Orange County Register

For lunch last week, I was craving some spicy Phad Thai. Tropika Malaysian restaurant in Tustin sadly failed to deliver the slightest hint of spice.

The rice noodles are pink, in the tradition of what you would find from street vendors in Thailand (the photo above shows them darker, but they’re a shade of pale pink). These noodles are unnecessarily cut into short, bite-sized pieces that are easy to spear with a fork. Each bite was like chewing on oil-soaked mush that left a weird, tacky film in my mouth, with the only real flavor in this dish coming from the chopped peanuts. These overcooked noodles and the gloppy egg pieces were not what I expected from a restaurant that seems to get good reviews from the general public. I was starving, but couldn’t bring myself to eat more than a few bites of this $9 meal before tossing it. What a waste.

Steer clear of this sub-par dish when dining at Tropika. The restaurant’s Rendang Beef, Mee Gerong and Basil Chicken seem to be better bets. Though I had a bad experience, Tropika seems to have quite a following. Here’s a poll question for ya:

Information: Tropika, 17460 E. 17th St., Tustin. 714-505-9908. www.tropika.com

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