Spice Islands

The only reason that I’m giving it a 1 star is because Unilocal requires a rating.
Went to this place earlier for lunch on 10÷15÷10 & discovered that it was closed for maintenance/​remodel. Call ahead before you head over there to see if they’re open.

I really enjoyed this restaurant. I never had Malaysian food until I ate here and I recommend it for any first timer to Malay cuisine. Start your meal with roti, freshly made and the curry is just spicey enough. Then I ordered a beef curry item and my friend had a chicken curry item. Both were very tasty.
The staff is nice. Not outstanding, but nice enough to make you want to come back. They have limited hours and you either have to park on the street or the parking lot next door.

A pretty good South Asian restaurant. Things are not too spicy, but the food is pretty good overall. I love the thick roti, and usually get the eggplant chicken curry which is very good. Service is friendly.
THIS PLACE IS CLOSED FOR RENOVATION after a kitchen fire. I don’t know when it will be open, but I will update my review when it does.

The food is ok but it’s missing extra that would make the customers say this is a must go…
Roti was good :)
haninese chicken was not too soft. the ginger and red chilli were good
Beef rendang was average
Overall not too authentic…

Thick roti kicks @$$ here. I finally found it after I’ve had it for the first time from a street vendor in Taiwan of all places. Yum!
Our server Helena was really nice in refilling our waters without complaints and answering every single one of our pesky questions. Since we were a large group, we were demanding, and she met all our requests.
The ambiance is nice with recessed lighting and simple decorations on the wall.
I really liked the Malay black bean noodle dish, which reminded me of Korean-​Chinese «jjajangmyun.» What an interesting take on a similar dish! It was flavorful.
The pineapple fried rice was also notable for its intense flavor. I’m typically negatively biased towards any fried rice, because I know the rice tends to be old. However, this one was worth knowing that I’m eating old rice. I’m getting hungry typing this out!
The curry noodle soup was really tasty especially since it was made spicy. There was enough seafood in there for us to all share.
One con — women’s restroom was out of soap. But Helena took care of it. The broken toilet sitting in there w/​the working one looked a little weird. It kind of looks like I should be sitting on the toilet with a friend chatting while do our business.

Delicious cuisine, flavorful dishes, and Soviet-​style service.

More like 3.5 stars.
The Zen-​like music, the lit candles, and little stone tea pots on the table makes the experience romantic. The butcher paper tablecloth… not so much.
Pros:
–Finally! An «exotic» Asian restaurant where the food isn’t horribly expensive! A ton of dishes under $ 10.
–The roti with the coconut curry dipping sauce was one of the best parts of the meal. One for less than $ 3!
–Beef rendang was my favorite entrée. Only $ 9.99 for tender beef covered in a tasty curry. The serving isn’t that big, but a little goes a long way. Kinda like Indian food.
Cons:
–The rest of the dishes were okay, not great. Tried the mango chicken (not a fan of sweet and sour dishes), vermicelli noodles, and shrimp curry.
–Service was slow and our server seemed to be easily confused by things. Be assertive girl! You cahn deww itt!
Bottom line: The curries are probably the best things in the menu, so make sure to try those out. Don’t forget your roti! Best eaten when fresh. Their Malaysian iced tea is good too. Yes it tastes different than Thai iced tea. So the food was good, but not emotionally good. Know what I’m sayin?

Average fare. Not close to Banana Leaf in terms of food quality. Have been a few times. I would recommend if you have not tried Malay or Singaporean food and want to try something new in Mountain View.

If this is what singaporean/​malaysian/​thai cuisine is supposed to taste like, then you’re in good hands. A local who lives in the area brought me to Spice Islands and said she always is pleasantly happy with their food even though they don’t get as much business as she believes they should be getting. We went in for lunch on a weekend and it was near empty when we arrived in.
We ordered the satay tofu, pineapple fried rice, and king pork buff. Everything was pretty good although not spectacular and all at reasonable prices. My friend was disappointed with the satay tofu because the peanut sauce was not up to the same standards she had tried from Spice Islands in the past.
To finish off the meal, I had some kind of warm tapioca dessert with sweet yam chunks inside… perfect way to finish off the meal before stepping outside into the cold.

I came back here reluctantly, because my friends love the food, and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The food continues to be consistently good, and the service has gotten a lot better We ordered:
Appetizers: Roti and Vegetarian soup: The thick Roti seems to taste a lot more satisfying and the dipping sauce was good. Veggie soup was awesome I loved it
Dinner: Nasi Goreng (with noodles)-was very tasty and didnt feel too heavy
Chicken with Basil-​good dish, not outstanding
Curry Lamb-​I didnt have any, but my friends loved it.
All in all, I have to say I am much happier with the way we were treated and the quality of food this time.

I don’t have a ton of experience with Singaporean/​Malaysian cuisine, but overall, I like the food here. They use a lot of spices, and it’s pretty flavorful.
My favorite dish is the roti with the dipping sauce. Yum!
Some of the other reviews on here say that the service was bad, but my friend and I luckily had a decent experience. We were seated right away, and the waiter was attentive. We came on a quiet Sunday afternoon for lunch and it wasn’t terribly crowded so that may have helped. Either way, I will come back, and I hope I don’t have to update my review negatively…

Three of my friends held a joint bday dinner here. Our party took up half the restaurant with about 50 people. Although they weren’t able to serve all our tables at once (understandably), the food still came out pretty quickly so that we weren’t all waiting on certain tables to finish before we could pay the bill and head on out. Everything here is tasty; I have yet to try a dish here that I didn’t like. The bill came out to be about 20 something per person, but we had a HUGE amount of food on our table.
I agree with some of the Unilocalers: this place doesn’t rank on my list of top Singaporean/​Malaysian restaurants. However, since it wins on proximity to where I live, I can deal with coming back here for my Singaporean/​Malaysian food fix.
They’ve really fixed up the place since the last time I visited. It now looks like a decent date spot, with soft lighting and stylish décor. It’s also an excellent spot for large (20+) groups of people.

About 8 years ago I paid my first visit to Spice Islands Café for a birthday celebration. It was my first experience with Singaporean food, and I was impressed. (If Unilocal had existed back then I would’ve given it 4 or 5 stars). But since then I have become more familiar with this type of cuisine, and though I still eat here, I can’t say its at the top of my Singaporean list. Not only that, but in the last few years it seems to me the food has gone downhill a bit. Case in point: The Mango Chicken. When I tried this for the first time several years ago, I was blown away by the wonderful flavor and beautiful presentation. But on a recent visit, the presentation had changed, the serving size had shrunk, and the flavor was lackluster.
Here are some other meals I’ve had here recently:
– Green Curry (lunch special): Was able to order with toned-​down spiciness which was still pretty spicy. Used fresh ingredients but the overall flavor was not quite up to expectations. Total was $ 9 incl. tip, pretty standard for sit-​down Asian food in the area. 3 stars.
– Thick Style Roti Prata: Great stuff! Much better than the thin style that is also offered on the menu. Doesn’t quite measure up to the version at Straits, but blows away the sad roti at Banana Leaf Café. 4.5 stars.
– Curry Chicken (lunch special): Pretty cheap at $ 6.99 base price. A decent amount of food, but the chicken quality could have been better. It also tasted a little OFF to me. Not sure why. I won’t get this again. 2 stars.
Chow Keuh Teow — Spicy pan-​fried rice noodles with shrimp and squid. This is pretty similar to Pad Thai, but spicier. I asked for medium spicy but what I got was so hot I could barely eat it. Otherwise it was pretty good (as far as I could tell through the heat). 3 stars.
The atmosphere inside is nice but strikes me as a little odd. The interior walls are nicely decorated and painted in pale yellow and orange. The lighting, however, is a bit uneven and far too dim in some spots. The ceiling also still has those ugly, hanging, perforated ceiling tiles you see in most office buildings, and these look out of place with the rest of the décor. A few improvements in these areas would make a big difference to the ambiance.

This place has gone way downhill. I used to come here with friends and loved it. But jeez, the service was sooooo bad! It was laughable. You got the feeling that they were annoyed by paying customers. We asked 3 times for the check (and no I am not exaggerating), The second time we actually got an eyeroll from the waitress. I’ve worked in restaurants so I always appreciate good service and tip accordingly. I was aggravated to leave anything.
Anyway this is the last time I walk in this place. Given that there are so many places to eat in downtown MV, you’d think they’d care a little more.
The food was ok, although the roti was cold and greasy (?)

Whatever happened to this little restaurant?
Craving something spicy (don’t I always?) and tossing up between spicy Korean tofu and Malaysian, we ended up coming here. Bad choice on my part.
The balachan kang kong that was tasty, came out tasting like it was soaked in H2O2 for a bit too long (for those of you who didn’t take Chemistry 101 — it’s Hydrogen Peroxide… stuff that I used to put on my clothes to get rid of stubborn stains).
The Malaysian beef spare ribs were tough and rubbery.
The Roti Prata that never failed to be the much-​anticipated appetizer… never made its way to the table.
In retaliation, the 3-​star review that I once had for this place has been duly removed and replaced with this very review. It symbolizes the restaurant that was once in this premises, but no longer is.
Next time, I’ll have the spicy Korean tofu soup.

Service was horrible!!!
They must be training new people because when we walked in the hostess and waiter were introducing themselves to each other. Our waiter didn’t know what the Thai sauce was on the menu and then he spent a large portion of the evening trying to enter the orders into the machine.
Tables all around us were looking to the kitchen for attention. I had to get up multiple times to ask for the check, a bowl of rice, and a box to go… I might as well served myself.
The food is good. We had the salmon with Thai sauce, basil chicken and satay tofu. 1 star.
If you can actually get someones attention to order, the food eventually comes but put on your walking shoes because it is easier to serve your self.
Not going back until they change owners or hire competent, trained staff.

We’re still trying to figure out what cuisine this is.
I believe we’ve tried this place enough times to conclude that the dishes here are generally less than mediocre. For most, the flavors are simply not there. For example, the Hainese chicken is tasteless, unless you dip it heavily in sauce. The soups can be made spicy upon request, but it’s just that — spicy as in more chili flakes, NOT flavors. The stir-​fry okra used to be our staple order, but not anymore as it’s become too ordinary. The noodles are often inconsistent in texture.
Well. I’m sure there are some decent dishes, but I’m no longer interested in finding out the many hits & misses here…
There’s also a MAJOR shortage of waitstaff, as the service is unreasonably slow. The place could be half empty, yet you’d find yourself constantly raising your hand for attention.

What an interesting mix of menu items! I’ve only been here once & will go back despite so-​so service. (I’ve seen this before in Asian restaurants, 1 waiter & 1 bus boy to handle a fairly busy lunch crowd, are they trying to save money by not hiring enough help?)
We had won-​ton soup to start, the best I’ve every had, rich broth, generous portion. For entrees we had pineapple fried rice & grilled salmon served w/​a yummy sauce. My only complaint being that they were a bit skimpy on the shrimp in the rice dish, otherwise it was wonderfully flavored.
For dessert, my daughter ordered her favorite, fried bananas which I thought were a bit heavily battered but she enjoyed.

Variation is a characteristic of this restaurant — the food here is some days extremely tasty, and other days somewhat bland. What’s strange is this variation can occur with the exact same dish across visits a few weeks apart.
My favorites, when done right, are chow kueh teow (spicy rice noodles stir-​fried with squid and egg) and chicken nenas (chicken and fresh pineapple in a lemongrass curry sauce). Often very tasty, but sometimes very oddly bland, and chow kueh teow should never be bland!
The thick roti, however, is always, always tasty. Definitely get one of those. One per person is too much, but having only half of one leaves me wanting more… the quandary!
Free refills on sodas — very unusual for an Asian restaurant around here, so they definitely get points for this.
When all is going right in the kitchen, this is a good place for a work outing, since they (unlike Banana Leaf) can usually accommodate a large group on short notice.

I don’t know about the authenticity of their food, but I love their sizzling tofu dish. So far, the dishes to me look reasonably priced and the ambiance at Spice Islands is very nice. You can’t tell from the exterior!
Well-​hidden secret of downtown Mountain View dining establishments.