Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market in 2023. 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 Monsieur Marcel Bistro.
Fridays seem to bring a slightly younger crowd to the Farmers Market. Since I started this column six weeks ago, this is the first time that multiple parents with young children and groups of teenagers can be seen around the market eating plates of Brazilian churrasco, burgers and fries and, now that the weather’s a bit warmer, ice cream. Rather than do the same, I head to the ATM in order to try Singapore’s Banana Leaf (est. 2002), a cash-only, made-to-order stall and one of the few places in Los Angeles where you can find Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine.
Though the always solid Simpang Asia in Palms still plugs along, most of the Indonesian restaurants I loved while growing up in L.A. have now closed, so I’m relishing the chance to enjoy a type of cuisine I’m intimately familiar with. Not many places offer straightforward versions of the cuisine, though you’ll find upscale versions of beef rendang (an Indonesian curry dish also found in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines) at both Cassia and Cobi’s in Santa Monica. Cobi’s also has a great version of nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice), while Cassia offers kaya toast—a Singaporean breakfast favorite—as an appetizer. Once you’re out in the San Gabriel Valley, however, your options widen, with places like Borneo Kalimantan, Ipoh Kopitiam, QQ Kopitiam and the similarly named but unrelated Banana Leaf in Temple City.
Next to Singapore’s Banana Leaf, there are a few glass-topped tables covered with colorful tablecloths, which set its dining area apart from the rest of the Farmers Market tables and chairs. After pausing to deliberate the menu, I decide on the Indo-style mee goreng ($15.95), a plate of pan-fried noodles that comes with two chicken satay skewers and a fried egg on top. I also add a side of krupek ($2), fried rice puffs that are sometimes flavored with shrimp, and the roti paratha with curry dipping sauce ($5.95) to start.
As a sign behind the cashier warns, SBL is not “fast food,” so I sit and wait at one of the nearby tables, the awnings providing some protection from the sun. In the end, it takes under 10 minutes to receive both my prepared items (that being said, I arrived right before noon, also known as peak lunch hour). In the last few years, I’ve become acquainted with South Asian frozen parathas—and if I’m being completely honest, SBL’s parathas aren’t giving. The watery curry dipping sauce isn’t as flavorful as I hoped, though the sauce that accompanies roti prata (as the dish is known in Singapore) is often on the thinner side. The flatbread slices, however, are still warm and flaky, so I find myself tearing into a second piece.
Next comes the generously portioned mee goreng and satay, which would serve more than one person if you ordered a starter like I did. The dish comes with a few slices of red onions and cucumbers, plus a side of peanut sauce. Still warm from the wok, the noodles are unabashedly delicious, especially when paired with the milder sambal and hot peppers that accompany my tray. The satay, however, runs on the drier side: a poor imitation of the delicious skewers I’ve recently enjoyed at El Monte’s 5 Stars Hue and countless Thai restaurants. The peanut sauce is equally mediocre, and lacks the intense, multi-dimensional peanut flavors I usually expect. The krupek, which I nearly forget about, are the size of large potato chips. While crunchy and nice to have, they don’t have the intense shrimp flavor I associate with krupek—and don’t particularly add much to the meal.
Still, for the price (just shy of $26), the portion sizes and the convenient central location, I’m quite satisfied with Singapore’s Banana Leaf, and I’d definitely go back. The meal has piqued my interest in other dishes on the modest menu, like the tuna sambal, the beef rendang and the cendol, an icy sweet dessert popular across Southeast Asia. Even if the overall offerings aren’t as strong as other restaurants in the SGV, coming back would save me the long drive across town whenever I’m craving the flavors most commonly associated with Indo-Malay cuisine.
In the interest of doubling up on vendors (something I failed to do last week), I pack the rest of my meal to go and head to Bennett’s Ice Cream (est. 1963). The old-school scoop stand, located right next to Bob’s Coffee and Doughnuts, proudly touts its housemade ice cream. Hoping to use up the last of my cash, I order a two-scoop hot fudge sundae ($13) and choose vanilla and Fancy Nancy—coffee ice cream with banana and caramel mixed in. Sitting on the roomier side of the East Patio, I tuck into my little plastic boat. The warm fudge hits all the right notes of sweetness and chocolate, the ice cream is sweet but not overly so and the whipped cream and nuts add a little creaminess and texture to each bite.
In other words, the sundae is perfection. Digging in recalls childhood (not that I personally got to enjoy too many ice cream sundaes), and while my palate now trends towards gourmet-oriented creameries like Awan, Wanderlust and Ginger’s Divine Ice Creams in Culver City, I can still appreciate a homey frozen treat that feels nostalgic and satisfying. Given my editorial diet, it’s rare that anything strikes a chord in me like that these days, but Bennett’s Ice Cream hits the mark.
Meals from Table at Third & Fairfax fall into three categories: Skip It, Worth Trying and Must Have.
Vendor: Singapore’s Banana Leaf
Order: Indo-style mee goreng, roti paratha and krupek
Verdict: Worth Trying. Though not everything on the menu wows, the Southeast Asian fare here is still tasty and satisfying, especially for those craving Indo-Malay flavors.
Vendor: Bennett’s Ice Cream
Order: Hot fudge sundae
Verdict: Must Have. Forget about all of L.A.’s cheffy options for a second; this iconic frozen dessert shop will more than sate your next craving for ice cream.