Review: Tropicana, Kingsford

Hello there sexy! Mmm Tofu Laksa

Some people say you are not a student of UNSW until you have experienced the Tropicana Laksa Broth.

Well...actually they don't, I just made that up. The point is, I can't stress enough that if you're ever wandering past UNSW or running a marathon down Anzac Parade, it is an IMPERATIVE that you drop by this Malaysian eatery for a bit of nom nom.

Having said that, despite my years at UNSW, this was my first time nomming at Tropicana.

That was my bowl of Tofu Laksa. I had been previously warned of the richness of the Tropicana laksa broth, but it never occurred to me just how rich and thick it was. There was definitely a sense of guilty pleasure in me as I slurped up the delicious noodles and spooned the coconutty goodness into my mouth.

It doesn't register all that highly on the heat-o-meter. In other words, if you're looking to eat laksa with spice-noobs then this place is definitely worth considering. However, the tofu was a tad on the salty side, but the broth was simply delicious.

SL's BBQ Pork Laksa

I'm not the biggest fan of BBQ Pork, and the thought of having it in laksa still makes me raise my eyebrow. However, judging by the look of the dish, it was probably just the exact same broth plus a few pieces of BBQ Pork thrown in. I suppose that's how they do it in a lot of places - nothing wrong with that, who am I to complain about a perfectly well tested method?

JL's Seafood Laksa

If there ever was an enemy of the sea, the first person to come to mind is JL. (The last being LT hehe). Once again, the broth was pretty much the same rich broth that came in the other two, but this time filled with the likes of prawns, tofu, fish balls and sliced fish cakes. The prawns looked bursty enough - nicely soaked in bicarb water for the texture to be all nice and almost crunchy.

Given that this place targets poor uni students as their main market, you could probably expect quite good value for money. However, I don't think I would ever make the trip out to Kingsford for this bowl of laksa, but at the same time, this place is definitely one of the perks for a foodie going to UNSW.


Tropicana
Shop 2, 243 Anzac Parade
Kingsford, NSW 2032
Tel: (02) 9662 8896