They've toned down the spicy notes on this over the years, so their current rendition has more of a natural taste and less fiery heat.
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The large boneless chunks of monkfish fillets are flaky soft juicy in texture, with a mild yoghurt and spice marinade. Has lovely smoky meaty sweet savoury salty spice flavour.
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Served with fresh salad on the side.
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Fish Tikka
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2023/03/best-of-singapore-hawkers-fish-tikka.html
this meal set us back around $120
free refill of the papadum.
butter chicken was good!!! we paired it with garlic naan and butter naan. i prefer the latter tho
fish curry was good, sizable chunks of the flesh doused in curry!! went well with the biryani rice
Among the most luxurious with a generous serving size, their rendition of dhal tadka is yummy.
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The texture is creamy smooth with grainy chunks bits, enhanced with dried red chili, fresh coriander, and chili oil.
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Has a bright earthy savoury salty sweet spice flavour, with a slight lingering heat that entices.
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Dhal
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/09/best-of-singapore-hawkers-dhal.html
Their version has seen the base recipe change and improve over the years. This means the dish I had here recently is different from the version I had 10+ years ago in my original list.
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It now has a thicker, more chunky texture to the curry gravy, and the use of a greater range of spices lends well to its savoury sweet salty spice flavour.
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The boneless chicken chunks are marinated in yoghurt and tandoor roasted, then immersed and finished in the curry gravy.
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This gives the chicken a tender chewy texture, with smoky meaty savoury sweet salty spice flavour, yum.
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Pairs well with rice or bread, but it feels more shiok with rice.
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Chicken Tikka Masala
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/08/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-tikka-masala.html
The 4 large fist shaped pieces of boneless chicken are juicy and tender with a medium chew to texture.
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Light on spices but with more yoghurt in the marinade, the chicken holds meaty sweet savoury spice flavours. A drizzle of lime juice lends zesty tangy sour notes for contrast.
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Actually more filling than it looks.
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Chicken Tikka
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/07/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chicken-tikka.html
Their rendition carries lovely char marks from the grill, the enticing smoky aroma complementing its grainy bready savoury sweet flavour.
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With a soft fluffy chewy texture, their chapati is great at picking up morsels of meat, vegetables, or curry. Yum.
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Typically sold in sets of 2 pieces, it can be quite filling.
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Chapati
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/05/best-of-singapore-hawkers-chapati.html
More casual dining than hawker, the portion here is large enough to share between 2 - 4 people.
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Served in a metal pot, the thick curry gravy is rich and creamy, with a drizzle of cream over the top. Has lovely savoury sweet spice milky flavour that can be rather addictive.
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The marinated and roasted boneless chicken chunks within carry a smoky aroma, picking up the flavours of the curry gravy well. Yields nicely with a tender chew to texture.
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Best paired with bread or rice.
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Butter Chicken
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/04/best-of-singapore-hawkers-butter-chicken.html
Their rendition of this wholesome curry stands out for being packed with fresh vegetables.
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There's juicy tomatoes, crunchy okra, and crisp red onions, bright and chunky with vegetal sweet flavour.
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The curry gravy itself is light, with mild sweet spice savoury notes, so you still get the natural freshness of the vegetables.
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Bhindi Masala
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2022/03/best-of-singapore-hawkers-bhindi-masala.html
This reowned chain is known for their South Indian dishes, but also offer a strong range of quality North Indian curries like this as well.
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Beyond the crunchy cauliflower florets and tender potatoes, they've also included juicy green peas and soft red onions.
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The thick curry gravy, rich with tomato and spices, holds lovely vegetal earthy sweet savoury spice flavour. Wholesome.
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Aloo Gobi
The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
Opening Hours: Daily 10:30am – 10:30pm
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2021/12/best-of-singapore-hawkers-aloo-gobi.html
One portion of the free-flow rice and veggies. It may be free-flow but it's $4.
I'm always so conflicted about lassi. It's semi interesting, but I can't stand yogurt.
Loving this basmati Briyani which is light and fluffy and goes so well with the first head curry .
For 4 dollars, you get unlimited refill of 2 vegetable sides and rice .
How nice !
Banana leaf is the only place I go to when I need a hot and steaming fish head curry . I actually prefer Indian fish head curry because it is not mixed with coconut milk like the ones from tze char places which leave you pretty jelat.
A total of 30 spices are used to make this fish head curry .
The fish is always fresh and I love how they give complimentary crackers .
Order a portion of their basmati Briyani rice which comes with 2 side vegetables and you are ready for a sumptuous treat .
Very reasonably priced at 24 dollars .
I came for this and the sauce really delivered. It's so rich, albeit silently spicy. However, it got jelak after a while. The chicken on the other hand was quite ordinary.
Chinese-style stir-fried cauliflower. No wonder it tasted like straight out of zichar hahaha. Quite shiok.
Crowded on a weekend lunch. The food here is generally good.
Will always return for their masala chicken
Shiok
I can’t do spicy, and this butter chicken was delicious!
Husband loved his slightly more spicy Chicken Masala
No bananas 🍌 but lots of spices
I never liked fish head curry - because the Chinese style ones make you feel gelat after a few mouthfuls or that the fish head is so skinny that all you get are bones.
The fish head curry at banana leaf has however changed my mind .
The curry is so aromatic ( and made with 26 types of spices) and non milky - just powerful punches of spices.
The fish head is also extremely fleshy and the fish meat is firm and very fresh .
Pair it with free flow rice set ( which comes with 2 sides of tasty vegetables ) and before you know it the fishhead and the whole bowl of gravy is gone 🤗
Banana leaf really serves up one of the best dishhead curries in town .
The masala chicken 🐓 at banana leaf is a taste bomb.
At 6 dollars for a serving, it is not exactly cheap but because it is so tasty and well prepared , it is really worth the buck .
There is aplenty of aromatics ( chopped onions and shallots ?) and mixed spices . It is slightly spicy with a slight tinge of sweetness. I rarely can’t tell what goes into a dish but this was a real challenge because every ingredient seemed to have been mixed in so well - and just enters the roof of your mouth and explodes with a huge flavour .
Best eaten with plain rice 🍚 . Trust me , once you get started on this dish , you can’t stop .
Soooooooooo Good
This fish head curry was so good - it literally left me speechless because all I wanted to do was to dunk the pappadum crackers and garlic naan into the robust gravy.
Arriving pipping hot , the fish head was served with an assortment of vegetables and fresh pineapple cubes and a thick luxurious gravy that was so rich and complex in spices .The fish meat was so fresh and firm - every bite was just pure heaven .
My last trip to banana leaf was more than 3 years ago and I didn’t have too good an opinion of the fishhead curry then because the gravy was quite watered down and the fish head was rather small for the price .
However I am Glad that my craving for Indian curry fish head led me to try this place once again and I was truly not disappointed.
To complement the fish head curry, you can make an order of plain rice or Biryani basmati rice with 2 assorted side vegetables which is refillable.
