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MALAYSIAN PERSUASION

MALAYSIAN
The Brooklyn Papers / Greg Mango

Can’t find decent
Indian food? Tired of Thai? Is every Chinese restaurant in your
neighborhood disappointing? Time to give Malaysian cooking a
try.



In October, chef Peter Howe opened Banana Leaf, a Malaysian bistro,
in Bay Ridge.



Named after the region’s natural serving dish, Banana Leaf offers
the best of those cuisines with a little French thrown in for
good measure. Howe’s crab cake comes with curried mayonnaise.
Skate is grilled and adorned with a pungent puree of chilies
and ginger, and rack of lamb sits beside tangy, tamarind-infused
rice. For lobster lovers, Howe stir-fries the crustaceans in
a wok and then splashes them with lemongrass tea sauce.



The wine list is short – just a house red or white by the glass
or bottle. But beer is better at taming the food’s heat, so several
Asian varieties are available. And that lame excuse for a sweet
– the dish of green-tea ice cream – is about to become a thing
of the past. Creamy lemongrass pudding, banana parfait and coconut
rice layer cake should please the fussiest dessert purist.



At left, lobster, stir-fried in lemongrass tea, served with corn
rice cake.



Banana Leaf (6814 Fourth Ave. between 68th Street and Bay Ridge
Avenue) accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.
Entrees: $9.95-$21. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner seven
days a week. For information call (718) 238-5531.