Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly tried Trejo’s Tacos.
It’s the longest day of the year, and the Original Farmers Market is finally in peak form. Bare-legged tourists of all ages spill from every corner of the market, sampling the pickles at Kaylin + Kaylin, waiting to order lunch from Trejo’s Tacos and even, despite the summer heat, indulging in hot, freshly made crepes from the French Crepe Company. For the first time since the writers’ strike began, I see a half-dozen blue-shirted WGA members waiting in line at Nonna’s Empanadas, fresh off the picket lines.
In the almost uncomfortably warm weather, my appetite wavers. After weeks of gorging myself on pizza and sandwiches, I’m not hungry for a brunch-like tartine from Michelina, sugary pastries from TY Bakery or another greasy plate of diner food from Phil’s Coffee Shop. Instead, after ordering a rotisserie chicken from Market Chicken to take home, I decide to use what little cash I have on my person for lunch at Singapore’s Banana Leaf, which I last visited in February.
Though my eye first gravitates to the nasi goreng section, I end up ordering the Singapore curry noodles with chicken ($14.45) and a Thai iced tea ($3). Since my first time visiting SBL for this column, Rick’s Produce next door has closed, but the empty space will soon house the winner of the Farmers Market’s New Originals Competition: THICC Burger, a traveling burger pop-up that also makes sandwiches and other casual American fare.
Within 10 minutes, I’ve got my whole order in front of me. For photography's sake, I asked for a dine-in meal, which means the appetizing mix of curry noodles, fried egg, bean sprouts, red onions and cucumber slices comes on an actual banana leaf. Sprinkling a little sambal on my first bite, the sweet, fairly mild curry sauce, noodles and red onion combine and end up tasting fairly similar to mee goreng, the dish I ordered the last time I visited SBL. The vegetables and fried shallots on top, however, add a little bit of textural variety. Oddly enough, the pieces of chicken seem to contain the most flavor. Of the handful of noodle dishes I’ve had at the Farmers Market, however, this one is the best of the bunch.
My pale orange Thai iced tea, on the other hand, tastes slightly watery, even before the mound of shaved ice inside the cup has melted. There’s a hint of artificial caramel flavor, and it has none of the sweetness or notes of cardamom or star anise I’ve enjoyed in other versions of the drink. Taking most of my meal to go, I head back to my car, eager to pick at the rest of the noodles as I finish off the workday.
Meals from Table at Third & Fairfax fall into three categories: Skip It, Worth Trying and Must Have.
Vendor: Singapore’s Banana Leaf
Order: Singapore-style curry noodles with chicken and a Thai iced tea
Verdict: Worth Trying. Skip the Thai tea, but this classic Singaporean dish is probably the best Asian noodle dish at the market.