Tropika Restaurant - Tustin
We'd read that Tropika was the new, and perhaps the only, Malaysian restaurant in Orange County, and decided it was worth a visit. Located beside Zov's Bistro, it occupies a site previously inhabited by Chin's Chinese Restaurant. On a Saturday night in early November, only about a quarter of the tables were full. It's a restful place, with a color palette of browns and gold and an occasional blue accent. Simple art on the walls - an abstract print, a sculptural leaf - add to the calm atmosphere.
With only two people visiting a restaurant, don't expect an extensive review of the food. We started with roti. Roti is a thin, flaky crepe or pancake-like bread; served hot, it's a creamy white with browned spots from the hot griddle. Served alongside a red curry sauce, it's a nice way to start the meal. We ordered one, but I could have eaten one on my own!
We then went on to RendangBeef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Mango Delight vegetables, with sides of coconut rice. The beef is in a thick brown sauce, supposedly spicy but certainly not overwhelmingly so. The meat is in fairly thick cubes and is fairly chewy, and stands up well to the sauce. It's served with a small garnish of choppped cucumbers. I think a spicy/sweet cold salad would be a good accompaniment. The mango delight vegetables offered a sweet contrast, but weren't very interesting - a mix of peapods, canned baby corn and straw mushroom, some julienned carrots, and mango slices, all sauteed in a cornstarch-thickened sweet sauce. Nice, but not particularly memorable.
The honey walnut shrimp were probably my favorite dish of the evening. A fair size portion of shrimp had been coated in another sweet cornstarch thickened sauce and quickly sauteed along with some walnuts. Both shrimp and walnuts were nicely crunchy, but not overdone.
Coconut rice was mildly flavored and well-cooked. Service was attentive, and drinks were very reasonably priced ($3.50 for a Sapporo, Tsing Tsao, or Asahi beer; $3.00 for domestic beers, with a limited selection).
We'd read that Tropika was the new, and perhaps the only, Malaysian restaurant in Orange County, and decided it was worth a visit. Located beside Zov's Bistro, it occupies a site previously inhabited by Chin's Chinese Restaurant. On a Saturday night in early November, only about a quarter of the tables were full. It's a restful place, with a color palette of browns and gold and an occasional blue accent. Simple art on the walls - an abstract print, a sculptural leaf - add to the calm atmosphere.
With only two people visiting a restaurant, don't expect an extensive review of the food. We started with roti. Roti is a thin, flaky crepe or pancake-like bread; served hot, it's a creamy white with browned spots from the hot griddle. Served alongside a red curry sauce, it's a nice way to start the meal. We ordered one, but I could have eaten one on my own!
We then went on to RendangBeef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Mango Delight vegetables, with sides of coconut rice. The beef is in a thick brown sauce, supposedly spicy but certainly not overwhelmingly so. The meat is in fairly thick cubes and is fairly chewy, and stands up well to the sauce. It's served with a small garnish of choppped cucumbers. I think a spicy/sweet cold salad would be a good accompaniment. The mango delight vegetables offered a sweet contrast, but weren't very interesting - a mix of peapods, canned baby corn and straw mushroom, some julienned carrots, and mango slices, all sauteed in a cornstarch-thickened sweet sauce. Nice, but not particularly memorable.
The honey walnut shrimp were probably my favorite dish of the evening. A fair size portion of shrimp had been coated in another sweet cornstarch thickened sauce and quickly sauteed along with some walnuts. Both shrimp and walnuts were nicely crunchy, but not overdone.
Coconut rice was mildly flavored and well-cooked. Service was attentive, and drinks were very reasonably priced ($3.50 for a Sapporo, Tsing Tsao, or Asahi beer; $3.00 for domestic beers, with a limited selection).
posted by Dynamite T at
6:31 PM
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