The usual vietnamese menu, and then I saw the macaroni rice noodles, long rice noodles pipes like macaroni. The last time I had this type of noodle was at Lai Chi Kok Hunnan style noodle bar.Here I ordered the Prawn macaroni rice noodles with Curry sauce as stated on the menu, however during ordering, I was told it was White curry sauce, as the chinese is different. Although Satay sauce was also available I stuck with my original order of white curry sauce, just so that I can have a comparision to Satay King.The food arrived in a fashionable bowl, and a separate bowl of white curry sauce.I liked the generous pile of salted green spring onions, and the curled up prawns.After eating the prawn, it reminded me of the plain prawns boiled in water, and it tastes good with the spring onions. As for the noodles, a bit chewy, some ends of it were still hard, and I would have preferred the holes to be bigger in the macaroni noodles so sauce cud get in. The white curry sauce is nothing compared to the taste at Satay King. The sauce is rather lumpy, and after tasting it, it all became clear, it is 70% dessicated coconut puree and ginger, but the ginger is not so strong. The taste was very milky and a little bit sickening, if it was spicier it would have been better, and if the noodles had bigger holes soaking more sauce, it would have tasted much better.If I can have different noodles next time, I would want to try the satay sauce.…查看更多
At a gathering organized by a few Openrice friends, I met connoisseur of a member who showed me that the role of Fish Sauce precedes that of any other ingredients, or perhaps, dishes presented to us in Vietnamese cuisine. The indicator of a carefully crafted Fish Sauce reflects on the amount of care and dedication a chef, and his restaurant takes up to value the food they serve. That meal we had was a great one, and thinking that a similar experience can be had here at just about any Vietnamese joints out there, I went to this new one in Wan Chai. "Tropicana Cuisine", I realized, is so new that my visit there seemed like a disappointing session at the Vietnamese cuisine lookalike experience. Was it that bad? Read on.Upon entrance I realize the television hanging from the wall. It surprised me that the owners somehow thought that putting a television with no volume is better than not putting one at all. I settled for a spot where I won't be distracted from the flashing imagery of whatever on...The menu has choices, but seems like the owners also think that people will feel more comfortable knowing that if you want sauce on your rice you're gonna pay extra for that. If not, you'd better eat your food and not complain how 'dry' it's going to be. The list of beverages consists of "Taiwanese milk tea" and other different colour iced teas you wouldn't expect to be find in other Vietnamese eateries. But it's here, speaking of the melting pot, huh?I ordered a bowl of beef noodle soup (pho) with accompanying slices of Pork Chop with Lemongrass (entire set is $30 including a beverage). Neither the coffee nor the milk tea looked assuring enough, I opted for the tea with lemon. For snacks I ordered a steamed pork rice parcels ($26). Waiting for the food to come has been alright, the lighting is soft in the restaurant and the lamps are rather pretty and resembling of mosaic patterns. My bowl of noodle soup arrived NOT steaming hot. Thin slices of beef piled on the top while limp leaves of Thai basil rested on top, with a few sprigs of coriander leaves that have seen better days in the refridgerator before arriving on the noodles. Usually a small plate of assorted herbs/ greens will be served alongside the noodle soup, but in Tropicana Cuisine things work differently. You have to ask to have half a wedge of lime that pinching it will yield little juice from the green fruit.The owner watched me take pictures, sipped the broth, all the while swallowing all the questions he might have had. I took a sneak peek and a confused expression flushed across his face. He didn't look confident, nor should he be. The broth wasn't hot enough, and the rice noodles were too soft, borderline mushy to begin with. The meaty slices tasted mildly of beef, but I gotta say, the two onion rings are the freshest item in the whole bowl. The not-so-hot broth was also disappointingly bland. It reminded me of a thinned-out version of the good pho broth, but at least it tasted somewhat beefy, maybe just a little bit better than bouillon cubes dissolved in water?!The accompanying porkchop was competing for my attention -- a darker shade of golden brown, with the aroma and presence of fresh lemongrass bits throughout. The taste was satisfactory, well marinated throughout. The kitchen staff took it out of the oil too late, the pork chop ended up too thin to be called a 'chop' and too overcooked, resulting in toughness. It's so tough that I find my teeth complaining with the pork chop.The only item remotely 'enjoyable' is the steamed pork rice parcels -- steamed rice noodles enrobing a mixture of fresh diced jicama, shiitake mushroom and woodear, with just enough bits of ground pork throughout. The filling is flavorful but the texture is rather uneven. I wouldn't mind if they are chopped finer. The accompanying sauce is a marinade that pushed your senses to the max...It's very sweet at first, very tart and after you swallow, an immense amount of heat rushed up from the back of your throat. It's a weirdly satisfying sensation from a sauce. In the owner's own words, he managed to tell me that there is fish sauce in the mixture, together with fresh lemon juice and a good dose of chili pepper mixed in it. When I asked why there shouldn't be lime juice instead of lemon, he shrugged and walked away with my doubt in tow.I couldn't make a clear impression of Tropicana Cuisine, whether it's exceptionally good, but it's not outstandingly bad, that I know. I could only wish that they limit some of the choices on their menu, fine-tune some of their dishes and familiarize themselves with whatever that ended up on the menu. The rice parcels were pretty good, but the noodle soup and porkchop were nowhere near to perfection. Then again, the eatery is still new, there are things to be organized, staff to be hired and dishes to be fine-tuned. There is still a long way to go for Tropicana Cuisine, let's hope that it has what it takes to stand strong and hold it right there.…查看更多