Tropika at Robson 星馬印: "gym locker" soup

Yes, I'm back! My hibernation is over and I'm back with a new post and new exciting things to come :)

My friends and I went to Tropika on Robson for something satisfying yummies and to fill up our tummies a bit. Tropika is a Malaysian and Thai restaurant with 2 locations in Vancouver (and the one at Aberdeen is closed).  We decided to get a couple items from the appetizer and then a soup that my friend claims is "really, really good". Now, let me start with the appetizers.

Satays $1.30 each (beef and chicken)

Satays were nicely seasoned and grilled skewers from a choice of chicken, pork, beef, lamb with a peanut buttery satay sauce. Pictured above is beef and chicken.

I think I tend to like most breads that are rolled out and flat. (The first time I ate naan, I fell in love with it.) Now it is no surprise that I love roti. Though roti canai is actually part of Malaysian cuisine, it is actually derived from Indian flatbreads. We were served with fresh and warm roti which wasn't too thick or thin, but perfect. My friends loved the sauce that came along with it but I wasn't too much of a fan of it.

Roti canai (Malay bread) $2.95

 Now, supposedly the star of the night: tung yam kung - a very popular spicy Thai soup. We could choose from seasonal lobster or king prawns and the price depended on the market price. We chose king prawns! My friend said she had this before here and claimed that it is heavenly good so I was excited to try it. Though I don't take spicy hot too well, we told them we want it mild. Before I had even taken a sip of it and the server was just serving it into our bowls, I noticed the an unpleasant smell.

king prawn tung yam kung

I thought maybe when I actually put it in my mouth, it'd be very good. No, it wasn't. Even my friend said the soup didn't taste right. We came to the conclusion that perhaps it's because there's not enough spiciness in it. So we asked the waiter if we could have it at original spiciness instead of mild. He obviously wasn't so happy and gave us a confused didn't-you-ask-for-mild look. Nevertheless, he took it back to the kitchen and we felt bad about it too.

When it came back out, wow, it was too spicy for me and the pungent smell was still there. My friends tasted it and agreed that it was not what she had before. We ended up ordering more satays and roti canai and leaving the soup barely touched :(

I'm sorry and no offence, but if I were to describe the smell of the soup, I have no better analogy than the smell of gym lockers. I've been to Tropika before and had their entrees and I do believe it's great for Malaysian and Thai food, but I'd avoid the tung yam kung soup. Either the chef messed up or this is how it is. I wouldn't be surprised if people liked the gym locker soup, because in Chinese cuisine, there's a hot and sour soup which tastes just like its name: hot and sour. Weird combination, but has a unique taste!