Banyan Tree

Worth a visit just for the Roti Canai

A bit late but better than never.
So I’ve been here waiting on a to go order and its been almost 30 mins. In the meantime, a table that came in after me, have gotten their food. How is this possible? So service isnt that great. Décor is so so. Wonder how’s the food? My expectations are low.
Food: ugh, not that great. Shouldn’t have trusted the «good» reviews.

I’m a bit surprised at the many negative, more-​recent reviews. When I ate here a few days ago, there was a public notice on the window of ownership change; so perhaps Banyan Tree will be improving now? Anyway, my experience here was pretty good. The servers were prompt and very friendly, and everything seemed clean enough for a restaurant.
On to the food! M and I both got the lunch special, which included a bowl of soup, a HUGE bowl of white rice, $ 5/​dishes, and dessert. The soup was slightly sour (I think it’s supposed to be) and had some (pickled?) vegetables in it. The dessert was some kind of purple sweet rice soup — really yummy!
We got three dishes:
— Satay Chicken: delicious! The chicken was moist, juicy and perfectly juicy. The peanut dipping sauce was really good as well!
— Malaysian Dried Curry with Beef: I’ve never heard of Malaysian Dried Curry, but it turned out to be pretty good! The curry was barely spicy but still had a lot of flavor; also, it’s much less liquidy than the usual Thai curry I eat. The beef was cooked well. There were also string beans and some other veggies in the curry.
— Thai Red Snapper: We originally ordered Thai Salmon, but they didn’t have any so we settled for red snapper instead. We were very surprised to find that they’d fried an entire fish — head, tails, fins, and all — and added some veggies and sweet&sour sauce. I usually don’t eat whole fish or the skin, but I tried it this time and it was quite good! The skin was very crispy but the meat inside was still soft.
The total for the meal was about $ 16, which we thought was very reasonable for the amount & quality of food that we got. I definitely plan on returning to try some of the other lunch special dishes!

Roti canaii was pretty good. Could be a little crispier but it was fine.
Sweet n sour pork, mango chicken, and coconut rice was on the menu and all were pretty good.
S n s pork had the right amount of vegetables n had a nice crisp showing it’s freshness. Funny we ordered Chinese when there was little sheng yuen next door but o well.
The mango chicken. Really crispy. Comparable to a popeyes chicken w the flakiness of the skin. But the chicken was still very moist.
Coconut rice. Sweet but nothing amazing.
But the meal was topped off w some hot ube soup reminds me of some red bean soup. Very good.
I’d climb this tree né day. Especially if I don’t wanna fight the line in little sheng yuen.

I have been going to this place on and off for the past 5 years now — and it has turned from one of my favorite places into one of my least favorite ones. The food used to be tasty, but not anymore. The service is sloppy. I gave it enough chances in the past 6 months to like it, but I was proven wrong each time.
Today, they came to downright cheating. Without asking or mentioning at any time, they added a 15% surcharge in the name of «service tax» (for two people) and on asking where that came from, the manager said that the tip had already been added. Furthermore, the final bill had an extra «Tip» section. I asked him that if I had not asked about the first «service tax», I’d have filled this up too and paid another 10−15% as tip. This, to me, is just cheating. To me, its not about the money — I’d have been more than glad to pay the 15% had they not surreptitiously added the «service tax» (on a sloppy service). But because of the fact that they tried to dupe a loyal customer of 5+ years, I must say that it was my last visit to the restaurant. Customers, beware of the extra charges that are being made in the name of «service tax».

EXTREMELY DIRTY. My menu was sticky and very worn down. Silverware was questionable so I used my only napkin to wipe those down. I was given a glass with no ice filled with warm water. Took a sip and the water tasted like it came straight from the sink, so I ordered hot tea.
Food was decent, but overpriced for the portions. $ 13 for four pieces of meat in sauce?!

Just happend to come across this place after doing some asian grocery shopping at Marina Market and perusing the Daiso store… this place is located right in the corner of the strip mall.
Place is modern, staff friendly, food ok… to be honest, not sure what i was expecting. Ordered the noodles which said wide rice noodle so i thought it would be similiar to a pad seew or chow fun… lets order it!
The noodles that came out were more thin and similiar to a pad thai without the tamarind. It had good flavor but a little mushy…4 pieces of shrimp, some calamari for $ 8.95
Ordered the pandan chicken wings which were deep fried chicken wings with a sweet chili sauce accompanied with some picked vegetables. Anything fried is good so yes it was decent along wiht the Hainanese rice (touch of curry, ginger, scallions)…tasty.
Ended with the fried banana with coconut ice cream… lightly fried banana with honey, whipped cream and VANILLA ice cream… a little disappointed that it was NOT coconut, but oh well.
appetizer, noodle dish, 2 orders of Hainanese rice, fried banana, 1 coconut drink, 1 coke = $ 29.00
Will I try it again? Possibly when in the area but not in any rush.

Ok, I’m not an expert on Thai/​Malaysian food, but I think it’s pretty damn good. Always get the chicken satay, roti canai, aromatic chicken, and pineapple fried rice. Ordering anything else is out of the ordinary for me.
There are some pretty picky people reviewing this restaurant, but I can’t do anything about that. Never left unsatisfied from here. But I think Sanam Luang Café is the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten, but they’re alll the way in LA.

I’m teetering between giving this place 2 or 3 stars, but since I just ate there yesterday and the food was not satisfactory, I am going with the lower star.
I’ve been to this place for over 5 years now and I’ve always thought it was pretty good. However, recently after I moved home and starting going here again the food has just not been up to par. Maybe because I’m ordering different foods, or maybe I’ve just developed a more sophisticated palette.
The Roti Cani is a must when you go here and I love their Pineapple Fried Rice that comes in a real pineapple. What I would not recommend is their Red curry. It tasted like slosh. And what is slosh? I don’t know and that’s exactly what I felt like when I was eating the curry like what the f– is this?! The Pad Thai is taste like any other pad thai and the Thai ice tea is alright.
Oh yea and I asked for SUPER spicy on my food and the food was super NOT spicy at all. Alas my Thai craving was not met. =(Maybe next time.

Came here today. usually I love this place. but today. hmmmm. Slow service and NO Purple soup/​dessert. :(They usually give them out during lunch. but not why dinner!
I was not satisfied with my order. #304. I DO NOT recommend this, unless you like bland noodles.

I’d give this place another chance, but it won’t be for a while.
Firstly, the ambiance is very nice, the décor is simple, inviting, and modern. At first glance, the menu seems pretty appetizing and the photos made me even more hungry. The wait staff is prompt, friendly, and attentive.
When our food came out, our Seafood Taro Nest literally had 2 small shrimp and a few slivers of squid. I was so extremely disappointed. They call it a SEAFOOD taro nest, but gave us a vegetarian taro nest with sad pieces of seafood.
The lady that works there (although her intentions are probably good) buses the table like a nazi. She kept walking by staring at our plates and was so eager to clear our plates even when there was still food on it. I felt very rushed even though only 25% of the tables inside the restaurant were taken. What’s with that?! She’d ask if we were done, then 3 minutes later, walk by, stare at our plates and not say anything for 15 seconds, then ask if we’re done…)@#%(@)(&@#%()*&#@%)@#…
With all that said, the flavors are decent, could use a little improvement in execution, but I’d come back in a few months to see if things have changed for the better.

Jack of all trades, master of none? Look no further for a textbook example.
Oh Banyan Tree, it doesn’t matter if you have a fusion of three different styles if none of them truly stand out. And I don’t care if you have a rice pineapple boat; it’s just not the same!

It was probably my 5^th or 6^th visit in the restaurant. I used to live around the area and haven’t been in this restaurant for at least three years.
The food and the menu stayed the same… not sure about the price thought.
The place is still the same although you can tell the place has been there for a few years.
The service had gone downhill.
My sister and I had to literally stop the server (I think there was only 1, not counting 2 – 3 bussers) in order for him to stop and get our orders, give us what we need and give our check. We waited for about 20 mins after being seated and no one asked for our orders or if we needed anything.
I am also pretty sure the servers here used to wear a cute Asian uniform. what happened?

Update on this place. I actually came back here and tried out some of their malaysian dishes. Wow, totally boring. I don’t know if its Malaysian food itself or just their cooking, but man that was disappointing. I don’t know the name of the dish I ordered. Some sort of noodle dish. But man, it was totally plain. It felt like I was eating just straight up noodles with no sauce at all. It was so plain, I can’t even recollect how it tasted in my mouth at all, and I just had it yesterday. Ridiculous.
I had their Malaysian Ice Tea also. It tasted like milk tea that I could get at a Hong Kong coffee shop. It was bitter, but in a good way.
Just letting people know that the Malaysian food here isn’t anything special, or at least thats what I think from what I’ve tried. If anyone wants to suggest a Malaysian dish to order from here next time then lemme know…

$ 5.00 Lunch Special!
Wow, what a great deal. I’m not sure what I’m more excited about: the new flavors or the cheap buy. maybe a little of both.
Soup to start — too sour for my taste
Roti Canai — oooh so good, fluffy and crispy YUM!
Hainan Chicken — wasn’t too special but the ginger/​chili dipping was great
Hokkien Mee — reminds me of yakiudon with gravy
Pulut Hitam — very nice end to the meal, not overly sweet
. all that for $ 14.54! At first I thought they had split the bill at the table already but no, that’s the total-​total. To top it off, service was really efficient. Orders came out fast, water was always filled. I’m definitely coming back for lunch here!

Service was pretty slow even though we were the only table there. The roti canai was cold when we got it. :(
Better elsewhere.

I used to really really love this place– but something has changed…
I’m not sure if it’s under new ownership, but it sure isn’t the 5 star establishment I once raved about here on Unilocal.The customer service is lacking in the ‘smiles’ department, and the food portions have shrunk considerably. When I ate here a few days ago I clearly heard one of the waiters hocking a loogie in the restroom behind us with the door wide open.
For the fact that I’ve been going here for so long and I’ve enjoyed this establishment for several years, I don’t want to be a bummer and leave it 1 or 2 stars– but fact of the matter is this place seems to have gone down hill a bit and I can’t stand behind those 5 stars I once gave Banyan Tree.

They have an AMAZING $ 5 lunch special.
Basically everything of note from the menu is transferred to the lunch menu. Free soup (one time it was tom yum, one time it was some sour veggies…), entrée with a big bowl of rice, and dessert (pretty bomb red bean soup with quality ingredients like black rice).
The entrees are of hefty portions and always very fresh. I love the Laksa noodles and I have to say that the Dry-​Curry with Fish Fillets and string beans is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had for lunch.
I don’t know why more people don’t know about this deal. It is truly the most amazing deals around. If you’re a light eater, you’ll surely have enough for a second meal.
One gripe is that it always seems like a hurricane has blown through the bathroom. What’s up with that? I have to hike up my pants or even fold them whenever I go in because the floor is always a little more than moist. Sometimes the toilet seat is really wet, too, and I’m pretty sure it’s not with the previous person’s pee. Anyway if your shoes don’t have traction, just hold it in.

For those who follow my Unilocaling, might know I’m working on a new review when new pictures are uploaded. This time it’s for Banyan Tree. I actually thought that I have reviewed this place a long time ago but I just checked and looks like I haven’t reviewed it yet. Quite rare for me to do a post during the summer since it’s when I’m most busiest.
When walking in the restaurant the decorations of the location is very Southeast Asian. Example would be the illustrated elephants on the wall and even the Christmas lights on the ceiling. Though it might sound a bit corny the restaurant itself is quite nice.
This place is quite pricey for what you are getting. Since I was having relatives visiting from Holland we had went all out with four appetizers, and probably like 12 – 14 entrees and of course lots of rice. We had two different dishes of clams. The clams were nicely seasoned and wasn’t too bad, besides the other food within the dish. I couldn’t tell in taste what else is different between the clam dishes. My favorite dish within the bunch is by far the tofu on the little wok. The tofu was fried to a nice crunch while the inside is still super soft that almost melts in your mouth. As far as everything else, there wasn’t too much that took on my interest far.
Not bad. 3 stars.

Came here for a Sunday brunch at 10:30 am w/​the doors wide open. One of the staff informed us sternly that they open at 11 am…
We came back at 11 am to a nice and cool air conditioned restaurant w/​both front and back doors open.
Roti Canai — 3.5 stars
— Okay in my book… nothing spectacular
Chicken Satay — 4 stars
— Very tasty and tender dark meat chicken w/​curry dipping sauce
Egg Chow Fun — 3 stars
— zesty hot chow fun w/​seafood. Chow fun was clumped together. Shrimps were a little small, albeit fresh.
…someone was smoking in the open kitchen during our stay… my buddy was a little appalled.
We took our time w/​appetizers since the main dish seemed to take its time… we later learned that the waiter wanted to make sure we finished our appetizers first!
Lunch ended w/​a Malaysian style Red Bean sand dessert… complimentary…delicious!
My buddy also ordered some curry that she packed up to go… all in all, lunch was $ 40 for a party of two.