Belacan Grill in Redondo
My girl used to love the Banyan Tree indonesian place down in the south bay and I'm wondering how Belacan is. We'll be back down there this weekend, and every time we're in that area she hungers for the banyan. Is Belacan's malaysian stuff up to snuff?
Other recs from redondo to huntington beach for a couple of folks usually stuck in echo park?
mr mouther
Oct 31, 2006 07:03PM
I like it but don't know the food real well. A Malaysian co-worker also likes it although some of the dishes are considered a bit americanized for his tastes. Basically it and the Malaysian place at the Grove are the only ones he considers worthwhile. In particular, the Roti and signature crab dishes are standouts for the natives. I liked their version of Beef Rendang and Chicken Currey.
We also were sad when the RB Banyan closed. The one in MB doesn't seem up to the level either. I think it changed hands.
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FYI:
The Banyan next to the Kettle in Manhattan Beach has closed and been replaced by Coco Noche.
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belacan grill is pretty good, prices are reasonable too.
nice whole crabs in belacan paste and also chili crabs, last time i checked at 16 per, not bad at all.
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(Rather than start up new threads, I've been digging up old ones, so you'll have to forgive me.)
I went here for dinner over the weekend, and had a great time. I was with adventurous diners and we couldn't get enough of it. I must be in the minority that is of the opinion that the Singaporean place in the Farmer's Market is subpar, which is a shame because it's across the street.
We started off with the rotis as well as crab rangoon just for a different texture. We also ordered the belacan crab, a chicken curry, shrimp and okra, and the mee goreng. The mee goreng alone blows away anything Banana Leaf has, and everything was so much more flavorful, not to mention artfully presented.
I highly recommend this for anyone looking for something in the South Bay, especially for large groups.
http://www.taste-buzz.com/we-probably...
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Good to hear. I had recommended it a while back and someone had replied that they had had a not so good meal there, which was distressing to hear as we had always liked it previously. I do read comments about it being "over priced" but we found it very fair for the quality of the food and the ambiance of the restaurant. Afterall, if you are going to compare it against a meal you have had in KL then it's going to come out not looking too good. But to run a restaurant in the South Bay and still make a decent living I don't see how you could get away with charging less than they do.
By they way, did you try their Ice Kacang for dessert? Spectacular in appearence and delicious in taste.
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No room. Still burping.
(Also edited my response above to include a my more in-depth report.)
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The food in Belacan Grill is average but terribly overpriced. The waiters there seem to be more interested in how much tips are given rather than providing good service.
The restaurant tries very hard to give a high-end restaurant appeal but fails on food consistency and service. Ambience is average.
Had dinner with family and was overcharged, not according to the menu price and waited a long long time for the food to arrive. Ordered the Hainan Chicken rice, found chicken hair on the skin. When I alerted the waiter about this, he commented it is normal and impossible to remove all the hair. Eating it don't kill you in Chinese.
Met the owner of the restaurant, Ken Tan. He is more interested in only receiving praises on the food than anything else. Someone please give this egoistic chef a thing or two on social skills.
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I've chimed in about it being a little overpriced - but that's weighing Belacan against some of the other restaurants that serve this type of food, as well as having been spoiled from multiplw stints in Malaysia and Singapore. All in all, I feel right in line with the positive comments posted above, and with the two restaurants that served Malaysian food in Pasedena closing recently - Nonya and Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian food is becoming an endangered species in the Southland. Sorry if I gave anyone the impression that they were extremely overpriced. You can't knock the quality of the ingredients here. As for Ice Kacang, we enjoyed it here too - it's a nice counterpoint to alot of the somewhat spicy fare you will try - as they say in Malaysia and Singapore, it's very cooling...
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