I love this place. I’ve never had a bad dish here. As you can see the sign over the restaurant just says “Thai”, so don’t look for a sign saying “Banana Blossom”. It’s actually kind of hard to find. If you can find the Winn Dixie supermarket at the intersection of Belle Chasse Hwy and Wall, it’s in the same building around the corner to the right (see the map).
I showed the BBQ Shrimp pasta because I had it before and it was delicious. You can chose your protein for whatever entree you decide on and I love the way you can choose your noodles for their Pad Thai, which is very good. I went there maybe a year ago and ordered the Pad Thai and wanted a different kind of noodle. I figured the Korean Ramen would be a little more substantial than rice noodles so I gave them a try and have loved them ever since. If you’ve only had ramen noodles out the 10/$10 packs you buy, you’ve got to try these.
I went there to get the Pad Thai with ramen noodles but changed my mind once I saw the Pork ramen dish. I ordered that. For an appetizer you MUST try the BBQ shrimp. It comes with only one piece of roti (bread), so be sure to order a second. You’ll need it to soak up that delicious sauce. In fact, a piece of cardboard would taste good with that sauce on it. They had a new item on the menu called a boudin pie. Nice flaky crust stuffed with boudin and served with a creole brown mustard. It was good but I wouldn’t order it again unless I was in some Cajun restaurant. It was just out of place here. Pictured next is the Pad Thai with chicken and beef. Very good. The Pork Ramen dish was excellent! Slightly chewy ramen noodles in a light brown sauce with tender, juicy chunks of pork. For dessert I like the sweet roti, which is stuffed with condensed milk. They also make a version stuffed with Nutella. And my favorite. Mango with coconut milk sticky rice. The sticky rice is soaked in a coconut cream, and the contrast of the hot rice and cold mango is wonderful. Go to this place. Eat. Enjoy.
500 9th St., Gretna, LA 70053 Ph: 504-500-0997
Blaine 7-22-2017
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT:
Banana Blossom has moved! They left the spot they had in the strip mall for a place they now own at the corner of Lafayette and 9th St. in Gretna. One negative is their new location doesn’t have a parking lot, so you have to park on the street in the neighborhood. The new place is pretty, bigger and has a bar.
Another new thing was as soon as we sat down they brought all of us a salad. It has that yummy peanut butter tasting salad dressing on it, but I don’t understand the piece of raw squash. I never eat that.
We decided to try a couple of new appetizers. The fried dumplings and ribs. Both were delicious. Of course we had to get that BBQ Shrimp appetizer. And we tried one new entrée. The Spicy Basil Fried Rice. Nothing to brag about. It was just “ok” at best.
I got my pork ramen dish I love, but was a little disappointed this time. You can get their dishes hot or Thai hot. Having been to Thailand I know NOT to fool with Thai hot. Those Thai’s don’t mess around! However in this case I should have. The dish was pretty bland. The meat was nice and tender, but about all the seasoning I could taste was a slight hint of anise from the 5 spice powder, I guess.
The Mango & Sticky Rice and Sweet Roti for dessert rounded out our meal. Both were excellent. So simple and delicious.
Love the place. Go there and eat!
500 9th St., Gretna, LA 70053 Ph: 504-500-0997
Blaine 5-5-2018
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT:
I hadn’t been here in over 6 months so I was overdue! The place was packed tonight, but you couldn’t tell by the service. It was excellent.
Decided to try a couple things I hadn’t had before. First, the calamari and fried jalapeños. They look kind of pale in the picture but they were very crispy and delicious. Not too tender but not too chewy. Served with a yummy sweet chili sauce for dipping.
Then I went to one of my favorite dishes. The Pad Thai made with Ramen Noodles. To change it up this time I tried it with fried oysters. They were fantastic. I also added the crispy bacon, thinking it would be like bacon bits mixed into the noodles. It wasn’t. Nice size chunks of bacon. I don’t suggest doing that because the flavor of the bacon overpowers all the other delicious and more delicate flavors in the dish.
You can’t go wrong with the Sweet Roti for dessert with a cup of coffee. Excellent dinner.
500 9th St., Gretna, LA 70053 Ph: 504-500-0997
Blaine 11-24-2018
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT:
One good thing about doing these blogs. I can see the date I was last at a restaurant. I haven’t been here since November of 2018. Way too long!
We’re still dealing with the Hurricane Ida recovery, so a lot of places aren’t open yet. I was happy to see this joint was. I decided on:
&&&&&&&&&& THE FOOD &&&&&&&&&&
I didn’t notice the Blue Oak BBQ thing on the menu until I started writing this review. That’s a really good BBQ place. I guess they get the bbq pulled pork for this dish from there.
This taco was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten! The sunny side up egg, the tender pulled pork, the slightly sweet bbq sauce, everything just went great together!
I ordered the shrimp pasta with ramen noodles instead of angel hair pasta. Another winner. Served with five monster shrimp. Utterly delicious.
And the Nutella roti was one of the prettiest things someone has ever served me! I don’t care much about “pretty” though. I’m more into “tasty”. This was both! Crisp hot roti filled with Nutella and dusted with powdered sugar. Yum.
Great dinner here tonight. I won’t stay away so long again.
500 9th St., Gretna, LA 70053 Ph: 504-500-0997
Blaine 9-10-2021
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT:
Looking at my past reports on this place it looks like I’ve never posted a menu. That’s ok, because it looks like they have a new one. Here it is!
Tonight we decided on the pork dumplings, roti, smoked pork belly ramen, crab claws, Chiang Mai noodles with veggies and tofu, and a Pad Thai with smoked chicken wings.
+++ THE FOOD +++
I had the smoked pork belly ramen, but since I was paying for this meal, I DEMANDED to taste everything! And I couldn’t complain about anything if I tired. Everything was delicious.
As far as my dish, it was excellent. Pork belly is of course fatty, but sometimes I think it’s a little too fatty. These slices had just the right amount of fat. And the whole dish had a nice, smokey, BBQ kind of flavor. Loved it.
Great meal here tonight.
500 9th St., Gretna, LA 70053 Ph: 504-500-0997
Blaine 10-27-2022
BLAINE'S RESTAURANT REPORT 
BBQ shrimp pasta sounds good! What a great review!
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Why thank you! 😊
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