Banana Leaf’s website explains more about Malaysian Cuisine:
Malaysian fare isn’t about a singular distinctive taste, but about diversity, with a blend of culinary inspiration from India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Eurasia, and Malaysia’s indigenous population. It combines the best of South East Asia, from India’s roti canai, Singapore’s laksa, to China’s Hainanese chicken rice, creating a menu that is a delight to try.
Visitors have many good things to say about Banana Leaf. Rasputin45 writes on the restaurant review site Dinehere.ca:
Banana Leaf is good for almost any occasion. It’s probably our most reliable favorite, a great place to take out of town guests and go for a regular night out with your family as well. At roughly 12 – 20 dollars an entree, it’s a fantastic value as well, especially in the Kits zone of overpriced fare. Our favorites? roti canai, the rendang beef, the lamb dish, sambal green beans, Tofu in Assam sauce, and sayur Lemak.
Pictured below are some dishes I enjoyed when I visited their Kitsilano location earlier this year. A great appetizer or side dish is the Roti Canai, an Indian-influenced puffy bread served with a wonderful rich curry sauce. Also shown is a Malaysian vegetable curry dish (Sayur Lemak) as well as the Nasi Goreng: fried rice with beef, shrimp, egg, tomato, onion and green beans.
I’m looking forward to visiting Banana Leaf again sometime soon.
Roti Canai bread from Banana Leaf Malaysian restaurant in Kitsilano Vancouver BC Canada.
Sayur Lemak Malaysian Vegetable Curry from Banana Leaf restaurant in Kits Vancouver BC Canada.
Nasi Goreng from Banana Leaf Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada - Malaysian fried rice with beef, shrimp, egg, tomato, onion and green beans.
Restaurant interior at Banana Leaf Malaysian Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
Capones Restaurant and Jazz Club (website, map, 1141 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-569-1770) is one of Vancouver’s hottest places for live jazz music in the downtown core.
Located in the trendy Yaletown shopping and restaurant district (which is accessible via the Yaletown-Roundhouse Canada Line train station), Capones features live jazz music 7 days a week combined with their upscale and sumptuous food reminiscent of the great pizza, pasta, and other meat and seafood specialties found in New York’s fine jazz eateries.
Capones recently underwent a major renovation and features a brand new bar area. I haven’t seen it yet and am looking forward to checking it out soon!
I visited Capones a few months ago. For an appetizer, we ordered the baked brie cheese which was topped with fresh sweet blueberries (pictured below). For the main course we tried their pastas, the Carbonera fettucini and the seafood fettucini (also pictured below). As usual the food was very delicious and the portions were just the right size – not too big to be uncomfortable but still enough to be heartily satisfying.
Prices are reasonable considering the restaurant’s location and the quality of the food. A meal tends to be around $20 to $40 per person depending on whether you order appetizers or drinks.
The music that night was provided by Phyllis Adelyne, an accomplished jazz singer with a warm personality and a classic sound drawing back to greats like Ella Fitzgerald.
I can’t wait to see what great performers and tempting dishes Capones has in their lineup next. Highly recommended.
Baked Brie Cheese from Capones Restaurant and Live Jazz Club in Vancouver BC Canada.
Carbonara fettuccini pasta from Capone's restaurant and Live Jazz Club in Vancouver BC Canada.
Frutti di mare (seafood) fettuccini from Capones restaurant and live jazz band club in Yaletown, downtown Vancouver BC Canada.
Phyllis Adelyne singing jazz at Capones Restaurant and Live Jazz Club in Vancouver BC Canada.
Insadong Korean Restaurant (website, map, photos, 403 North Road, Coquitlam, BC, Canada, phone: 604-936-3778) is one of my new favorite places to go for Korean food in the Greater Vancouver area. It’s located just on the Coquitlam side of North Road, near Lougheed Mall in Burnaby. It’s within walking distance of the Lougheed skytrain station.
Love to be there. I have been in this restaurant a few time and every time I was there it was a pleasure for a spicy Korean style. The taste of the food was so impressive with a big portion of Kim chi and beef. Shabu hot pot beef was my favorite food there and big.. even it was a small size. The taste was rich with a healthy vegetable and tasty Kim Chi ingredients. The service was fast and excellent as well. Keep maintain the quality and services like this, I will be back again.
Prices for a full meal range between $10 and $20 per person depending on which dishes you order.
The spicy soft tofu soup (with seafood, pictured below) is $8.99 and comes with a side of rice and all the usual Korean accompaniment dishes like the kim-chee (traditional spicy cabbage), the candied cooked potatoes (my favorite), sprouts, and more. The soup and side dishes are a meal in themselves.
We also ordered some fancy salads such as the Smoked Salmon Salad ($7.99) and the Seafood Salad ($9.99) which were amazing “fusion” style dishes with great Korean influences but also making use of West Coast ingredients.
