Happy Hour Guangzhou Banana Leaf Curry House
欢乐餐厅·广州蕉叶

Guangzhou Banana LeafCateringGroup was founded in 1995 by Mr. Luo Dingming in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Mr. Luo traveled to Thailand that year and he was captivated by the splendid golden temples, the tropical beaches with coconut trees and the harmonious lifestyle of the Thai people. In addition to the exotic blend of traditional Thai culture with modern civilization, Luo instantly fell in love with the Thai food served in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

The rich diversity of Thai cuisine reflects the open minded nature of the Thailand people. Thai cuisine has the influence of cooking styles from many countries and cultures, including India, China, Cambodia, Myanmar and even Europe. People there have taken the foreign legacies and transformed them into a cuisine that continues to evolve and flourish. Regardless of being rich or poor, the affordable, good valued Thai cuisine is always served with great hospitality.

Thai people are often regarded as live in joy and happiness. Even the chefs are talented singers and dancers. Their artful performances often earn endless applause from the guests. The dishes prepared by these magic hands are also excellent in appearance and taste.

Moreover, Thai people are experts in cooking with both fresh and dried spices. Their dishes and soups are characterized by pungent aroma and a spicy-sour taste, which are known for their health benefits of helping the body to burn off excess calories.

Mr. Luo was inspired by the healthy delicious cuisine, and the happy, modest and gracious nation, in 1995, he opened Banana Leaf Curry House in Guangzhou. It was operated based on the guiding principle of offering innovative, great tasting and environmental friendly food products served in a happy, friendly atmosphere. This has become the core values and beliefs of the corporate culture.

Shanghai's first Banana Leaf was opened in Hongkong Plaza on Huaihai Road. Tropical décors are implemented throughout the interior design of the restaurant to recreate the warm exotic impression of Southeast Asia. The walls are decorated with realistic artificial fruits, and you may find over a dozen of life size crocodiles in a man-made creek. In the center of the dining hall stands a majestic towering Banyan tree with many durian fruits hanging from the branches. All the lighting fixtures are imported from Thailand. With Buddha sculptures on the surrounding walls and other exquisite tropical decors, the beauty and grace of Thailand can be seen everywhere.

When entering the restaurant, the first you see are the walls covered with numerous celebrity photos. Restaurant waitresses like to tell guests which celebrity has visited the restaurant. For example, Yao Ming used to sit over there and Liang Chaowei had been eating in that private room. For the movie fans, meeting the stars or having a meal in the same place satisfies their appetite for trendy spots. This new and exciting restaurant not only serves an endless parade of mouthwatering delights, it is also a representative of the beauty and richness of the vibrant cosmopolitan culture of modern Shanghai.

The restaurant offers the finest foods, from Thai spices and Indian curries to the succulent Vietnamese crabs, allowing guests to be mesmerized by the hypnotic aromas, textures and flavors. Services and cooking techniques are fine tuned to perfection and all ingredients are flawlessly prepared. Every dish and soup reflects the dedication and diverse talents of the highly skilled chefs. The restaurant has earned high praises from many customers and food critics.

The restaurant has the most warm cheerful ambience that promises an enjoyable meal for everyone. Apart from the delicious foods, the lively atmosphere, the outstanding service and the fascinating cooking demonstrations work together to create a happy dining experience. Especially for birthday banquets, the restaurant provides a free birthday cake and live music performed by the Philippine staffs to boost the spirit. Even for an ordinary dinner, the naturally gifted Philippine staffs might show up with guitar and drum, and using a spoon as a microphone to sing. Some of them can even show off their acrobatic moves by tossing dishes. Guests are invited to sing along and dance together with the hosts, and the dance reaches its climax to the beat of the music. The restaurant has created an environment that successfully arouses customers' emotions and stimulates their senses, stronger and more effective than the pungent curry flavors. The distinctive design and arrangements demonstrates a humanized business management concept which is recognized as the unparalleled feature of Guangzhou Banana Leaf Catering Group.

The company is also faithful to its mission to promote wellbeing and protect the environment, so the restaurant earned great reputation and admiration among many diners and food connoisseurs. In 2007, one of the online restaurant review surveys reported that the restaurant was voted to be the most popular and the most attractive restaurant in Shanghai. Since the launch of the first curry house in HongKong Plaza on Huaihai Road in 2003, the company opened the second location in 2006 in Zhengda Plaza of Pudong Lujiazui. In the beginning of this year, 96 Plaza in Pudong was chosen as the location for the third restaurant. The rapid expansion of the restaurant chain demonstrates the undeniable popularity of Thai cuisine and the success of Guangzhou Banana Leaf Catering Group.

Fried Crab with Yellow Curry
咖喱皇炒蟹

Thai curry initially came from India. But it is modified to reduce the spiciness in exchange of added aroma, by adding coconut paste and countless fresh or dried spices. There are chefs who specialize in making curry sauce. The taste of Thai dishes mainly depends on the skill of the restaurant's curry chef. Fragrant and full of flavors, the alluring curry sauce has the all-embracing charm. Black pepper, cumin and bay leaf are used to make the base sauce, and then freshly-skinned garlic, green onion, ginger, basil leaves, lemon grass, Thai sweet basil removed from its stalks, and all sorts of chili peppers are used to produce many different flavored curry pastes or sauces. For example, red curry paste helps make fish tender and savory, green curry sauce adds more aroma and spiciness to seafood, black curry with walnuts is the perfect compliments to any beef, and the yellow curry brings out the best flavor of the crab.

Because of the supreme taste and distinctive flavor, the famous Fried Mud Crab with Yellow Curry is the signature dish at Banana Leaf. The restaurant proudly reported a total of 6,615,620 crabs have been served since the opening. Crab meat used to be stir-fried with pepper, ginger and green onions. But once, a chef got a bit drunk and mistakenly sprinkled curry powder onto the crab instead of using black pepper. The resulting dish was surprisingly tasty. Since then, this cooking idea was circulated among chefs and it was further improved at Banana Leaf Restaurant.

The dish is prepared according to a top secret recipe. Cooked with many spices and coconut juice, it has a sweet taste with a subtle hint of spiciness. The tender crab meat is infused with the flavors of curry and coconut milk, taste absolutely sublime.

Seafood with Thai Green Curry 青咖喱海鲜

The key for cooking this dish is to make the perfect green curry paste. Green curry is prepared from fresh herbs and spices, such as Thai hot basil, lime leaf, chilli bird green, curry leaf, shallots and other Thai spices. These ingredients are mixed together and made into a paste, which is enriched with coconut sugar, Thai fish sauce and coconut milk. Because of the fresh ingredients, the green curry sauce tastes wonderfully refreshing and boosts the amazing fragrance. The dish is slightly spicy with a light green appearance.

Honey Barbeque Chicken 招牌蜜糖炭烧辣鸡

Lychee wood charcoal from Guangdong Province was used for barbequing; it adds a fresh fruity flavor to the meat. The chicken used in this dish is from Subei (northern region of Jiangshu Province). A fresh chicken is cut open and the entrails are removed. Hot Thai pepper, lemon-grass, garlic cloves, shallots, Thai Hot Basil and lime leaf are chopped into fine pieces, and then mixed with Thai mushroom soy sauce, fish sauce, coconut sugar, white pepper, oyster sauce and other ingredients to make a special marinade. The chicken is kept in the marinade over night.

The marinated chicken is placed above the charcoal and slowly roasted in the cooler zone of the fire until moistures are evaporated. Then the chicken is removed from the fire and buttered with a sweet sauce made with malt sugar, eel bone, rice wine and Thai soy sauce. Finally the chicken is placed very close to the charcoal fire and roasted in high heat to make the skin extra crispy.

Malaysian Beef Brisket Curry 马来咖喱牛腩

Malaysian style curry is made from regular curry added with banana, apple, onion and tomato. First Stir-fry tomato and onion in butter, then add bananas and apples to make a paste for later use. Garlic and shallots are stir-fried until fragrant, and then small amount of Cardamom Pots, bay leaf, Sichuan pepper and chili peppers are added along with a secret recipe curry paste, curry powder, turmeric powder and chili pepper powder. All ingredients and spices are slowly simmered over low heat until good aroma develops, and then the premade fruit vegetable puree and beef brisket are put in and cooked together with the curry sauce. Before serving, the dish is seasoned with Thai coconut paste, fish sauce and milk powder. Slow cooking over low heat is one of the characteristics of this dish. It is vital not to vigorously boil the ingredients over high heat. The aroma and the sweetness of the fruits and flavors of curry are melded together in Malaysian curry. Although lacking the sharp pungent taste when compared to other types of curry, Malaysian style curry is known to be good for health. Featuring an attractive yellow appearance, the thick creamy curry sauce has a rich aromatic flavor with a long lasting aftertaste.

Delicious Thai Snacks Platter 泰式小食拼盆

This delicious platter is consisted of Malaysian chicken kebab, Thai Pandanus Chicken, Thai Fish Cake, Shrimp Cake and Vietnamese Spring Rolls.

Tom Yam Kung 冬阴功汤

Recognized as one of the most famous Thai dish, Tom Yam Kung is actually a hot and sour seafood soup. Oven-baked giant Vietnamese prawns are first boiled with various Thai spices including chili peppers, lime leaf and lemon grass. The prawns and the spices are slowly simmered in a pot over 8 hours to make a rich flavorful broth. Once it is done, the broth is strained and the liquid is kept for later use. Fresh Vietnamese prawns are added to the broth and the flavor is further enhanced by adding lemon grass, Thai chili pepper, fish sauce and lime leaf. Served in a special pot, this amazing soup tastes spicy but not too hot and the herbs add a tantalizing aroma that will stay in your memory forever.

Charcoal Grilled Pork 金牌炭烧猪颈肉

Thai chili peppers, lemon grass and shallots are crushed and ground into a paste, and then combined with Thai soy sauce, fish sauce, coconut sugar and ground white pepper to make a seasoning sauce. Pig neck meat is marinated in the sauce for 4 hours to allow flavors penetrate the meat. The pork is first baked in oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes, and then barbequed over a charcoal grill. The aromatic and spicy meat is then sliced and served on a plate.

Address:

Hongkong Plaza Location: Hongkong Plaza, South Tower 4th Floor, 283 Middle Huaihai Road

Zhengda Plaza Location: Zhengda Plaza Unit 701-702, 168 West Lujiazui Road, Pudong District

96 Plaza Location: 96 Plaza Floor Unit 201-203, 2nd Floor, 796 Dongfang Road, Pudong District

Telephone: 021-5383 3333 (Hongkong Plaza)

021-5047 6899 (Zhengda Plaza)

021-6101 9896 (96 Plaza)

Hours of operation: 11:00-14:00

17:00-23:00