By Xu Xiaomin (Shanghai Star)
Updated: 2006-08-25 08:31

There are two standards for choosing a restaurant. One, of course, is the food quality,and the other, also very important, is the environment.

There are many satisfactory restaurants with both good food and nice environment. But the one I recommend here is a little special.

The Banana Leaf, a restaurant featuring refined Thai food, opened a new branch in Pudong's Super Brand Mall recently. The restaurant is designed like a forest. Lamps made of garlic and other plants are unique.

If you are lucky, usually around 7 pm every night, waitresses and waiters from Thailand accompany themselves on musical instruments as they sing and dance. They sometimes invite customers to dance with them. A beautiful waitress dressed as a captain will go to each table to sing love songs and flatter everyone.

Dancing before dinner can help improve the appetite. I wonder if that is what made me like the food even more.

Traditional Thai cooking methods are stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying. So staff in the restaurant called their food as refined Thai food which adds some Chinese flavour.

My favourite cold dish is the Thai style hot and sour chicken feet, 36 yuan (US$4.5). Many Chinese restaurants provide such spicy chicken feet. But the one here tastes a little bit sour and not very spicy which makes the dish taste even more clean and crispy. It is a nice dish for summer.

Another pleasant dish with a light taste is the spring roll and herbs/minced meat served with lettuce, 49 yuan (US$6). Not like the typical Chinese spring roll, this Thai-style dish is not deep fried. The lettuce leaf wrapped around the minced vegetables and meat, a little like Korean BBQ, tastes fresh and rich. Don't be fooled by its oily appearance.

With their Buddhist background, Thais avoid using meat in big chunks. So the Thai restaurant features an array of snacks. Try the Thai-style selected snack platter, including fried chicken wrapped with pandan leaf, chicken gristle, as well as fish patty and green papaw, 69 yuan (US$8.5).Another must-have is the curry crab, 118 yuan US$14.5). Unlike Shanghainese who like to steam the crab to keep its original taste, the curry crab seemingly put more focus on the curry taste. A simple Thai curry paste consists of dried chillies, shallots and shrimp paste. More complex curries include garlic, galanga, coriander roots, lemon grass, kaffir lime peel and peppercorns. The combination makes the curry taste very delicious while still keeping the original taste of crab meat inside.

As for the drinks, the restaurant provides a special Thai tea which tastes very sour and sweet. But I prefer beer or wine.

For a tasty meal here, expect to spend an average of about 100 yuan (US$12) per person.

Banana Leaf

*Super Brand Mall store
Location: 7F, No 168, West Lujiazui Road, Pudong
Tel: 021-50476899

*Hong Kong Square store
Location: 4F, No 283 Central Huaihai Road
Tel: 021-53833333