Banyan Tree

I can be a bit harsh on the Malaysian restaurants in the Bay Area, since I've been to Malaysia so many times and am always missing the fabulous food there! That said, Banyan Tree is one of the better options for Malaysian/Singaporean (and Thai) food that we have, and especially nice for the Contra Costa area. The restaurant serves up some more unusual items, such as rojak (cold salad of fried tofu and pineapple mixed with shrimp paste- really, it's good!) as well as the standards of roti canai (paper thin flat bread served with a curry dipping sauce), satay, and popiah. Entrees are a mixed bag- I didn't like their steamed fish, and the Hainese Chicken was a bit tough. Very nice traditional herbal soup, and I also liked their veggie dishes. Try the Ladyfingers Belachan, or Kang Kong Belachan. Both are good tasting. The place is always very quiet when we visited, and decor is a bit kooky, but servers are friendly and helpful. Free dessert too. more

Fairly decent Malaysian and Singaporean meals. Try the traditional dishes. The noodle dishes like laksa, mee siam, hokkien mee and etc are pretty good. Bonus: they gave free dessert (some type of palm sugar jello) which is really good. The place is somewhat secluded as it is located off the busy main road, tucked into a small area with not many parking spaces. Service wise, they are pretty quick although the waitstaff could be more friendly. more