02/06/09

Golden Triangle of Flavor

by Palateers

We love restaurants where each bite is an adventure unto itself. At the Island Hopper, every morsel makes your taste buds dance with delight. The Hopper provides a melange of Southeast Asian dishes ranging from Malaysian to Thai to Indian, with a little bit of Chinese, sprinkled on top like MSG.

The menu is extensive and consistently delicious. If you are unsure, the servers are especially knowledgeable and more than happy to lead you along the promised path to a satisfied stomach. A good start to the journey is the Tom Yum soup?a tangy, spicy broth with juicy shrimp floating like treasurers (it is amongst the finest that the Palatiers have every tried). Accompany this with the Roti and curry sauce (vegetarian friendly). As we discovered, it is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

The main course options will never fail you, but the specials menu really opens up a new frontier. If they should have it, go for the duck. Good Beijing duck is a hard thing for a restaurant to master, but Hopper does an excellent job, and they will even wrap the pancakes in front of you! It is the small accompaniments that gather the tastes together. Hopper gives four options for rice with every dish. Count it: jade, brown, white and our personal favorite, the coconut. The udon noodles served in an earthen bowl were also worth exploring. The Sea bass with tangy ginger sauce is a creation fit for an emperor or at very least, a local warlord.

Although you might not initially feel up to it, dessert at the Hopper is a memorable affair. We recommend either the green tea Mochi (an outer shell filled with an ice cream core) or the fried banana roti drizzled with chocolate sauce and topped with strawberries and cream (picture included). Also recommended are the smoothies at anytime. Explore with family and friends, make sure to share the entrees, and always ask for chopsticks.

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11/08/06

Yummy for my Tummy

by vanillamint

Delicious! I LOVE just about everything they have there, especially the appetizers. The mango shrimp is incredible, but try the pineapple fried rice if you want a less expensive but good meal. They are also deliver in less than 30 minutes if you get takeout.

• Pros: Food, peaceful/pleasing decorations

02/16/06

Good food but bad service

by smartyface

I went here a few days ago and while the food was pretty good and the portions well sized, the service left a lot to be desired. Our order was not taken for nearly 20 minutes even though the restaurant was not crowded, and all of the entrees were brought out at different times within about 5 minutes of each other. Our food was good but not quite worth the prices (which are higher than on the internet).

• Pros: Decent food, Location
• Cons: Service, Prices