options! Banana Leaf is a Chinese-owned Malaysian restaurant near the edge of Philly's Chinatown. With regards to the environment, some of the perks include its pleasant spacious interior for larger group events and the fact that it's a BYOB. A downside would be that it can get somewhat loud. They are a large restaurant with ample seating and an equally large menu to select from. We opted in for their Malaysian Group Adventure (A) ($18/person) which contained the following options: - Roti Canai - Indian Mee Goreng - Pad Thai - Pineapple Fried Rice - Beef Rendang - Mama Chicken - Curry Tofu - Orange Slices The set was huge to say the least! Every few minutes, they would bring out plates for our 30-person party to share family style. My favorite dish that we had served was probably the Curry Tofu which was vegetarian friendly. Sadly I wasn't too crazy about their homemade roti- it was a bit hard to pull apart and the curry was lukewarm which wasn't my favorite. Every dish I tried was fairly decent since they also cooked everything in large portions. A lot of the options I'd say are more Thai influenced than Malaysian, but is still a good sampler for those that have never had this type of cuisine before. However, service was right up there and they made sure to take care of our large group. I certainly appreciate Banana Leaf for hosting us and for cooking up a storm. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to come back one day to try some of my favorite Malaysian dishes that weren't included in the set menus. read more

Ordered Hainanese Chicken through Uber Eats and it didn't come with the chicken rice. You have order it separately (nowhere on the menu does it mention this). So for $11.00, all I got was a plastic container filled with mediocrely steamed chicken. Same goes for Mama Chicken-does not come with rice and nowhere does the menu mention to order separately. So for about $16.00, you get a slightly less fried General Tso's Chicken. Overall, very disappointing. read more

I've been going here since I moved to the city in 2005 and I don't think I've had one bad experience. And in 2005 I was going here as part of a handful of drunk, annoying college girls, so someone probably should've kicked us out. Great food--the achat is the stuff of dreams; sweetest staff, and very reasonable prices. read more

It went downhill when my friend asked how the 'seafood scrambled egg chow fun' was and the server answered "it's noodles, seafood and gravy, you won't like it." I followed up and asked 'what type of noodle they use' and the server's response was "I TOLD YOU, YOU WILL NOT LIKE IT. ONLY INDONESIAN PEOPLE LIKE THIS DISH." OK. Completely baffled and at a loss for words at that response. If that is how you are going to respond, you might as well put a disclaimer on the menu for every item that a non-Indonesia/Malaysian person cannot handle. Unreal. How do you know I haven't lived in Indonesia the last 15 years of my life or how about if I don't like it then it's my problem. Ended up getting seafood fried rice and Thai pineapple fried rice. Seafood fried rice was mediocre and the seafood in the dish was cold. The Thai pineapple fried rice was average. Also tried the Roti Canai and I have definitely had better...it was served cold, which I think was more than likely due to it not being fresh or reheated upon serving and the roti was not as flakey as I've had at other restaurants. Do Better. read more

Gluten free Mee Siam. I mentioned to the server that I needed something gluten free, vegan, and I wanted spicy. She quickly recommended the Mee Siam with some adaptations. 1.No Soy Sauce 2. Remove the Shrimp 3. Remove the Egg 4. Add a little more spice. I have the say, the dish was pretty decent. Mee Siam Stir-fried vermicelli with tofu, shrimp, and bean sprouts in spicy Thai chili sauce, sprinkled with grounded peanuts, and topped with sliced hard-boiled eggs. read more

Banana Leaf - Gluten free and vegan Mee Siam Stir-fried vermicelli with tofu and bean sprouts in spicy Thai chili sauce, sprinkled with grounded - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We tried this place during a visit to Philly! Satisfied the cravings for some good food. The Roti and satay as well as their noodle dish charkeowteow was pretty good as was their satay tofu. Overall flavors could have been better. Worth a try if you enjoy this type of cuisine. read more

Having been to Penang three times already, I figured it was about time I try another Malaysian restaurant for a change. I had heard good things about Banana Leaf before but mainly from large parties who had hosted a birthday dinner. The restaurant had a lot of open space with four-person tables on the right and the group / larger party area at a raised section. I tried 3 dishes that I had also tried at Penang so here's my comparison. Note that I'm also a Singaporean-born Asian American with a mother who cooks very authentic and delicious Malaysian/Singaporean cuisine at home so you can trust me on this review Roti Canai: Best roti Canai I've had in Philadelphia yet! It came out warm, the curry wasn't just chicken bones but actual meat that I could eat with the extra rice they gave with the Hainanese chicken. Crispy in some parts and soft and chewy in others and it was perfect - best part of the meal t Hainanese Chicken with Rice ($6.95): I thunk Penang beat our banana leaf on this dish. The sauce was soy sauce, though the meat was cooked well (not over cooked but as in good texture) but a little salty and not as fresh as I'm used to. Also comparing it to the silky Hainanese Chicken that I had all to recently at the Singaporean hawker centers in December - so really biased on this one. Kang Kung Belacan: I really liked their Kang Kung! It's Chinese watercress, for those of you who don't know but the shrimp paste was delicious. Don't be afraid of the spice - it really isn't spicy. Char Kway Teow: I'm used to this being done with thicker noodles, they used pad Thai style noodles so I was a little surprised but the ingredients were nice and they definitely didn't skimp out on the squid and veggies which I was happy about. Pretty large portion for the price too and it came out in a little metal pot so it stayed warm pretty well. Total: $33 + tax / tip (3 entrees, 1 appetizer for 2 people plus decent leftovers). Service was good, they didn't rush us at all and kept refilling our water so I felt very welcome the whole time. read more

BEWARE!!! Don't be fooled by their claim to be Malaysian cuisine. Not even close. Disappointed with all our food ordered. A bad example of Malaysian cuisine. Two other customers in the restaurant-entrance to the restaurant and the stench should have been a telltale sign of a bad restaurant. read more

The food was really yummy! My 5 year old is not a big fan of Asian food- but they accommodated him by modifying a dish. He was happy and so were we!!! read more

Easy to walk past, and does not look all that promising--but go inside and order. Really good food and cordial service. Give it a go!

Delicious food for an affordable price! 8 of us got lunch here one day and each of us ended up paying less than 15 per person.

Had clay pot of noodles Massive Share it Ichiban role was nicely done Very attentive and nice people Ambiance is the only reason it's not a 5 read more

Banana Leaf - Loved my locals. Has to be good - Malaysian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania