tropical island

love this resturant !!! went in for my moms birthday dinner and she was blown away! preordered lobster, had mango veggies , and crispy chicken . highly reccomended.

i've eaten here 4 times and still not certain what i think. i have had some delicious food here but also some really not so great food. service has also been mixed. it is worth trying at least once as it's not standard chinese, much more variety on the menu with dishes from different parts of asia/pacific.

this place is da bomb !! the food is awesome & we never had a bad dish in all the times we have come here. the staff is friendly & we even got a free cake when we went there for my daughter's birthday !! it was a small dessert nevertheless but it was the thought that counts !! lol

i recommend this restaurant to anyone the enjoy & love chinese fusion dishes which the chef pius is a master of the kitchen !! keep up the great work you guys & thanks for the great food you bring to victoria !!beep beep

service here are shittty. the cantonese lady who wears glasses acting like a total ass! donot come here to eat if not prepared to eat shitt!

the food was nice but nothing fantastic. service was okay too- could be improved, but the waitress was friendly enough.

we ordered the menu sampler which included spring rolls, pickled vegetables, thai green curry and chicken, tropical beef, vegetables in garlic sauce, rice, and deep fried coconut milk for dessert. i wasn't a fan of their spring rolls and pickled veggies. the tropical beef was good and very flavourful. everything else was just okay.

i probably wont go back again. it wasnt bad, but there are better places in victoria.

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 crappier service.

the food was exceptional, have not been disappointed with quality or presentation...although i'm afraid to eat there now as the waitress that served us had sores all over her face, hands & arms. while waiting for us to order, she was scratching her wrists and placed her fingers on the edges of plates cups and bowls.

ordered all the expensive things lol and wasted $40. the seafood platter, fried rice bowls and beef entrees all tasted exactly like purple garden's buffet lol. seriously, save your money in victoria, there isn't really quality or cheap "ethnic" food.

parking: lots of parking, free

restaurant: easy to find.  ambience is good. 

service: owners are nice and service is good.  can be slow at dinner and lunch time.  

food: one of the best south asian food available in victoria.  try their shakes...very thick and delicious.  prawn rolls are to die for.  i had tried many of their dishes, hasn't been disappointed yet.  

price: good.  cheaper than some. 

conclusion: been there many times and will return many times in the future.

absolutely amazing, other than the rather remote location this restaurant is close to perfect.  everything on the menu is delicious, the prices are reasonable for the quality and portions, and the service is fine.  other than a few bland standards like fried rice, everything on the menu is blasting with flavour and deserves to be tried as you will want to go back again and again.

absolutely unauthentic and disappointing. surprised by review rating of 4.5 out of 5; had dinner last night and by looking at the menu and ingredients in the dishes, i knew immediately this place is no fusion of malaysian, singapore or thai nor is it authentic!!!! persisted to order our dinner and every dish served were disappointingly unauthentic. if you would like authentic malaysian or singapore food, dine at banana leaf in downtown vancouver and you will know what i mean!!!! i am a singaporean who loves malaysian and thai, so i know what i am talking about!!!!

paradise. been going here for years, alright value, amazing food with almost inhuman consistence. atmosphere is nice. service is decent and always happy to accommodate. tasty classics as well as great tasting more original ideas. love this place. being uptown and out of the way i feel this place deserves far more recognition as an asian culinary titan in victoria.

cast off for tropical island! searched for delicious, flavorful thai food at a great price...and found it! : ). my mother and i were in victoria for a doctor's appointment and she had received some slightly troubling news, so we were in the mood for some good food before the long drive back to nanaimo to cheer us up.

we stopped at a starbucks to have a coffee and do a search on good ol' urbanspoon to see if we couldn't find a restaurant that had delicious food at a price that would match the occasion : not a birthday or day for celebration, but a casual day needing a bit of pepping up.

we looked at american/burger restaurants, mediterranean, italian, mexican, japanese, pub, deli, but nothing caught our eye. but, then we thought about thai and how usually the portions are generous, the food spicy, and the price agreeable. we looked for the best thai restaurant in saanich and tropical island jumped out at us with it's awesome score of 89%! (well deserved i might add ; )

and urbanspoon does not lead us astray yet again. tropical island is everything a person could want/expect from a small, family restaurant focusing on big taste!
the decor is simple, but appealing with the uber casual booth-style seating ever available (my favorite kind of seating).

the restaurant wasn't super busy the night we visited, but there was a good number of patrons and everyone seemed to be really enjoying the food.

and so let's talk food! as i mentioned it was dee-lish!
we had the :
yu heung seafood and vegetables (plenty of seafood featuring a lot of spicy shrimp), phad thai w/ chicken (generous portions, deliciously spicy), and a thai red curry (not too spicy, but definitely left a nice zing on the tongue).
my mother and i surprised ourselves with how we couldn't stop eating, despite the fact it was a lot of food. we just kept chatting and eating away happily and before we knew it, the three generous helpings of food were gone. 0_0
that was ok though. we were both completely full and completely satisfied.

it's a special thing to find a new restaurant when you are hungry and looking for a place to pick up your spirits : and you find it. it just really puts a nice cap on one's day.

besides the great food, the servers were two very polite, very friendly young ladies. the chef and owner pius is a really friendly guy who was happy to speak with me. he's got a nice warm smile and it looks like he takes real pride in making delicious food for his customers. he gave me a hint for the next time i come in which i am going to pass onto my fellow urbanspoon users.

tip : 1. ask for the ribs. according to chef/owner pius they are excellent.
2. if you know you are coming in and want something unique, call in advance and ask for the "baked yellow curry" or "portugese curry" dish. it's something unique pius created by fusing thai and portugese inspirations. i'm looking forward to trying it in the near future. yums!!!

to conclude, the plates are really nice. i like that particular style. nice presentation and holds a lot of grub. ^_^
so, if you're hungry and don't need fancy decor, but instead want delicious food and friendly service : look no further! cast off for tropical island!

p.s : the nifty car parked outside of the restaurant is a toyota prius c. according to pius, this cool little car can go 700 km on $30 of gas. our little beast of a ranger gets 400 km on $80 of gas. needless to say, i'm thinking hybrid for the next vehicle...

great food, prices, & atmosphere. cute place! was full of customers but still had excellent service. delicious food (chicken pad thai was so good!), good prices, cozy cute decor. will definitely be back.

highly recommend place to go on the island! both the services and the food are great, the spicy basil ribs is one of the must-try dish.