New Thai restaurant opens soon in west Belleville. See what’s on the menu
West Belleville foodies, rejoice! The west side of town is about to welcome a new restaurant offering a varied menu of authentic Asian eats.
Banana Leaf Thai Cuisine, located at 3030 Frank Scott Parkway West, Suite 11, is expected to open in the coming weeks after final inspections are completed, said owner Anu Sue.
Coming from a family with decades of experience in the restaurant business and “blessed” with her mom’s recipes, Sue will provide a rich and flavorful menu.
Plenty of options made from family recipes
Let’s not beat around the bush and get to the most important part: The menu.
Popular items at Thai restaurants often include the Pad Thai (thin rice noodles with egg, green onion, bean sprouts and peanuts) and fried rice, both of which are on the Banana Leaf menu.
Vegetarian-friendly dishes are also available and can be adapted to accommodate vegans. The curries and a couple of the soups are on the spicier side, and diners can request extra heat for any of the dishes at levels ranging from one to five.
Sue personally favors the Pad See-U (wide rice noodles with egg and broccoli in sweet soy sauce) and the Tom Kha, a soup featuring coconut milk, galangal (similar to ginger), lemongrass, mushroom and green onion, which she described as “comforting.”
Here’s the rest of the menu:
Appetizers: spring rolls, pot stickers, crab rangoon, chicken satay, shrimp tempura, fried tofu, shu mai;
Thai Salads: cucumber salad, papaya salad, Yum Woon Sen (glass noodles, shrimp, veg in tangy dressing), beef salad;
Soups & Noodle Soups: Tom Yum, Tom Kha, wonton soup, Chiang Mai noodle soup, wonton noodle soup, Tom Yum noodle soup;
Fried Rice: Thai fried rice, pineapple fried rice, brown fried rice, curry fried rice, basil fried rice;
Stir-Fried Noodles: Pad Thai, Pad See-U, drunken noodle, Pad Woon Sen, Bangkok noodle;
Thai Curries: yellow, green, red and Panang curries;
Stir-Fried Dishes: Pad basil, Pad cashew, Pad broccoli, mixed vegetables, Pad ginger, Pad eggplant, tofu delight;
Signature Dishes: Siamese chicken, honey garlic chicken, Rama chicken, sweet & sour shrimp, salmon Shoo Shee curry, roasted duck curry;
Desserts: steamed custard bun, tiramisu. (Yeah, tiramisu is Italian, but exceptions must be made where this particular gift from the heavens is concerned.)
Beverages include soft drinks, bottled water (still and sparkling), Thai iced tea, Thai iced coffee, iced tea and hot jasmine tea.
A family of businesses continues to grow
Sue’s family previously managed and operated restaurants in Chicago and moved to the St. Louis area in 2003 to take ownership of another restaurant.
Her sister, Aticha Lee, worked part-time at The Blue Elephant in Clayton while attending college in St. Louis. When The Blue Elephant’s owner wanted to sell, Aticha let the family know about an opportunity to acquire the business, which has since closed.
In 2012, Sue’s mom, Saiyud Lee, opened Thai 202 in the Central West End and still owns and operates the business. The day-to-day management is handled by Sue’s younger brother, Anajak “Jack” Suebsawangkul. Aticha manages the office operations for Thai 202, and last fall, she opened Thai Touch in South County.
Like her siblings, Sue also worked in the family’s restaurants as a student and after completing her studies.
Saiyud’s recipes are used at all of their restaurants, including Banana Leaf, which is Sue’s solo endeavor.
The restaurateur with an artistic eye
Sue’s educational background is in graphic design and interior design. After signing the lease at Firehouse Crossing in April, she used her artistic eye to transform the former Smoothie King site and provide Banana Leaf with a serene and sophisticated setting.
The space’s browns and beiges provide feelings of comfort and warmth, much like some of the soups on the menu. The lighting – both natural and artificial – give the overall space a golden glow that brings an added welcoming warmth.
Cylindrical pendant lights hang in a line above the counter area, the fronts of which were covered with adhesive vinyl patterned like reclaimed barn wood. It looks great, and I thought it was real wood until I touched it.
Accent items of blue and white porcelain pieces at the front counter are great Asian-style touches that bring a splash of color to the mostly neutral color palette.
Art on the walls consists mainly of framed prints of works by Thawan Duchanee, a Thai contemporary painter, sculptor and architect.
The space was still a work in progress at the time of the interview, but once complete, it will be a nice place to enjoy a great meal.
About Banana Leaf Thai Cuisine
Banana Leaf is located at 3030 Frank Scott Parkway West, Suite 11, in Belleville. Hours of operation are 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. seven days a week. Carryout ordering will be available online at bananaleafbelleville.com or by calling 618-744-7111.
