Tropika at Cambie 星馬印

Tropika is a Malaysian, Thai and Indonesian cuisine chain restaurant, with two other locations at Robson and Lansdowne. Whether it be called cheap, boring or typical, I can easily say that I enjoy sticking to safe restaurants. Safe as in those that are consistently reliable and offers if not all, then a few dishes that I enjoy. And Tropika is one of them. To me, the "must orders" at Tropika are roti, satays, lobster tung yam kung and malaccan curry crab, emphasis on the last two. Having visited both the Robson and Lansdowne location, the last one for me to try is the one on Cambie.

I actually planned to come here a few months ago and walking in on a weekday at 5:00pm, we were rejected since most of the tables were reserved for 6:30pm! Oh well, not really a problem since we went to Banana Leaf after (which was not a good experience). So, debating whether we needed to make reservations on another weekday, we took the chance, walked in, and fortunately the restaurant was not busy. Tropika at Cambie has a clean as well as simple interior and does not look too cluttered. The seating arrangements are not tight, there is a good amount of tables to accommodate larger parties and in our case, the restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere with plenty of staff. Although plenty may not mean attentive… 

After settling down and asking for the prices regarding the seafood, we were a bit shocked. The lobster was priced at $26.95/lb and every one weighed at 3lb; I could not justify spending $75.00 on tung yam kung! As for the crab, it was priced at $58.89 for 2 1/2lb which comes to $23.55/lb, and again, I could not justify spending that much on crab. Is an extra $10.00 a big difference? In a way, not really because these two dishes are the only reason why I come here. But, the only reason why I was hesitant is because both dishes at the Lansdowne location was average at best, and I did not want to complain about wasting money. If I was at the Robson location, I would order them in a heartbeat!

ROTI CANAI, MALAY BREAD ($2.95).

The roti has plenty of layers which are unfortunately, not flaky. In addition, the interior tastes doughy and soggy, with only the slightest light crispiness on the outside in the browning areas. Although the roti looks better than Lansdowne's location, taste wise it is only slightly better. As for the curry sauce, it tastes light and okay, not watered down.

CHICKEN, BEEF AND PORK SATAYS WITH PEANUT SAUCE ($1.30/EACH).

Every satay has a nice charred taste with a flavourful marinade and tastes juicy, except for the pork which does taste tender though. And although the chicken tastes slightly salty, the beef is definitely the most flavourful. As for the peanut sauce, the sauce tastes flavourful with a hint of sweetness and is chunky, the way I like it.

HOT AND SOUR SOUP WITH SHREDDED CHICKEN, MEDIUM ($6.95).

How do we downgrade from the usual lobster tung yam kung to the hot and sour soup? Right, the Chinese side of me. The soup is quite heavy on the vinegar and has a sharp tartness with a flavourful spicy aftertaste. Although I am a fan of spiciness, it did overwhelm the tanginess a bit. As for the ingredients, the chicken tastes tender. Would I order this again? Probably not. There is nothing special about it nor does it seem like a must order, even for hot and sour soup fans.

CHAR BEE HOON, RICE VERMICELLI WITH SHRIMP, FISH CAKE, CHINESE SAUSAGES AND EGG ($12.95).

The vermicelli has a simple and mild soy sauce base with a fair amount of ingredients such as a couple of shrimp, slices of chinese sausage as well as fish cake, bean sprouts which provide a nice crunch, egg and deep fried garlic. "Authentic" versions of Char Bee Hoon are actually quite simple and this is one of them, although as long as anything tastes good, authenticity really does not mean anything to me.

HAINANESE ROAST CHICKEN, HALF ($14.95).

I love hainan chicken. It is all about that nice springy tender firmness and hainanese taste. The free range chicken tastes tender and looks slick as well as smooth. The only issue, the hainan taste is too mild and could have been more flavourful, despite having a good quality free range.

CHILLI AS WELL AS GINGER SAUCE AND SALTED PEANUTS.

After the hainan chicken arrived, we waited twenty minutes for the order of sambal mussels and with food still in our mouths, a waiter came by to ask if we wanted everything packed up. Of course we mentioned we were still eating and followed up on the mussels, which seemed to be forgotten. But meh, the food was average at best and we decided to pass on the mussels. The waiter did not even care that the mussels were forgotten too.

TOTAL: $51.05 + TIP $7.20 = $58.25.

Overall we tipped 14% rather than making the total an even $60.00 because despite four waiters on the floor and only four seated tables in the restaurant, there was no service. Empty plates were not removed and it was hard to get a waiters attention. Although a waiter did come by to ask if we wanted to pack everything up as we were still eating...

POSITIVES

- Satays and peanut sauce are pretty good

- Good quality free range despite the weak hainan taste

- One of the nicer restaurants for Southeast Asian cuisine

NEGATIVES

- Why are the prices for seafood the same as Kirin?!

- Staff could be more attentive

- I always prefer a waiter/waitress/server writing items down rather than relying on their memory

LITTLE THINGS

- Meh, think I will stick to the Robson location

- Post on Tropika at Lansdowne [here]
- Post on Tropika at Robson [here]
- Revisit post on Tropika at Robson [here]