Banana Island restaurant in Oklahoma City offers taste of Malaysia

Banana Island was opened two years ago on NW 23 by Kitty Zhao, who hails from Ipoh — the capital city of the western Malaysian state of Perak. Zhao, who came to Oklahoma City by way of Florida, closed her restaurant last May to prepare for a move to its new location at 1117 NW 25, where it opened two months ago.

The smaller, more modern space better captures the exotic quality of the food in a more intimate setting.

So, what is Malaysian food? To the west, Malaysia borders Thailand, so it's no surprise the cuisines share similarities. Myco He, who runs the front of the house, said whereas Thai food is built on extremes, Malaysian food is more balanced. You'll find sauce based on the same coconut milk and hot chillies as Thai curry but at lower octane.

“In Thai food, hot is extremely hot, (and) sweet is extremely sweet,” He said.

The country divided by the South China Sea is also heavily influenced by China and India. Look no further than the appetizer menu, where you'll find three kinds of Indian roti. Roti are handmade pancakes, similar to a Central American pupusa, that are delicious whether they're stuffed with beef, chicken or not at all.