The Tropical Island Restaurant — Restaurant in Saanich

Tropical Island Restaraunt may be easy to miss at first glance, but I can assure you it is a hidden gem for the best Malaysian food in the city!

I walked in with a party of 5 on a Thursday night and was immediately greeted by friendly staff and the mouth watering aroma of delicious cuisine. The restaurant was quite full around 7:00 but the owner came out and ensured we got a table immediately.

We ordered the roti canai, laksa, bee hoon seafood noodles and the tropical fish to share.

The roti were little slices of buttery panfried goodness, the curry sauce was robust but not overpowering. After we fought over the last pieces of the apptizers our mains came out.

The laksa was packed with a variety of seafood and the noodles had a smooth consistency. The tofu puffs absorbed the coconut seafood broth which exploded with flavour when eaten. We enjoyed this dish so much we ordered two servings.

The tropical fish worked together with the be hoon beautifully. The fish had a deep fried crispy coating and was glazed in a sweet yet savoury sauce packed with flavor. By the end of the meal we were planning our next visit!

Keep your eyes peeled next time you’re driving down Shelbourne and don’t miss this amazing restaurant, located just a block down from the Mc Donald’s . This is a great place to get together with friends and enjoy some truly authentic and delicious Asian cuisine!

Keep up the great work...

Been going to this local spot for ages and as I came to browse for hours of operation. I noticed the most insulting of reviews. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but some words are probably more useful said at the time of the event so as to further imrpove service and overrall experience. The tables I agree WERE bad but they have been updated for more than 6 months now. I remember because i spent a lovely evening enjoying the chefs specially prepared menu that i ordered for my family. And the server remarked how nice of a change it was to update the tabletops.

Everyone has their own unique sense of taste as well. However for my personal experience, each bite reminds me of being whisk away to the tropics of Asia. Like i said earlier, the menu is great, but if you have any special event like me with my family. The chef when given enough notice takes even more speical care to make sure your event is even more magical.

I have never had such troubles with the service. But i wasnt there i am in no position to judge. All i can is the girls work hard and have always done their best to bring service with a smile.

I feel sad that a reviewer felt so bad about my favorite weekly indulgence that they held that in for so long. When most establishments such as this local one would have probably loved to hear how to better imrpove...

No star if that's possible. I took my mom here for her bday. We were seated at a table where at the centre was a huge brown burn mark. It was like eating on a crater. This hole was so deep Gandalf the Grey is still falling down it. They were not even busy -- all but one other table was occupied.

Food was subpar and mediocre, as was the service. The waitress, perhaps self-actualized that she is awful at her job, took it upon herself to make herself scarce. She brought us our food and we never saw her again. 10 minutes turned to 20, which turned to 30. Tired of waiting for our bill, I got up and went to the counter, where I found our waitress nestled in a corner chatting on the phone. When I asked for the bill, perhaps sensing a bit of hostility, the waitress had the nerves to say the credit card machine was at the counter and I would have to come up here anyways.

Moreover, I must agree and re-emphasize another reviewer's point that this place does not feature anything remotely resembling Asian cuisine. This place serves an insulting and ignorant version of Asian cuisine. Some may argue that this restaurant features fusion cuisine, but the only things they have fused is crappy food with...