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 anicezing 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 anicecap 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 anicewarm 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.nicepresentation 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...