Island Hopper

I’m a Southeast Asian and I tell you that this place is awful! Service is OK, but the food was far from good. I’m not even talking about authenticity, just the plain simple ‘Is this food good?’ and it fails terribly. Bland dishes, and very salty dim sum. Not going back ever.

Island Hopper owners and chef are now at Royal East in Cambridge! Woohoo!

…an old standby. The place was basic and confortable. It wasn’t trashy, but it wasn’t Newbury Street-​ish either. Staff was always decent. You could substitute tofu for chicken on any of their dishes which was awesome. The Sabah chicken (or with tofu) was a standard for me… as well as the gen gau chicken (or tofu). The mango chicken was really good too. Basic, reliable.
It closed earlier this year… to make way for some new big retail bedding store or something. WACK. RIP you will be missed!!!

An update: Today I got an e-​mail from the owner of Island Hopper saying the following:
«It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of Island Hopper. Our last day of business will be on Saturday, March 17^th, 2012.
Thank you for all your support over the years. We truly value and appreciate each and every one of you.
We hope to see you at our new location in the future.»
Sad! Looks like it’s the end of Island Hopper. for now, at least.

I love their expansive menu. The food isn’t the best but there’s something on the menu for everyone. It wasn’t terrible either. I’ll be back when I don’t know where else to go.
FREE WIFI!

Solid! 3.5 stars rounded up for a clean, comfortable and tasty Southeast Asian spot. I came by for a quick dinner before a performance at Symphony Hall and my bro and I had the Nyonya Grilled Fish and Udon Noodle. The former had a good, spicy Indonesian sauce, but the overcooked halibut was forgettable especially at $ 17. I did learn that Udon Noodle is code for Shanghainese-​style chow mein though and the chef did a great job of it — the flavor profile was pretty much spot-​on and I liked the added touch of having it served in a cast iron pot.
Though I wouldn’t be keen on ordering another fish dish in the future, I’d totally come back to try some of the other noodle and rice dishes!

Meh. I’ve experienced better.
There’s really not much else to say — Island Hopper is really convenient since it’s right at the intersection of Newbury and Mass Ave., but honestly, go a few blocks down in really just about every direction and you can find better places to eat for the same price.

Weathered wood floors, high ceiling, street-​facing wall is all glass, long side walls made of red brick, back wall is white with view into kitchen. Which is a good thing, you don’t invite your customers to look into your kitchen if you’re not proud of the things coming out of it. The menu is a little bit southern China, a little Thai, some Malay, and a bit of Vietnamese. Its a bit like if you walked into a ‘Western European’ resteraunt to find schnitzels listed alongside escargot and bangers & mash.
I ordered the Jade Ravioli (wontons) and lychee duck. I also got a ‘fresh limeade’ which came with a spoon in it for some strange reason and was very strong. Strong is good.
The food, when it finally arrived, was disappointing. I’m not a picky eater but if there’s one quick way to turn me off from a dish it’s eggplant, especially eggplant that isn’t listed as an ingredient on the menu. And the Lychee duck was full of eggplant. yuck. The wontons were ok but rather bland. Someone forgot the ginger.
Worst of all, when I finished it took forever to get the waiter’s attention to get him to give me my check and even longer to get my receipt — almost 20 minutes spent waiting at my table to get my receipt so I could get the hell out of there. I finally had to get up and track him down and ask for it. Not cool.
I won’t give 1 star because the food wasn’t terrible and it’s not like the place was swarming with vermin or something (it was actually very clean), but it’s not someplace I’d eat again.

I actually know the nephew of the owner of this place. He’s a friend of mine, and he is Chinese Malaysian originally from a city called Ipoh. He also used to work here, and so did another friend of mine and they suggested some dishes to me if I wanted to eat here. Since the owner is originally from Malaysia and is Chinese, obviously I decided to get the more Malaysian and Indonesian influenced dishes. By doing that, I was able to enjoy my food a little better, and found the food to be tasty, not terrible.
First time I came here I got Chow Kueh Teow, which is a stir fried rice noodle dish, mixed with some spices, shrimp, bean sprouts, and eggs. This is a quintessential dish found in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore and is also known as Chao Guo Tiu in Cantonese Chinese, and Chao Guo Tiao in Mandarin Chinese. The dish is served in a caldron shaped pot. I thought the dish was tasty, and the presentation was fairly good. It’s a great choice for lunch or a light dinner. I really liked the spiced flavor and the texture of the noodles.
My friend suggested the Ipoh Seafood Chow Fun. This is a rice noodle soup made from scrambled eggs, with shrimp, scallops and squids. A great choice when the weather is less than a dismal 18 degrees Celsius, since it comes in fairly hot. The seafood was decently good, but I really enjoyed the broth and the noodles. It is also a good choice for a light dinner as well.
The dish that I enjoyed the most was probably the Kapitan Chicken, which was also suggested by my friend. This is chicken mixed with shredded onion and coconut simmered in Malaysian spices. Although it is one of the most expensive dishes at $ 15, it comes with rice and a small salad. The chicken was really tasty, and I really liked mixing it with the rice. The flavor was really good, and had a small spice as well.
If you are only going for the lunch specials, my only suggestion is to get the Chicken Curry. They do a decent job with it, but the sauce was a little watery. Another way to enjoy your dining experience is try to get a seat by the window. It’s at a great location and the prices may be a little high, but reasonable.
Overall, if you are looking for a Malaysian influenced restaurant at a great location near Newbury Street, this is a really good choice depending on what you order. There are not many Malaysian influenced restaurants I could think of in Boston, and this is the 3^rd place I have visited in this city. This place seems to be doing fairly well, and I would not mind coming back here again for more Malaysian influenced dishes.

this place is very typical for a thai place in the area. i know that its marketed as a fusion restaurant… but for me, it wasnt much more than any other thai restaurant. they had some different dishes than what other thai places have, but i wasnt too impressed any of them. i expect certain flavors when i eat at any thai restaurant, and they delivered those flavors… but not much else.
they have thai coffee and tea, which my friend loved… but it isnt going to give this place more than three stars from me. nothing too special here.

i went again to island hopper last night to use the groupon that they did not take over marathon weekend. again, it was a 3-​star experience.
i got the poh piah again to start, and it was very consistent with what i had remembered. for my meal i got the sayor masak, which was basically steamed vegetables with light garlic sauce (i got it on the side). the sauce was light, flavorful, and the scallions were a nice touch. i was disappointed to find out though that patrons are not allowed to order any of the take-​out menu items for dine-​in, which seems a bit strange, normally it’s the opposite case.
my friends ordered the pad ped tofu and the nenas tofu. the pad ped had a nicely flavored sauce, although it could have used a little more spice. the nenas tofu came with pineapples and curry sauce, and was served in a pineapple shell. i thought that the curry sauce had a strange flavor, but my friend seemed to enjoy it.
we also ordered 2 bottles of wine during the dinner, and it was a nice sauvignon blanc that went well with the meal. it did become awkward at the end though when we were leisurely finishing our drinks and the waiter clearly wanted us to leave the table. we would understand and not linger if it were busy, but the dining room was practically empty!
after two visits, i’d consider the food to be okay and the service to be a little odd. with so many other wonderful thai places in boston, island hopper just doesn’t make the cut for me.

I went here for lunch with a bunch of friends on a Saturday afternoon. We actually went right when it opened because we were all starving, but it didn’t seem like it was a busy day.
My friend who used to go to school in the area loved this place. She said the food was awesome but the service sucked, and I have to agree… it definitely sucks. They seem to be really stingy with giving out straws for glasses of water…
The food was very good though, maybe not the best thai food I’ve never had, but still very good for Boston. (Sorry, Boston definitely does not have a lot of good ethnic restaurants).
Despite the so-​so service, I think I would come again.

I’m so surprised I haven’t reviewed Island Hopper yet! This place was our college standby restaurant back in the day– a cheap, delicious, convenient place for people in Back Bay and Cambridge to meet.
At first, we all ordered random things off the menu– the mango shrimp and mango chicken are fairly standard. The beef and chicken satays are pretty delicious. However, we’ve all discovered our favorite things on the menu, and now we order them every single time.
Roti Island Hopper– please order. The pancake… the curry… so amazing. I’m pretty sure I’ve had dreams about this appetizer. If I ate alone where nobody could see me, I’d probably order 5 of these. Or more.
Hokkien Lo Mein– I have no idea what is in here but it’s amazing. I refuse to order another entrée. There’s some shrimp, thick noodles, some soy sauce, some veggies, some other stuff… but just try it.
Green tea milkshake– back in the day when I embraced dairy, this was my amazing standby. Tasty and not too sweet.
Strawberry Freeze– this is my new non-​dairy standby. It’s just ice and strawberries, but really good.
We went last night and ordered 2 entrees, 1 appetizer and 2 specialty drinks and spent about $ 35, so it’s fairly cheap, especially for the Back Bay area.
They also have a fairly long and cheap wine list (we always order a basic Chardonnay), a short beer list, and more delicious specialty drinks. You do have to ask for water, but other than that, I’ve never had any instances of bad service. It is generally empty, especially on off-​hours, but that just makes it a great place to catch up with friends. :-)

This place is tasty! It’s the perfect location on Mass Ave when you’re walking back from Boston to Cambridge and you’re hungry. It’s usually pretty empty but most of the food is very good and service is fast. The wonton soup is great!
Plus you can grab a free lollipop on the way out for that sugar rush to keep you alive against the winds of the Harvard Bridge. :)
I also heard they now serve Brunch too but I haven’t tried yet.

*Last place standing! There are surprisingly NOT that many cheap restaurants options around the Hynes T stop that are open late enough. Kevin L. and I were desperately scrambling around at 10:45pm for a reasonably cheap dinner. Island Hopper was the only one open! It’s not a late-​late-​night place, but it’s one of the last standing restaurants.
*Char Kueh Teow! I’m a sucker for flat rice noodles so of course I’m going to say it was amazing! haha Basically, it’s the usual gooey flat rice noodles mixed with seafood served hot in a cute little cast pot/​bowl. The dish wasn’t as spicy as it was supposed to be, so I had to drown it with extra Sriracha sauce. Beware that Sriracha does mask the original flavor of the dish so if you want to be truthfully true to your Char Kueh Teow, I recommend telling the chef instead to turn up the heat a couple notches.

I came to this place in May, and it was so good that I remember everything I ordered.
I stumbled (literally) into this place on Marathon Monday. We got two lunch specials which were 4 courses each.
We started out with dumplings (Shao Mai) and a bowl of miso soup. The dumplings were GREAT.
We both got side salads and let me tell you, I am still dreaming about that miso-​ginger dressing.
We got chicken tenders which were great because they were made with an egg batter. Super juicy and flavorful.
Lastly we ended the meal with with the General Tso’s which was Fabulous!!!
We also drank four or five bottles of sake, so by the end of the meal I practically hugged our waiter.
Because we were there for lunch our bill was low and we definitely got a ton of food for what we paid for. I’m hungry, I want to go back right now.

Every time I’ve come here the food has been great & at a great price! Such a central location — great for a stop during a day of shopping & right off the T.
The décor is really nice, casual yet done in good taste. Everything on the menu is great, as long as you like curry, asian food, and don’t mind lots of flavor & a little bit of spice!

I like Island Hopper – but don’t love it. Every time I’ve been here, it’s never seemed very busy, so I’ve always enjoyed the attentive service.
The food is just average, though. Nothing to rave about, but not much to complain about either. The mango chicken curry is pretty yummy.

Fusion in this place means fruit. Fruit with this and fruit with that. Fruit with everything. The entrees are bit too sweet. Chef’s special sauce is quite good. The portions are generous and presentation is very good. Very nicely done, all dishes that we ordered were very creatively presented. Pineapple shelf, oh yea!
They also have brunch on weekends.
Out waiter was hot, but clueless.
3.5 starts.

My friend & I were hungry, but didn’t know what to eat yesterday. We were around the area, so she suggested we go to Island Hopper. I must say, I was pleased for the night. Service wise, I loved our waiter. He was so nice. My friend is a very funny & sarcastic person, so as we joked around with him, he joked along with us. It was cool.
As for the food, I really enjoyed my mango creamsicle smoothie! Yummy. Unfortunately I don’t know what I ate because I don’t know how to order thai food. My friend ordered it all. But I do know that we asked the waiter what he suggested, we ordered it, and I love it… It was some chicken with rice… topped with onions. This place didn’t WOW me, but it’s worth trying.