Compared to other Asian cuisines found in Houston, Malaysian cuisine is relatively new to the metropolitan area — partly because its authenticity is difficult to achieve. As Banana Leaf restaurant partner Bobby Lim says, not many restaurants here have made sense of what Malaysian cuisine is. 

A fusion of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, the rigorously prepared dishes represent a melting pot of Malay, Chinese, and Indian flavors, with Thai and Indonesian influences as well. The preparation and cooking processes that go into creating traditional dishes, such as Beef Rendang and Singaporean Laksa, typically take several hours. A complex methodology, combining and simmering myriad spices and ingredients into a robust, consistent composition of texture and flavor, can sometimes take an entire day. 

Banana Leaf

Lucky for us, Banana Leaf does not disappoint with its bona fide dishes cooked with meticulousness and special attention to spice. Tucked in Dun Huang Plaza in the Southwest Management District since 2008, it was one of the first Malaysian restaurants in Houston. Within its warmly lit interior, with bamboo-lined walls framing mocha-brown tables, the space is alive with conversation and orders amid the savory fragrances in  the air. 

In addition to the aroma of herbs and sauces, including sambal belacan (made from dried chilies, shrimp paste, and lime juice), the food is marked by an intense piquancy. 

The way that Banana Leaf maintains authenticity across a range of dishes is impressive, considering the length of its menu. 

“The accessibility of fresh produce and quality meat in Houston tempts us to use the freshest ingredients,” Lim explains. “The other secret is most of the condiments we use to make our sauces from scratch are imported from Malaysia on our own.”

Sourcing spices of exceptional quality is important to drawing out the strong notes that you taste in each dish. Savor these intricate flavors; they are hard to come by. 

Some of the popular dishes at Banana Leaf include Roti Canai (homemade Indian pancake), Chow Kueh Teow, or Char Kway Teow (stir-fried flat noodles), Singapore Laksa, Beef Rendang, Satay Chicken or Beef, and Kang Kung Belacan. My favorite dishes are the Sizzling Malaysian Style Bean Curd, Water Spinach (Kang Kung) Belacan, Hokkien Stir-fried Noodles, and Satay Chicken.

Vegetable-covered tofu sizzling atop a fried egg and sauce, water spinach fragrantly fried with shrimp paste, seafood noodles drizzled in a thick, dark sauce, and spice-marinated, grilled chicken skewers served with peanut sauce, cucumbers, and onions: the sight and taste are instantly recognizable and clear. With years of insight and experience and attention to detail, Banana Leaf serves us a genuine, satisfying amalgamation of Malaysian cuisine.

New to the Houston Chinatown scene in the management district, PappaRich adds sincerity to the sharp, extraordinary notes of flavors that color the growing experience of Malaysian cuisine in Houston.

PappaRich

PappaRich is familiar elsewhere. It’s a global franchise that originated in Malaysia in 2006 with 84 stores planted across its home country today. Thriving in other countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia, PappaRich recently landed in the United States with locations in Flushing, N.Y. and Houston. The chain was named for its founders, whose first name is Rich.

“Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. and people here are very open to try new things, especially food from other cultures. Because of that reason, we think it’s a perfect place for PappaRich to introduce our restaurant here,” says Tuck Thean, owner of PappaRich Houston. 

With its herringbone-tiled floors and matcha-green chairs perched around long tables, the brightly lit, modern-style space of PappaRich — in the Bellaire Food Street plaza — exudes the same warmth that its food does. The menu is distinct, Thean elaborates, because it is Halal friendly, with no pork-based products in the restaurant. Honing in on classic dishes, it offers traditional culinary delights, including specialty desserts.

Don’t know what to order? Here are their most popular dishes: Hainanese Chicken Rice, Char Kway Teow, Roti Canai, Sizzling Tofu, Sambal Fried Water Spinach, Chili Prawn, KL Hokkien Noodles, Sambal Squid, and Curry Laksa.

I tried many of them while dining with my family. My favorite dishes were the Chili Prawn, a congregation of shrimps stir-fried in spicy and textured sweet-and-sour sauce, and the Hainanese Chicken Rice. That is a dish composed of poached chicken and seasoned rice accompanied by chili sauce, ginger-garlic sauce, sweet dark soy sauce, and acar, a spicy pickled vegetable condiment. 

“Our flavors are so unique, yet familiar to many cultures and always full of spiced and fresh ingredients,” Thean says. Every spice adds to the richness and warmth of flavor and aroma that composes a mouthwatering medley of enjoyment.

Something I appreciated about both restaurants is that they did not hold back on their spices and condiments.and Malaysian restaurants tend to dilute the flavors that are important to their dishes to conserve spices that are difficult to find here. 

Banana Leaf and PappaRich pay ardent homage to the intricate marriage of spice and ingredient in the mingling of cultures that birthed Malaysian cuisine.

Each dish is meant to be shared family-style. Food is a love language among many Asian cultures. With generous servings, it brings people together, and Malaysian food adds a fused, hearty depth to that experience. Next time when you are in Chinatown, bring a group of loved ones and try these specialty dishes at Banana Leaf and PappaRich. 

Banana Leaf
9889 Bellaire Blvd. Suite 311 
Houston, TX 77036

713.771.8118

Sunday – Thursday 11:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Friday – Saturday 11:00 A.M. – 10:00 P.M.

PappaRich Houston
9393 Bellaire Blvd. Suite A-1
Houston, TX 77036

281.974.1115
https://papparichusa.com/

Sunday – Thursday 11:00 A.M. – 9:30 P.M.
Friday – Saturday 11:00 A.M. – 10:30 P.M.

— by Nicole Ting