Sunday, June 25, 2006

Tropika - Tustin



Living in Orange County, I've come to accept its dearth of Malaysian, Singaporean or Indonesian restaurants just as I've accepted that O.C. real estate prices are insane. Yes, it's yet another one of those annoying constants in life, like taxes and movies by the Wayans brothers; if I ever wanted to eat at a Malaysian, Singaporean, or Indonesian restaurant, I'll have to trudge out in traffic to L.A. County to get it.

Sure. Orange County's got Little Saigon, where a freighter's worth of cattle is tranformed into pho stock every day to feed the largest Vietnamese population outside of Saigon. And Thai food? It's everywhere in O.C. Even Irvine's got three joints hocking pad thai at my last count. But you'd better gas up if you ever get a hankering for nasi lemak, or soto ayam. The Southies of Southeast Asia are better represented at the Rose Parade than they are in Orange County.

Until now.

Barely open for a month and a new neighbor for Zov's Bistro, Tropika in Tustin arrives to scratch the itch that people like me have been itching to scratch for years. It bills itself as a restaurant serving "Malaysian and Thai Cuisine" -- with the "Thai" part slapped on as insurance in case the typical Orange County dweller is too quick to ask: "What's Malaysian food?"

"Thai" provides a point of reference, you see -- somewhere familiar for us all to start from. And indeed, Pad Thai is available on the menu, but why on earth would you want that if you could've just gone to your corner Thai mom-and-pop? Tropika serves Malaysian food in Orange County -- revel in it!

We did.



We began with the starter of starters for any Malaysian meal; Roti Prata ($3.25), also known as roti canai. This dish was at every single table that night. At first glance, you'd think this simple flatbread was a crumpled-up dinner napkin, mottled with brown spots. But everyone who ordered it seemed to know better. Upon its arrival and without hesitation, my dining companions and I tore off large ragged sheets from this doughy membrane, ripping it apart like ravenous raptors, stopping only for a dunk in the bowl of red curry, made with chicken and potato.

Although roti hails from India, it is now as much a staple to the Malaysian table as it is to the cuisine of their Hindu neighbors to the northwest. Similar to naan, but stretched impossibly thin, the texture of roti is flour tortilla meets phyllo dough -- crisp and crackly at its periphery, paper-thin and chewy throughout. We used it to scoop up the thick, redolent flavors of the curry.



Another starter, called Honey Squid ( $7.95) was rigid and crunchy, not unlike Funyuns. The rings of the "baby squid" (their words, not mine) were interspersed among a few pieces of tentacle, deep fried and petrified in a state of suspended bliss. The sticky glaze of spicy honey gave the dish a sparkling and crystally sheen, like the crust of a Honeybaked Ham. The mild heat and candy sweetness of the sauce balanced the fishy flavor of the calamari.



The Baby Oyster Omelette ($7.95) was simply prepared. Although by now I was wondering about Tropika's fascination for pre-pubescent sea creatures, this dish was just as advertised -- dark morsels of oyster (yes, little baby ones), were cooked with beaten egg and garnished with cilantro sprigs. You'll see this dish at Thai restaurants too, but never at IHOP.



For Malaysian Seafood Hor Fun ($8.95), flat rice noodles were stir fried and sluiced with a velvety gravy made with cornstarch and egg whites. Entwined in the noodle ribbons were shrimp, squid, scallop, and crisp baby bok choy. Slurping was unavoidable, since the slippery noodles would escape our grasp if we had been more timid. The flavors here were subtle and nuanced, a primer for the boldness of the dishes to come.



The most expensive and spice-ladened dish of the night was a concoction called Rendang Beef ($12.95) -- a dish that is also held with high esteem in the Indonesian kitchen. Cubes of beef are braised in a brew of coconut milk, shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, and lemongrass. The pot simmers until the beef falls apart tender and the sauce is reduced into a brown paste which sticks to the meat like ants on a lollipop.

Tropika's rendition was good, with the spices as sharp as a hot blade. But Malaysian rendang has always been a bit too harsh for my born-in-Indonesia tongue. I prefer the Indonesian version, which is much sweeter and mellower. Malaysians will undoubtedly call me out on this, and I concede that O.C. beggars for Malay/Indo food can't be choosers. Regardless of my preference, we ate ours that night with satisfaction and gusto, accompanied by plenty of steamed white rice. Alternating bites of cucumber and wedges of raw red onion refreshed our palates.



The best dish of the night (the reason I seeked out Tropika in the first place) was the Nasi Lemak ($7.95). Nasi, is "rice" in both the Malaysian and Indonesian languages. Nasi lemak is the Malaysian name for rice cooked with coconut milk. Indonesians call their rendition, nasi gurih. Although I can't attest to the meaning of the word lemak, I can tell you that in Indonesian, the word gurih means "savory". And this rice was quite savory indeed. In fact, I could've eaten it plain, since it was perfumed with the aromatic scent of coconut and was richly infused with its flavor.

Tropika served the rice with four accompaniments, each worthy of being on the same plate with the nasi lemak. Its first mate was white meat chicken chunks, deep fried, served on the bone, and steeped in spicy red curry. The rest of the crew was led by fried anchovies and peanuts, rolling in sambal, which is chili paste made with the funky whispers of belacan (dried shrimp paste). Boiled egg and cool cucumbers flanked the rear, completing this perfect meal.



Yes, O.C.'s finally got a new Malaysian restaurant, complete with white linen and a full bar. Eat your hearts out L.A., while we eat out our stomachs.

Now if only someone can do something about those O.C. home prices.

Tropika
(714) 505-9908
17460 E. 17th St.,
Tustin, CA 92780

43 Comments:

At 11:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Elmo - Looks and sounds good! Maybe the site of a meet-up? Here's an interesting tidbit, I've been told that a good number of "Thai" restaurants in San Diego have Laotian Cooks....

 
At 4:13 AM, Blogger Juliet said...

Oh, man! Now I am hungry! And there is only one (to my knowledge) Malaysian / Indonesian restaurant in Chicago. Heck, it's probably the only one in the entire midwest. I'll have to talk Dave into going there when we get back home. And we will definately be going to Tropika on our next visit to O.C. I anticipate a lot of eating out then. hehe

 
At 10:10 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

kirk,

I was quite impressed with the place. And it seems to be hitting its stride after only a scant few weeks of opening. And that's a good sign. Now Laotian food...that's next on my quest. Nothing against Thais, but I hope its Laotians who are preparing the food at Loatian restaurants.

BTW, at the Thai Spice take out in my neighborhood, a Mexican cook sometimes prepares the food. Not too bad actually.

Juliet,

Definitely add this to your list of O.C. "to dos"...I hope it maintains the momentum I saw last Saturday night.

 
At 10:52 AM, Blogger Passionate Eater said...

My mouth is watering about your description of the roti! I love the stretchy, elastic consistency, and the crispiness of roti. It is almost like a thin layer of a croissant, but waaaaaaay better! Does this restaurant allow you to watch the chefs making the roti? There is a place in SF where they have the roti chefs stand in this central island in the middle of the restaurant. These roti chefs perform an elaborate dance to handle the thin and sticky dough, so the chefs have to wave their hands around in the air and stretch the dough as if they were tossing a sheet on a mattress or waving a flag in the wind. Pretty cool.

 
At 11:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oooooo, I am definitely THERE! Thanks so much for sharing this find, Elmo. After my two-week experiment of cooking Indonesian food, I can't wait to try out the rendang beef! One of the cookbooks I got has a section of Malaysian dishes in it also, so maybe I'll be able to replicate some of the Tropika dishes at home.

Definitely a good site for another meetup, I'd say!

 
At 1:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ya, another one to add to my list! Sounds fan-tastic!

 
At 6:26 PM, Blogger BoLA said...

Elmo...Looks REALLY good! =) And how can anyone NOT love the sweet taste of Honeybaked glaze?

 
At 9:47 PM, Blogger 冬冬 said...

wow... Topika added your review to their website! :O way to go~ hehehe

thanks for letting us know about this. I've been waiting forever for a Malaysian restaurant in the OC too!!!! :)

 
At 11:15 PM, Blogger dsuratman said...

I'm sorry to say this, but I really wish that the food were as good as your blog posting. Those South East Asian food fans in OC, keep on searching!

 
At 11:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I see. So, I get a bad burger and over-breaded onion rings and everyone else gets a wonderful Malaysian meal. *bursts into tears*

Anyway, sounds great, Elmo. The bread is a real draw for me as is the rice and beef dish, so I will alert J. to the review here.

I know what you are saying about having to drive long distances for certain foods. In Arizona, you have to drive from Phoenix to Tucson for a delight called "Carne Seca."

(On a humorous side note, Neil sent me a real estate listing he saw in Corona, CA. Get this: "only minutes from OC." Yeah, minutes from Corona to OC. Maybe 60 minute at 5 AM on Christmas morning. Ah, the power of spin. Hee!)

Great review as always.

 
At 7:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

...and our Elmo-groupie tour continues! My wife and I were looking for a place to eat last night, and your review caught her eye. Especially the part about the rati, which was quite good.

The owner, Daniel, asked her how we found the place, and she told him about your blog. He was delighted- said he'd been open only two weeks, and hadn't even started advertising yet. I think you made his day/week.

How'd YOU find it?!?

 
At 11:39 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

PE,

Oh how I love when I see Roti being made. It's like seeing one of those Chinese acrobats performing. Waay more impressive than pizza tossing. Unfortunately, Tropika's kitchen is closed off from the rest of the restaurant. A shame, because it would definitely be quite a show.

Joy,

I was thinking this place might be right up your alley after the weeks you dabbled with Indo food. Let's definitely meet up there in the near future.

To Kirk; let me know when you'll be in the 'hood so you can join us.

Steph,

Hope you like it! Don't miss the Roti Prata! And let me know what you think.

BoLA,

Honey glaze can make anything bad good, and anything good great. I love that stuff.

冬冬,

I'm honored to be the first to review them!

dsuratman,

Awww. Sorry you didn't like it. Out of curiosity, what dishes did you try?

Seth,

Hehehe...it was a conspiracy perpetrated by me! I was holding out on you until you show me Cheese Crisp. HA!

Julian,

Elmo-groupies! That's hilarious! Why do I feel like Jerry Garcia?! I'm glad you guys checked it out and enjoyed the roti prata. So how I found it: I was searching for Malaysian restaurants on Google and Yahoo, getting depressed that the closest one to OC was Penang in West Covina, when I stumbled upon Tropika's website and saw that it just opened. Next thing I knew, I was eating Nasi Lemak in Tustin!

 
At 8:52 PM, Blogger dsuratman said...

We had Roti Prata/Canai, Hainan Chicken Rice, and Char Kwetiau (the fried noodle thingee).
In our opinion, the chicken is cold (supposed to be cool or room temp). Also, I'm used to with Hainan Chicken served with some kind of clear soup/broth.

The Roti Canai was kind of stale and not crispy (Penang's (West Covina) is way better). The curry was ok, but I have a feeling it's a day old from the potato in it.

The Char Kwetiau could be fresher, I have a feeling they don't have enough BTU in their kitchen. There was not enough what I call fire/wok flavor (dunno the correct culinary term for this, this is the chinese cuisine flavor you get when you have stove range that gives enough fire)

The service should be improved. But I give the crew credit for trying hard, just need more experience.

The last thing, for pricing they should match Penang in West Covina. Jack up about 5% for being in the OC. I think now they're about 20% more expensive.

 
At 12:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

nice! funny how i emailed you about malay restaurants last week and u come out with this post! awesome...finally a restaurant that might be worth going to. i think i'll check it out tonight.

 
At 5:00 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

dsuratman,

Ahhh Penang in West Covina. I know that restaurant well. Been there quite a few times. I've always been impressed with their Roti Canai and the fact that they prepare it theatrically, tossing and stretching it like an oversized pizza in that open kitchen of theirs. I also like their "rujak" (give me more petis please!) and "sarang burung," although some others dishes I tried there were just so-so.

You're right though, Penang is slightly cheaper...I think I remember Penang's "Kankung Belacan" at $9.95 while it's $10.95 at Tropika.

Thanks for sharing what you tried with us eventhough you weren't all that impressed.

BTW, I'm going to Tropika again this weekend to sample more items (and perhaps check out the Char Kwetiau you tried).

raymond,

Actually it was your e-mail that prompted me to search for Malaysian food in OC which led me to Tropika.

 
At 10:33 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I went there earlier today and we really enjoyed the food ! Daniel, the owner mentioned that during the first week things were kind of hectic, but it's under control now. Great review !

 
At 9:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

We were there for lunch yesterday. The lunches all start with a very tasty soup - sort of a tangy broth with some veggies in it (sorry I didn't get the name of it) and a tasty salad. It was interesting that they served the soup and salad even before we ordered. I had the Mango Shrimp, which was just a little too sweet for my taste, but I enjoyed it anyway. My husband insisted on the Pad Thai, which was surprisingly tasty. Tropika is much better than Myst which it replaced.

 
At 12:09 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

herman and MzMaggie,

Cool! I gotta try that place for lunch too. The prices, I noticed, are a buck or two cheaper and it sounds like they throw in some extras to boot -- always a plus.

 
At 10:04 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

jackt,

They do indeed have Hainan Chicken rice. But I haven't tried it and probably never will since I've never been a fan of the dish. Also it seem like I've heard some reports (including the one by dsuratman above) that Tropika's rendition could be improved.

And sate!? Come on now! Indonesians make the best sate! Alright, I'm biased. But seriously, I'll have to check out Tropika's rendition soon.

 
At 11:09 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You'd never know it given its association with Thai (and Malaysian) cuisine, but satay/saté did originate in Indonesia, I believe. The way I was told it, when Middle Eastern explorers elbowed their way onto the islands, they brought the kebab, which was refined somewhat into satay using [and emphasizing] marinates containing spices indigenous to Indonesia.


But whatever..."it's all good" as the saying goes. Interestingly, I only order satay at a Malaysian restaurant if one or more of my companions is a conservative eater. It's easy to skip the satay because there's 10 other things you want more!!

 
At 9:52 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

JB,

I almost ordered sate the other night too. I haven't had Malaysian sate in quite a while, but I eat Indonesian sates almost once or twice a month. So it'll be interesting to see how Tropika's stacks up against my mom's sate...and I can tell you right now, they've got a high watermark to reach.

 
At 2:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Elmo,
We just did Tropika, and I'm just jumping for joy to have one such restaurant not too far from home! Saved us 22 mins of extra travelling time (going to Penang), really big deal with 2 young babies. Love that Tropika place. Too bad no durian dessert.. hohohooooo

 
At 2:45 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

singamama,

Cool! Ain't it great to finally have a place like this in OC?

 
At 5:33 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Had lunch there and ordered the Nasi Lemak, Hainan Chicken Rice and the Char Kway Teow. The flavors were authentic but lacked the intensity that would make me want to go back soon.

 
At 11:04 PM, Blogger Noodle soups said...

This was a great find! I'd definitely be back here. I liked the belacon kang kung, hainan chicken, and rendang lamb. For the life of me, I couldn't find the baby oyster omelette you reviewed on the menu....was it called something else? I'd like to try it and compare to the Taiwanese (yes, cornstarch-laced) version.

 
At 12:50 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Anon,

Aww. Sorry you didn't care for it. BTW, I recently had their satays and the peanut sauce is exactly how it should taste! The Kankung Belacan was kinda tame though...

Noodle Soups,

Glad you liked it. The Baby Oyster Omelette is on the Appetizer menu...but it may depend on what version of the menu you got. There appears to be different revisions of it floating around the restaurant. The last time I ate there, one member of my group had more items listed on his menu than the rest of us. Regardless, the waiter said that the kitchen does special requests...even for items not found on the menu.

 
At 10:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have a confession. I go to this restaurant just about every other day. The food is healthy yet tasty and is unlike any other food on earth. Try the Chinese green vegetables with salted fish and sliced chicken (It's not on the menu--just ask for it.) There are so many dishes I like, but this is the one I eat all the time. Tropika is also a great place to take a date or your family on a culinary adventure. It's like flying to an exotic country for only a few bucks.

 
At 3:38 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just checked out the place today. Ordered Roti Prata, Hainan Chicken Rice, Nasi Lemak, Beef Rendang and Pulut Hitam. The chicken was a little overcooked and drenched in too much soy sauce. No soup served like dsuratman pointed out. They've got the rice and ginger sauce down though. This is just a hunch but the prata is not as dense as I expected and I suspect it might have come out of a package (I've bought it at 99 Ranch before). There is a little sweet aftertaste but overall, it's not too bad. As for the Rendang and Nasi Lemak, the flavor is good but they need to work on their spice level. I didn't ask the owner but sure hope they can bump it up a few more notches the next time I go there. Apologies for being so nit picky but I went back to Singapore last month and got spoilt. Give me a couple more months and I won't care anymore! :-)

 
At 3:11 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Anonymous,

I've been there a total of three times, so not as many as you. But I'm probably going to catch up soon enough. I need to try their lunch specials. I hear it comes with a salad and soup.

Kaypoh,

Thanks for the report! On the last visit I got to talk to the owner a little more. He said he has a chef that specializes in making the roti prata and one that just does sate. Each of the three visits I made the roti was sublime - light, flaky, and crisp border, chewy with a nice pull elsewhere. And the sate was good, but the peanut sauce was better - spot on perfect actually. I think they used a little bit of terasi in there.

 
At 4:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tried this place a couples times, its just ok in my opinion. But given we're in OC, its not like we have a choice. Belacan Grill in Redondo Beach is still the best authentic malaysian restaurant in southern California, period. OK, back to Tropika:

Tried the Roti Canai, the roti was tad old, not fresh. But curry chicken served with it was good. Satay is probably the best dishes here. Hainan chicken is very disappointing, way too salty. Hainan chicken should NEVER served in soy sauce, that's Ipoh Chicken. Hainan chicken should have ginger sauce and chili on the side. Belacan Grill has the best Hainan chicken in town. The CharKuehTeow and WanTanHor (fried flat noodles, without and with gravy) were not up to par as some of the users mentioned here, not wok flavor. Simply too plain. Hokkien Mee and Curry Mee are both a joke here. Terrible flavor, and a total rip off for what you pay for. The Bak Kut Teh is ok, at least the meat was good and the soup is flavorful. Rendang was better than I expected, though when it was served, it's a bit too cold a dish. Seems like the dish were set there for a while before being brought out. And then there's the stir fried KangKung, had a weird taste to it, and no wok flavor whatsoever. Even China garden has a better stir fried Kangkong. Service can definitely be improved here too. The "boy" that served us has no idea of being a waiter. Slow and unattentive.

 
At 5:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting...I've been there a few times and I haven't seen a Hokkien Mee on their menu. I agree that service needed to be improved, but for the last few times that I've been there, it's SO MUCH better. Hope they can keep up the good work!

 
At 4:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Went to Tropika again for lunch this past weekend. The food quality actually improves a lot. We had Beef rendang, which is very good to my surprise. It was so much better than my first visit there. The Roti Telur was great, fresh off the grill. Tropika Curry Chicken was also very good, a typical, very authentic Malaysia Chicken curry. The CharKuehTeow however, still lacks some punch. I wish they were using the actual wider KuehTeow instead of the thinner noodle usually used for Pad Thai. But overall, big improvement. Keep up the good work!

 
At 7:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a Malaysia from Penang...went to Tropika twice but I have to say that their food is not good at all and I don't recommend it. For those who has never tasted Malaysian food, I guess the food is OK. They basically screwed up all the classic Malaysian dishes. I cook better than them!

If you really want to try real Malaysian food, go to Belacan Grill at Redondo Beach. It's 8.5 for Belacan Grill and Tropika unfortunately is a 5.

 
At 11:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey, anaonymous guy, why dont you try eating something normal than dog all your life. Food at Tropika is great. Ive been there many times. You ignorant fool. I love it there. And the owner is HOT!

 
At 1:46 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

well all i can say is the owner is trying hard to build up the business by giving discount etc. But i can tell somehow the waitstaff keep changing which their management isn't right there. About the food.... it's really2 average. Penang and Belacan Grill still way better. But what can we do since we don't have malaysian cuisine in OC? I heard they just started to open on Sunday. Keep up the good work and try not changing the waitstaff too many times.

 
At 7:06 PM, Blogger cookiestork said...

I ate at Tropika a few weeks ago, before I found this review, and I really liked the food. I am also Malaysian, and my family was extremely excited to find a Malay restaurant nearby. So excited, in fact, that I got a job there. I can understand the complaints about service; we're a bit understaffed (it's been open for barely a few months). I'm unaware about any changes in waitstaff that were mentioned, but yes, we are now open on Sundays 4:30-9:30. I haven't tried their Char Kueh Teow (though my mom's is my universal favorite) and though I might be able to find better in Malaysia I'll gladly settle for Tropika's while I live here in Tustin.

 
At 3:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh wowzers! I've been craving for Nasi Lemak since I got back [to the Philippines] from KL.
Now I'm in California and I'm at Irvine a lot and yay...so glad there's Nasi Lemak...and Hainanese Chicken rice to be found.
I am ever SO grateful!

From one food lover to another, thank you!

 
At 11:02 AM, Blogger Shari said...

Elmo,
I've been reading your blog and my husband and I have been trying new to us restaurants. We like almost everything and are not afraid to show it. Besides the Roti Prata and the unique flavor of the dipping sauce I was not impressed a bit. I have a real problem with restaurants trying to cut corners even if they are mostly not caught. My biggest pet pieve was one this place showed loud and clear. They used those cheap flat canned mushrooms in a dish mixed with other potentially lovely ingredients. Busted. Then, in their pineapple fried rice and in their Tropika salad (which my 12 year old son got) they mixed fresh pineapple with Canned Pineapple. HUh? What's with that? Especially at these prices. So all in all, we'll keep searching. My husband and I agreed that we won't go back.

 
At 1:28 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Tried this place for the first time tonight...tom yum soup was not Thai at all. Pad Thai tasted bland and did not have the texture of traditional Pad Thai. To top it off, I decided to speak Cantonese to the first waiter I saw, to test the authenticity of restaurants. To my surprise, every single waiter there spoke Chinese and nobody was Malaysian. I knew something smelled fishy...not bad for food. Do not expect authentic Malaysian food.

 
At 6:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Elmo, I went there before i read your recommendation... True, can't get anything close to Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore in OC. But a drive of 70min is worth every min. to get the food in LA. I really don't mind the price if some ingredient are made from scratch. especially the sauces. I know it is hard to get those spices. But as a resturant that have the turnover... i'll freigt them in. btw, i'm a singaporean dying to have real singapore food.

 
At 4:56 PM, Blogger Jenny McMasters - Photographer said...

I have eaten here and it was amazing! Thanks for reminding me... it has been a while! I have to go back! Right next door is another fantastic restaurant, one of my favorites - Zov's Bistro. If you ever go there you've got to try the Pork Prime Rib with cherry reduction sauce.

 
At 11:09 PM, Blogger momopi said...

This restaurant is currently being refurbished. I was dining at Zov's and saw some work being done in the interior. Not sure what the "new" restaurant will be like.

 
At 10:14 PM, Anonymous mike said...

I went to check this place out and now its Belacan Grill. I thought it was pretty authentic and pretty good. You should check it out and review it Elmo.

 

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