Go Bananas for BananaFish

I love bananas. As a kid, I used to say I ate so many bananas, I could turn into a monkey.

So you can imagine how my eyes lit up when I heard BananaFish serves sushi rolls with banana as its main ingredient! According to the management of BananaFish, when it comes to the banana sushi rolls, people either hate it or love it but for me, I knew it would be love at first sight.

Background: BananaFish is a newly-opened Pan-Pacific Grill Restaurant on the third floor of Tongli Studio (between White Rabbit and Kokomo) with floor-to-ceiling wooden door that leads into a beautiful wooden interior space with a massive charcoal grill specialized in cooking whole fish, meats and veggies on chuar sticks. Serving a wide selection of appetizers and salads, grilled entree dishes, individual grill items (seafood, meat and veggies), BananaFish also has a special selection of about 5 sushi rolls and 5 dessert items. Another highlight of BananaFish is their extensive New World wine menu with an assortment of fruity cocktails (ideally paired with dessert).

After a warm welcome, we chose seating right in front of the grill, which was perfect for two people.  And once the weather finally starts to gets warmer, I have no doubt that their outdoor seating will be in high demand.

Starting our meal with the appetizer and salads section, we ordered the San Francisco Salad (RMB 28) – slices of avocado, mango and shrimp around a bed of lettuce with oil and vinegar dressing served on the side and the Chicken Breast Caesar Salad (RMB 25) – Grilled, tender seasoned chicken breast atop a creamy caesar salad with bacon bits and chunks of croutons.

Next came our high-anticipated banana sushi roll, called the Sea Tale (RMB 38) – bananas on the inside with cooked tuna, raw tuna, avocado and crab roe on top.  This was definitely a highlight of the meal with an interesting combination of sweet and savory flavors, not to mention the unexpected creamy texture of banana with rice and fish. Also highly recommended was the sushi roll called Three Kinds of Life (RMB 38) – A 6 piece nigiri set with 2 pieces of tuna, 2 salmon, and 2 avocado, all topped with crab and crab roe.  While all the seafood and ingredients were fresh and flavorful, my only complaint was that the sushi rice was not as moist or as flavorful as Hatsune‘s sushi rice, home of Beijing’s legendary California-style sushi rolls. Sushi rice aside, I’ve got to give it to BananaFish for their sushi rolls’ creative combinations and beautiful presentation. I definitely dig the use of banana in sushi rolls.

For entrees, we chose the Tiger Prawn with Mango Salsa (RMB 38) – 2 Giant Grilled Tiger Prawns with a side of marinated mango slices and tomatoes and Grilled Pork Ribs with Honey BBQ (RMB 38) – 2 racks of marinated BBQ pork ribs with steamed veggies on the side. Next time, I’d definitely like to try the Blackened Squid and the Grilled Beef Fillet with Bacon.

From the individual grill section, we sampled the Grilled Mackerel (RMB 18), which was moist and tender on the inside, crispy on outside. Other items include various other fish, a variety of meat (Chicken heard, Chicken Gizzard, Pork Loin, etc.) and veggies (corn, garlic, onion, sweet potato, asparagus to name a few).

For dessert, we sampled the second banana sushi roll called Mango Lover (RMB 38) with banana and avocado on the inside, mango and dried cranberries on top. The verdict on the Mango Lover was also a winner, but considering it was quite similar to the Sea Tale sushi roll and just too filling as a dessert, I would definitely still opt for the Sea Tale over the Mango Lover.  The preferred dessert dish was the Fried Bananas with Ice Cream (RMB 22). This dessert was fantastic and was the perfect end to a “banana meal”. My only suggestion is that I would have preferred two scoops of chocolate since bananas compliment chocolate so well.

Review of BananaFish:  3/F Tongli Studios, Sanlitun 三里屯同里3层  Tel: 6415-7166

Best Part:

• I highly recommend all Banana dishes, especially the Banana sushi – called Sea Tale (RMB 38) -Bananas on the inside with Cooked Tuna, Raw Tuna, Avocado, Crab Roe on top, or the dessert sushi roll, Mango Lover (RMB 38) – banana and avocado topped with mango and dried cranberries
• The massive charcoal grill is quite impressive and entertaining to watch. If you are coming in a small group of 2-3 people, I’d recommend sitting at the bar in front of the grill.
• Design of the venue and seating arrangements is strategically laid out and I applaud the use of mirrors to give the illusion of using a bigger space.

Comments:

• As a newly-opened restaurant, the service is clearly still in training stages, but their staff’s attitude was friendly and BananaFish management is on top of their game.
• BananaFish shares the same entrance door and is connected to sister restaurant Bambu BBQ (serving BBQ grill Asian fusion cuisine).
• Bananafish is also by the same owner of The Apartment, Alpha, BambuBBQ and White Rabbit (they are slowly taking over and dominating Tongli Studio).
• For the month of April, BananaFish will be offering a 20% discount on all food items.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 7
• Atmosphere: 9
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 8