Tropika On Cambie

I really wanted to love Tropika so much more, partially because it’s so close to my home and I love the flavours of Malaysian food so much (although I suspect Tropika might not be totally authentic; everyone who works there is Cantonese).
However, after being disappointed multiple times, it’s hard to return no matter how much I like the food. Service can range from indifferent to cordial, and most recently despite having the correct number of items on my take-​out bill I arrived home to find that my satay sticks were miscounted and I had fewer than what I had paid for. At this point I also couldn’t do anything about it; I wasn’t about to head back to ask for my two missing sticks.
The satays I did receive, however, were very tasty and I really enjoyed the peanut sauce that came with them. The nasi goreng was not as flavourful but it may have been because I opted for the less spicy version. I also liked the char hor fun dish, which came with lots of meat and shrimp in it. The hainanese chicken is not as good as their competitor and they don’t debone the meat, unfortunately, so it’s a bit more work to eat.
Portion size for the rice and noodles were pretty good.
Overall for a take-​out option it’s okay — but I wish I didn’t have to count my satays next time.

Worst service ever, food so-​so, pretty expensive.
Also, worst Pad Thai I have ever tried. Is the sauce made with ketchup by any chance?

Was there tonight with family. Everything was good, food arrived fast, service was excellent BUT when the server who had taken our order in the beginning of our meal was standing at the table, I had asked if he wanted the entertainment coupon now or later. He said now & took it. Then went to put our order in. When the bill came, the dollar amount was not taken off and same server questioned me if I gave him the coupon or not. I replied «yes, you took it the same time you took down our food order.» What happened next shocked me, he just went back, found my coupon and gave it back to me. He said I can use it next time. WHAT??? Are you kidding me? I didn’t want to make a scene but this was absolutely ridiculous that he could not have voided the first bill and do up another bill with the correct amount taken off. Not coming back to this Tropika.

The wait staff is efficient, the restaurant appears clean, it’s almost always busy and gets pretty loud at times. The food is delicious and the chicken satay is beautiful. I can’t remember the names of most of the menu items, but that’s OK. Tropika on Cambie’s staff that will help you along so you can free up your table for the next diner waiting.
I’ll be back.

I’ve been going to Tropika for years, mainly because my family members like this place.
Personally, I find that it’s a very adequate restaurant. It’s got good service, and food quality is alright, if you ignore how much your meal costs.
They make some pretty good curries, however their Pad Thai is somewhat dissatisfactory. My expectation of Pad Thais are simple. They need to be sweet/​sour, and the noodles chewy. While Tropika has a good sauce, it’s rather lacking in the noodle department. The noodles are hard and somewhat brittle.
They also make good beef briskets, which are definitely worth trying.

Not sure where all the low ratings are coming from because I’m a fan! Lunch menu — Beef brisket curry and roti canai. I thought this was pretty tasty and good value for a lunch. Brisket was tender, flavourful, and good cuts instead of being fatty or full of tendon. I’m not a roti expert but… This roti canai here though was pretty high up there for me, I thought it was flakey and light and chewy, and not overly greasy. Pricing was good too and I left happy!

Well. It was too expensive. We three slim people spent 100 dollars. The food is not good. We had fish. Beef curry. Cabbage. Fry banana. Indonesia spring roll. None of them are good. Bad

I have been eating here for over 20 years! I still find it to be the best Singapore/​Malaysia/​Indonesia restaurants in the town. You should give it a shot if you haven’t!

I really like this place and felt like it was the closest food I’ve had in North America to resemble Singaporean/​Malaysian food. The Roti Canai was great and the sauce that came with it tasted really good. We ordered a noodle dish with seafood. Can’t remember the exact name but it was good. We also ordered a drink: Chee Chee, which was coconut cream with pineapple and grenadine. It really was not that great. Avoid wasting money on that and try another appetizer instead. I would definitely go back to this place.

Very mediocre food at outrageous prices. A few years ago it used to be excellent, but now it is simply not worth what you pay for. Worst Pad Thai in Vancouver by far: This mushy noodle concoction was made with ketchup and served without peanuts. Their overpriced Beef Rendang was simply not edible, and their green beans were freezer-​burned and mushy. Stay away, there are much better South East Asian restaurants in Vancouver, such as Tamarind Hill or Pondok.

The Work Team came here for one of my last days at the office and I ordered a Seafood Laksa (many thanks to Michelle for revealing the existence of a lunch special menu. Why did the staff keep this a secret until we asked?). This came with a variety of goods (mussels, shrimp, scallops, fish balls, cod, and tofu) drenched in laksa broth amidst a bed of thin noodles. This bowl was way spicy especially in the tofu which soaked up all the spice. The seafood was a little overcooked but the laksa broth was enough to smother out the lack of taste. This gave me quite a thrill while eating and it was pretty filling too. Compared to fast food options like Café D’Lite Express Tropika does a good job. Make sure to ask for their lunch special menu! This wasn’t the most memorable place, but it was good for a big lunch setting.

Been coming for years, they are a staple. Service is superior, food is superior, pricing is very reasonable. Food is authentically well spiced without reaching sweat-​level hot. It’s true the décor could use updating, but I’m pretty sure décor is low on the priorities list of anyone going to an Asian restaurant in Vancouver.
Locals love about the Roti Canai with good reason, it is value-​priced and delicious. But the Radish Cake is a lovely and overlooked delicacy too.
Pro tip: Two entrees, a Roti Canai, and side bowl of ginger rice will feed two average sized hungry Vancouverites, with even some leftovers. Entertainment Book 2015 coupon gets you buy-​one-​get-​one entrée up to $ 14.

I only had the seafood laksa for lunch, but it was divine. My friend had the Singapore laksa (the same broth, but with chicken as well) and enjoyed it. I’ll be going back again for this soup!

Your Southeast-​Asian food utopia…
You can’t go wrong coming here if you’re looking for delicious Malay/​Indo/​Singaporean grub. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed with any dish that’s left their kitchen.
Start with a Gado-​gado salad. It has their highly addictive peanut sauce and freshly fried tofu and potatoes. I’ve yet to find a Gado-​gado this tasty anywhere else, even in Indonesia.
Their satay skewers, although small are super flavorful, and somehow work with their canned pineapple pieces (which I normally despise) & their peanut sauce.
I’m a big fan of their curry beef brisket here. It’s Malay style, so it tastes more like a mildly spicy beef stew. My tip is always to pair it with their ‘coconut rice’ to maximize your flavor smörgåsbord!
Their Singaporean fried rice noodles is always on point too… mildly dusted with curry, so you get a little heat.
Roti is crispy, greasy but delicious here, and they give you ample curry sauce to dunk or douse it with.
I’d suggest coming here in groups of at least 4−6+, so you can just order more dishes and sample.

We were looking for authentic Indonesian and we though we would give tropika a try.
Whatever type of food. Indonesian, Malaysian or Singaporean, the food and service was excellent. I will be about the 100^th person to say the roti is definitely worth a try.

Everytime we make a reservation here, we have to wait when we arrive. Sometimes up to 30min. What’s the point of a reservation?
Unfortunately it’s the closest Tropika to us…
Whoever owns this franchise is doing a terrible job.

Roti Canai was good as I remembered. It’s been a while since eating here. The food was so so. I expected more flavourable for an established Malaysian restaurant. The kicker was I am a pretty good tipper 15% to 25% depending on the service and food quality and though I heard some stories the servers here at Tropika are pushy for more tip. Guess what? With a 15% tip on top of taxes server came back circling the total on my receipt and made a comment alluding more tip would be greatly appreciated. More than 15% after tax. Hell no! Never going back.

I came here last minute. I was looking through my Entertainment Book for a restaurant close to me. Tropika was the closest restaurant to me that could fit me in at 8:30 pm on a Saturday. I have never been here before. I arrived and they were very busy. The décor made me feel like I was away in Asia. Service was attentive. Wait staff were all men in shirts and ties.
I have had lots of Chinese and Thai food, but never Malaysian. I was surprised at how similar the curries were to Thai. The food was fresh, spicy and very tasty.
I really enjoyed the food and service. The wine is cheap. I had a nice bottle of wine for $ 35. The fried banana and ice cream desert was fantastic.
I really like this restaurant and can’t wait to go back. I crave this food right now!
Prices are very cheap! I can’t believe how good this place is!

Good but not great, though I’m not a connoisseur of fine Malay and Thai foods, so take all I write with a smidge of shrimp paste.
Roti/​Malay Bread;
Par for roti.
Satays;
We tried all the meats and the beef was the clear winner, though I liked the lamb as well.
K.L. Crab;
Once you go through the pain of getting the crab meat out of the shell, the flesh was nice and tasty. However, the full table thought that the dried shrimp that sat atop the shell was virtually inedible unless you took one tiny shrimp per large bit of anything else. Those little guys were just waaay too salty, and yes I know they’re supposed to be, but what a waste putting that much out.
Pineapple Rice;
I love me some pineapple rice but this was not my favorite rendition. I think there wasn’t enough spice or anything to really contrast the sweetness. I did enjoy scooping out the fruit at the bottom for an early dessert.
Fish;
I don’t remember exactly which fish on the menu it was, but damn that was some good fish! It was crispy on the outside, tender and flakey in the middle, and packed with flavor. I highly recommend pointing at this picture and ordering whatever it was.
Overall it was good. Not something I would go out of my way for but I wouldn’t mind going back.

I love the Roti Canai here! The soft and chewy type of flatbread is always a must order at Tropika.
I usually visit the location in Richmond, but my friends and I decided to try out the Cambie restaurant again. It’s been around for years and I feel their service has always been consistently good. I’ve never had a bad experience and I know I can count on delicious Malaysian food.
I decided to try a new dish and am so glad I did. It was the Acar Fish steamed with plum sauce and spices. The fish was moist and flavorful without being too sweet. Loved it and will order this dish again.
I’ve actually never had a fresh young coconut before until now and it was refreshing. They have a Fresh Young Coconut special on Thursday so take advantage!