A friend of mine at work told me about Tropika, a new Malaysian restaurant in Orange County. After reading a couple of good reviews on the internet, I’ve decided to give it a try and below is my verdict after two visits to the restaurant.
First Visit
We ordered Nasi Lemak, Assam Laksa, and Ice Kacang / ABC (a popular Malaysian desert with shaved ice, syrup, corns, and red beans). We were disappointed with the two signature Malaysian dishes…
The Nasi Lemak was OK but not great. Their anchovy sambal should have been cooked with sambal but instead it tasted like they cooked it with ketchup and some chili sauce. The chicken on the Nasi Lemak was too hard and “tough” and the coconut rice wasn’t “lemak” enough (not enough coconut milk), but overall the taste was passable.
Assam Laksa wasn’t good at all as the broth tasted more like chicken soup instead of the typical pungent, spicy, and sour taste. As Assam Laksa is my favorite and the reason why I went in the first place, I was really disappointed.
Ice Kacang / ABC was great as they got it right. We were quite impressed that Tropika actually put “Atap Chee” in their ABC. “Atap Chee” is one of those things that is getting harder and harder to find and kudos to Tropika for trying to keep this desert authentic.
Second Visit
The next day, I went back there again with my co-workers because I wanted to give the restaurant another shot. This time, we ordered Roti Canai, Char Kuay Teow, Pineapple Shrimp, and Beef Rendang.
Malaysian restaurants in the US usually do a good job when it comes to Roti Canai, but I am sorry to say that the Roti Canai at Tropika wasn’t good at all. First of all, their roti canai was too thin and crispy and the non-crispy part was chewy. It was hard to tear them off actually. The curry sauce was another disappointment because it was just too watery and tasteless. It didn’t have the rich coconut curry taste and so so it wasn’t good as a dipping sauce.
From the presentation of the Char Kuay Teow, I knew that it wasn’t going to be good as it looked dry (not enough cooking oil used) and the color was too dark brown (too much dark soy sauce used). To make good Char Kuay Teow, your wok has to be super hot and you need generous use of cooking oil. Dark soy sauce is used to add color to the dish rather than for taste.
Beef Rendang is a tough dish to cook and I reckon that even in Malaysia, not many people can cook it right. Tropika’s Beef Rendang and Pineapple Shrimp were both good choices, especially the shrimp. I loved the pineapple cubes in the Pineapple Shrimp.
All in all though, I think Tropika is an OK restaurant if you have never tried Malaysian food. However, if you are a Malaysian, especially Penangite, you will be disappointed.
Tropika Restaurant
17460 E. 17th St., Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 505-9908
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Westerners just don’t like santan and sambal do they ? I once saw a German tourist having( n enjoying ?) just plain rice and tomato sauce + nothing else at a buffet spread of delicious nasi lemak and curries Malay style at a beach resort restaurant in Langkawi!
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It’s not that they don’t like santan and sambal, but those are acquired taste, especially Sambal.
If they are not exposed to Asian foods, then they usually just stick with their daily staples, which are bread, butter, etc.
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HI
I havent had a proper look around your website but I was just wondering if you could put some Malaysian deserts on it so that I can use the recipe to cook.
Thank You
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your assessment of the dishes in tropika is way generous. we had the same dishes as you did, attracted there for the same reason as you. the chicken in the nasi lemak tasted bland, and worse, also like as though it was cooked over and over again. the assam laksa was a disgrace, no way near what it should be. and i am not a food snob like you.
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Don’t forget Nasi Lemak is really best as a breakfast dish…
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