Spice Islands Indonesian Restaurant

Just a taaad overrated, if you ask me...

Food:

Roti Prata - Arrived in 8 (med. sized pieces) with a green curry sauce.  Not as flaky as I expected (and would've liked).  It leaned towards the crispier side, but flavours were good.

Chicken & Beef Satays - Skewers were a little on the small side, beef was a bit too done while the chicken was a bit fattier than preferred.  The satay sauce wasn't thick, but was quite peanut-y :)

Mango Salad with Calamari - This was one of their specials, but it wasn't as appetizing as I expected.  It had romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, small pieces of mango in a ginger-y vinegarette dressing.  It came with 2 (quite small) skewers of grilled calamari (which was healthier tasting as opposed to it being fried, which I liked).

Java Curry Chicken - Great flavours, thickness of sauce was good (not overly thick or watery).  Ample portion. 

Mussels in Curry Sauce - Not sure if it's mussel season right now, but they were very tiny.  Plentiful portion though, and the curry sauce was good.

Coconut Rice (side)- Very nicely presented (in a pyramid shape).  The coconut flavour was very minimal, so I was a bit disappointed.  The rice wasn't very thoroughly cooked either!

Service:

Our server was very nice, polite, courteous and knowledgeable.  I think he was predominantly the main server for the entire restaurant, so it took him a while to come and place our order. 

Value:

A taddd overpriced - but it is located in a more affluent neighbourhood

Ambience:

We chose to sit outside on this nice summer evening, so we couldn't really experience the ambience inside the restaurant, per se.  It was quiet and dim inside the restaurant as I took a quick stroll through the restaurant to get to the washroom (which is, by the way, single-stall washrooms separated by sex).  We arrived at 8 pm on a Thursday evening, and there were about 3-4 tables occupied.  Mind you, it is a fairly small restaurant (8-10 tables, max).

Outside, we sat on green plastic chairs (accompanied with green plastic tables).  It wasn't the best of the dining furniture, but it was alright.  I also noticed the (long overdue or just super early) Christmas lights hung around the railings of the restaurant, lol.

Overall: 7.3/10

Yay:  There aren't very many Southeast Asian restaurants in the area, so if you do happen to be in the area and am craving Malaysian/Indonesian food, this spot will be able to satisfy your cravings. 

Nay:  Over-rated -just a bit above average at best (Tropika and Banana Leaf are better!). Not ideal for big groups.

**Interesting fact:  This place was the Gold Winner of Vancouver Magazine's Restaurant Awards for 'Best Other Asian' - a little over-rated, in my opinion!



Posted by: J