"shiok, lah!!!" (translation: "very tasty!"). question: can you experience the tastes of singapore in milpitas? answer: can, lah! (singlish dialect for, "yes, most certainly!") located in the mccarthy ranch shopping center, banana leaf offers some pretty authentic singaporean-style cuisine (at least in my opinion, based on six trips to singapore) in addition to malaysian, indian and chinese cuisines (the fusion of the three cultures influences is what created singaporean cuisine), and thai cuisine, with some creative fusion dishes that draw in elements from all four food cultures. the restaurant can get very crowded and is closed on sundays, but is well worth the wait. they do have some outdoor seating with propane heaters that would make for a viable seating option on cooler rainless nights. for first-timers interested in sampling the typical foods of singapore, i would recommend the roti prata with curry dipping sauce and the combo satay (malaysian-influenced, it is perhaps the most popular of the singaporean street food dishes) for starters, and definitely the chow kueh teow noodles (considered a singaporean standard) or the curry laksa mee noodle soups. the mango prawn and mango chicken dishes are quite popular but a bit on the sweet side. the singaporean chili crab and black pepper crab are also classics that should be considered, as should the rendang beef and chicken curries, which go best with coconut rice. we recently tried the cumin lamb, which is a bit spicy but very good; similarly good and a bit spicy are the istimewa beef and chicken dishes. a singaporean tiger beer would be a typical pairing with the meal, though (personally) a thai singha beer would also compliment the meal. there are other restaurants in milpitas that offer singaporean andmalaysiancuisine (coconut grove, penang garden, asia house, layang layang) and they are all quite good, but in my opinion banana leaf would be the first choice. enjoy!