Island Hopper
Category: Singaporean [Edit]
Neighborhood: Back Bay91 Massachusetts Ave
(between Commonwealth Ave & Newbury St)
Boston, MA 02115 (617) 266-1618
- Nearest Transit:
Hynes Convention Ctr/ica (Green)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
56 Reviews for Island Hopper
Many of my friends love Island Hopper and have it as a trusted standby to order from.
Personally, I go on a liquid diet every time I go here in person. The smoothies are pricey but also huge and in several strange flavors. (I think I had avocado at one point? It didn't taste like avocado, but perhaps this island didn't have an Iron Chef.)
I'm just not a fan of sweet-ish Asian food, and while the menu is diverse, the dishes tend to taste similarly to me. If you also are a savory-over-sweet food fan, consider visiting the Indian place next door.
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I've been here twice, and why I went back again after my first experience, I still don't know.
I used to live down the street from the Island Hopper and passed it everyday, so when a friend and I were looking for a place to grab a quick dinner before a movie I was excited to finally try this place.
Mistake.
The service was painfully slow and our meals were bland.
My second dinner there was just bad. My chicken entree was inedible (UNDERcooked) and unappetizing.
I can't walk by this place anymore without feeling just a little sick...
First - points off for mis-representing... They claim to be Southeast Asian food but they have Japanese food and sake on the menu? Japan is East Asia... sorry!
We ordered the Roti Island Hopper appetizer, which was quite good, however for being served with curry chicken dipping sauce, there was only one small piece of chicken in it!
I ordered the Burmese cold noodle, which was quite good, but the 'sauce' was some watery stuff in the bottom of my bowl. Also, don't let the mildly spicy fool you, it was quite potent, but still good.
My friend ordered the Mee Gorang, which I thought was quite good, but the 'shrimp pancake' was one small piece of shrimp in what tasted like circus-fried dough.
Despite the good food, the waitress we had was abysmal. She was slow to pay attention to us, and did not come check on us at all. We were there at like 6:45 on a Monday night, and the place was empty, so this was inexcusable to me. So overall good food, a bad service experience, and a little pricey for what you get, but not bad.
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I am a fan of Americanized Asian food.. when it's cheap and tastes awesome (with large portions). This place is none of the above. The service is okay.. but the food tastes just okay and the portions are pretty small. The best thing we got was the basil beef. That was tasty.. but I've had better. We shared three dishes amongst the four of us and I think the rice portion was bigger than the food.
If it was me.. I'd tell you to save your money and go somewhere else.
Overpriced and overrated.
I think the only reason a lot of people still go here is because it's good for groups and it's in a convenient location.
The food is subpar at best. The roti appetizer is very good but you get a tiny portion for $5.
I guess it gets extra points for having good smoothies. They are pricey but pretty delicious as well.
The service and food are lousy. The hostess said there was only one waiter, when there was three (this was at lunch on a Saturday afternoon). That was her reason for not sitting us at a certain table. They didn't give me the brown rice that I asked for. The miso soup & chicken & broccoli are just not good. No flavor. The strawberry iced tea had no flavor either. The bathrooms were cold and did not have a dryer or towels. Overall, it was just a bad experience and a waste of calories.
I've ordered from them a few times. I haven't been disappointed. Quality of food is fine. It's americanized chinese / thai / who knows what else (they even have samosas on their menu... !!!).
The good. They keep your info on file. It's nice because they just need your phone number to get things going. The menu is diverse. Their menu seems to be inspired by various regions. They also have a decent selection of healthy/vegetarian dishes. I've never been dissatisfied with the food. Delivery has always been surprisingly fast.
The bad. There isn't really much bad to say. I never find anything special about chinese, thai, japanese, etc. delivery. It's either good or bad. This place has always been good. So far this place has proven to be a great stand-by.
Conclusion. 3.5 stars. I give 4 as opposed to 3 because they've always been quick and easy to deal with. Plus they're open "fairly" late (11:30 PM). Hurray.
Island Hopper is a great place to grab some southeast asian cuisine. The menu is incredibly diverse and the food is excellent. I liked the decor, it was colorful, inviting, and relaxing. My friend and I ordered Dim Sum for an appetizer and we received 4 delicious pieces. It was a tad expensive but good otherwise. For entrees we ordered Nenas shrimp and Kung Pao chicken. The Kung Pao was excellent, just spicy enough, chicken pieces were small bite size pieces instead of having to take a few bites out of a bigger piece. Plenty of peanuts and veggies mixed in and on the side that complemented the plate nicely. The Nenas chicken was awesome! Served in a half pineapple shell with amazing flavor. Chunks of pineapple mixed with vegetables and shrimp in an excellent coconut sauce. Absolutely delicious.
Our food was served fast because we showed up at 1120 at night and they close at 12 so everything was quick. I'll definetly be returning to Island Hopper and try it out at a more appropriate time and hope it can continue to live up to my 4-star rating!
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I almost always eat food from here via delivery take out; only occasionally having actually been inside this joint. Unfortunately, I call in so many orders that they have my credit cards on file and only need to say which card I want to use. That and the fact I have to endure the criticism for my not having ordered in the last two weeks makes it all the more fun and interesting a place.
My review mostly pertains to their take-out cuisine and its quality. So let me first say this - people who come up from New York City to visit me, call ahead and ask that I order at least 2 boxes of Island Hopper's Crab Rangoon - they are that good (or bad given the fried aspect of it). And on their ride home, the smell on the Fung Wa bus with open boxes of Crab Rangoon is also a hoot.
Virtually all the food we have ordered for take out has been very very good. Of course we are sticklers for selecting the same things over and over again - avoiding those items that just don't do well in the take-out department. My favs include the fried raviolis, house special fired rice (they can make it with brown rice if you like - I don't), tofu and eggplant, curry chicken (several styles), spring rolls, poi pai (not sure of spelling here), and many others, not to mention Crab Rangoon!.
The food is classic Southeast Asian, and although this is not the height of fancy cuisine, it is what you crave for on many nights, just right, tastes like it was just made (not a few hours ago), and is priced reasonably well. How can you go wrong.
3.5 stars
All I gotta say is mango chicken. The rest of the menu looks tasty, but I'm so sold on their mango chicken that I there's no reason for me to look. Not just mango slices, but served in mangos?! SHA!! LOVE IT! They also have fruity things in a glass, which I have been known to consume.
Points off for cheesy decor and sometimes snobby service. Other than that, this is a pretty solid non-yuppie, non-chic, non-obnoxious, et al offering on mass ave.
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we came here on a slow night. perfect.
they get points for fast service, and for remembering what kind of beer my partner in crime likes. they get stars for having a pretty eclectic menu where everything looks yummy on it. they get stars for having delicious food. and they get stars for not serving such a large portion size that i could feed 30 children for a month.
i have a feeling i will be back.
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First of all, let me just say I had a very memorable experience at Island Hopper that didn't exactly involve the food, but perhaps I should get to that later and review the restaurant first....
The menu is quite extensive--covering all sorts of Malaysian and Thai entrees and appetizers. Many interesting choices, although the corresponding prices were a bit high compared to other Asian restaurants of comparable quality (as other Yelpers have mentioned, this is likely due to the restaurant's location--being near Newbury often gives establishments the gall to jack up prices). The drink list involved a whole slew of fruit smoothies, non-alcoholic mixed drinks, sake, wine and beer.
We started off with the lollipop shrimp which were good but I expected more than 4 little pinky-sized shrimp rolls for $7. The virgin Moscow Mule made with ginger beer and lime juice is quite refreshing and it made a nice accompaniment to my entree of Hainanese chicken. Since I've never traveled to Singapore or Malaysia, I can't vouch for the authenticity of this dish, but it was very tasty. A mound of yellow chicken-flavored rice was flanked by a well-dressed, simple green salad, and tender boiled chicken (skin on) topped with minced ginger. The chicken was a bit oily, but I think it's meant to be that way. The boyfriend had five spice duck, which was covered in a dark brown sauce and accompanied by white rice and green salad. It lacked a depth of flavor that you'd expect from a combo of five spices, but the meat was tender.
There was just one server working the room (possibly due to the late afternoon hour and only a handful of tables were occupied), but he was one hardworking dude! I saw him take orders, bus tables, take photos for celebrating diners AND deliver an order in the bitter cold in between serving. All of this contributed to the somewhat slow service, but I give him props because he maintained a cheerful and polite demeanor throughout. And maybe I'm just cheez-tastic, but I kinda liked the decor; it was really colorful and inviting.
So for the funny/memorable part...I was left with a souvenir of my visit that involved me slamming the bathroom door in my own face upon exiting. I don't exactly know how this happened, but it did. Later on, after I got home, I discovered yet another souvenir...The leftovers that the server had packed for me had leaked all over my brand new Adriano Goldschmied purchases! Mostly I blamed myself for putting the leftovers in the same bag, so I don't think these incidents will deter me from visiting Island Hopper again when I'm shopping on Newbury St. and the craving for pan-Asian cuisine hits. If anything, the main deterrent would be the prices (how ironic).
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I used to eat at Island Hopper on a pretty regular basis when I lived/worked in Back Bay. Although it's on the pricier side, I still always thought of eating there or ordering from there as a nice treat!
A couple years ago a boyfriend and I went there on Valentine's Day for dinner. We hadn't thought our plans through and called on a whim to see if they'd take reservations since every other restaurant in the area was booked. They said they were pretty busy but would find room to squeeze us in, last minute. Not only were our meals great, but they gave me a rose and both of us free dessert!
5 stars.
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I've never eaten inside, but Island Hopper has awesomely super quick delivery and in terms of freshness and flavor, better Chinese food than Chinese food places in the Back Bay area. Although my favorite standby, sweet and sour chicken, could most definitely use more flavor here. But the mango vanilla milkshake? To. die. for.
Between Newberry and Commonwealth on mass ave, super convienent location by T. If you are driving this is not the kind of place that Valets, i had to have the my car parked across the street at Match. Now, this is a student freindly place, i have just graduated to a working professional. Not a chi-chi place at all. The resturant is listed under singaporean but there were latino waiters in hawaiian shirts. This place is going through a serious identity crisis.
We ordered roti canai- i prefer the one in penang and shumai dumpling-blah, the main course was sesame chicken- it takes a lot to screw this up-they did a decent job with it and chow mein. I had two glasses of not so great merlot. For its food and service and the confused hawaiian crossed with asian decor, this place should be cheaper.
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I went here a few years ago. I ordered a mixed seafood dish..I think it cost between $17 to $20....not super expensive, but also not cheap. It came with IMITATION CRAB. Ummm, I'd rather have 1 real piece of crab than 5 pieces of imitation crab....I ain't fooled by that sh*t. Anywho, not sure if it's changed since then, but I would never go back again.
i love the tom yum soup and the papaya salad. they make it nice and spicy just like home. we had the five spice duck which was really different taste (in a good way) than the regular roasted duck i'm used to from the chinese BBQ. the curry chicken and mango chicken were juicy and full of flavor!!!
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You wouldn't expect this place to be as good as it is. It's a lot better than you're average, inexpensive, casual asian place. And they have many healthy options. Tons of vegetarian options. I've been here many times and all the appetizers have been good. Best deals at lunch and dim sum on weekends, but never expensive. Huge portions. Some of my favorites are the pie tee, jade ravioli, samosas, tofu & eggplant and nenas tofu.
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Well, I don't know what island (or islandS) the decorator of this place was trying to emulate, but the pineapple fried rice is pretty awesome.
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the story of two friends getting lunch on a sunny afternoon:
f1: hey friend, where do you want to go?
f2: i dunno, friend, where's good?
f1: amigos like to eat thai together.
f2: uh, okay, mon ami (uh, i don't really want thai, mon enemigo, but i'm passive agressive)*
f1: grrrrreat!
f2: (grehhhhhhht.)
f2: (what?! they have dim sum here?) grrrreat!
f2: (i'll have one of these and one of these and two of these.)
f2: hey rafiki, those two european guidos in the booth behind us are annoying me.
f1: i concur, veninde.
f1: thanks for lunch, pal.
f2: my pleasure, chum.
the end.
*parentheses = thoughts
is this place thai? what is this place? singaporan? hmm.
the dim sum is expensive. it doesn't taste as good as chinatown, but....
it's right on mass. ave. near newbury st. and i'm already hungry. and i want to go shopping. and it's actually decent tasting.
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If you've been to price friendly Penang located in Chinatown before, then you will probably think island hopper is a rip off. It is a rip off for these reasons:
1) It is more expensive (maybe because rent in copley/south end is higher).
2) The portions are SMALLER.
3) It does not HAVE malayasian ice tea on its menu.
The menu bares a similarity to Penang. However, the menu also features Vietnamese, Singapore, and Thai food.
Though, the quality of the food is lovely. Relatively healthy compared to the oiliness of Penang (which I also love...to a certain extent), I had char k..teow (sp?) and nasi goreng. The food portion is still filling despite being on the smaller side of things.
The service is pretty good. I don't remember what happened when I was there the first time. The second time turned out to be a charm mainly because there was less people in the restaurant that day.
I agree with Cesca with getting a table by the window, it's a wonder. Heh.
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I've been to this spot three times in the past year. The first time I got the chicken satay and a smoothie. The second time I got the Saigon Won Ton Soup and the Pina Colada smoothie, and the third time I split the Pad Thai, the Hong Kong Steak, and the Lobar Sampler with two other friends. I have to say that recently I have been decently impressed with the food. The Hong Kong Steak was absolutely delicious. The Pad Thai was decent, and the Saigon Won Ton Soup was also pretty good. However, I do remember the first time I came here, the chicken satay was completely burnt... practically inedible. The smoothies here are also amazing.
I do have to say that the food here is pretty expensive and the portions are pretty small. The atmosphere is very ... exotic? ethnic? but it has a nice atmosphere. It's location is also very convenient. The service has been neither outstanding or horrible.
As a Chilean native, I know very little about asian food. I am learning more with practice in cooking and ordering it, but straight off the bat; I am not the best authority as to the authenticity of the dishes. I went here for my birthday, I chose it because the friend who was taking me out is Indonesian, and I thought I could satisfy my addiction/curiosity of Asian foods as well as have her get a little taste of home.
We ordered the lettuce wraps as an appetizer. I loved them. They were fresh, tangy, and just the right amount of sweet. It was the perfect appetizer since it didn't weight you down from the start. It gave your stomach just enough light food to make it crave the entree, which is what an appetizer is meant to do.
I ordered the Mee Goreng. Although I thought it was very tasty, I found it lacking in the heat department. For a menu item with a picture of a little chili besides it, I had assumed it would pack more of a punch. However, spice is subjective. I am not saying that there was no heat at all, just that I was not impressed by it. Unfortunately I had to send it back the first time it came out. I am not usually a person who sends back food but I had no choice at the time. My stomach has not been able to deal with certain fish and shell fish since I was a kid (I know... very strange not only for a Chilean person but also for an Asian food addict). I made it perfectly clear to the waiter to exclude the shrimp from my dish. He was very apologetic, and I wasnt one to give him a hard time, as a former waitress and current barista I have two rules: tip big and never EVER piss off the people that handle your food. Anyway, He brought out my replacement plate shrimp free and fresh. Usually I can tell when people go in to the back and pick out bits of unwanted food from your plate and then bring it back to you lukewarm or nuked from a microwave. They were awesome enough to bring me a new dish.
I had to subtract a star for my friend's dish though. She ordered the Gado Gado, something she has been eating since she was a little girl. Although, the actual salad was very well prepared she found the sauce sub par. According to her, the sauce is what makes the dish. It tasted a little canned. Its hard to describe that canned tomato taste, the only adjective I can really come up with is "canned".
The sake was very good, a little pricey but it is to be expected from foreign drinks. The decor was very beautiful too. A mix of traditional and funky, very much my style. I tipped big, and left with a smile.
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We go here on occasion and always have a lovely time. The servers are attentive but not overbearing. The atmosphere is light and open.
The menu is exensive so if you get something you don't like, go back again and try somethign different.
I was shocked at how amazing the popcorn shrimp are. It's not some sort of clam shack by the ocean popcorn shrim, oh no. It's the most delicious sauce ever and the little shrimpies are so delicious. The only problem is my guilt because I'm trying not to eat sea animals anymore.
They have a nice selection of appetizers. Sometimes I just get two or three as a meal. The lettuce wraps are fun, and the jade ravioli are really really yum yums.
My other favorite menu item is the green tea milkshake - the best I've tried.
I've only ever done Island Hopper for dim sum on Sunday at noon and it's spectacular. So much food, very reasonably priced. The service is excellent -- friendly and attentive. If you go at noon, you'll have the restaurant to yourself. You can get a table by the window that overlooks Mass Ave and the people-watching is great. Great for a group!
Basic pan-Asian restaurant that IMO doesn't really do justice to any cuisine. Being that the Singaporean population is an amalgam of Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnicities, it's food has so much potential for an awesome combination of flavors and often it does, just not here. I was disappointed that the dishes were so inconsistent.
The roti appetizer had amazing curry but only two pieces each of chicken and potatoes. The 'Shanghai greens' were bok choi, and didn't have that nasty corn starchy sauce. The mi goreng (an Indonesian dish) tasted nose scrunchingly like pad thai with different noodles. The dish is supposed to have brown sugar, soy sauce and sambal (chili paste), no peanuts.
I'm not done griping: prices were jacked up $25 each for one app and two entrees with no drinks, probably because of high rents of a central location, decor was bright and cheesy, it was FREEZING, they had one waiter for the whole two room restaurant and they defiled my coconut water with ice shavings. I'm done now, and not going back.
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The dining room is spacious, so they accommodate groups gracefully. I have always had super friendly (if somewhat unpolished) service here. The vegetarian entrees are delicious and reasonably creative. They win extra points for serving brown rice. The appetizers are great if you're feeling hungry. (The entree portions are pretty big. I'm always really full, which is too bad because I love their mango with sticky rice. Especially when they have a ripe mango, which, unfortunately, is not always the case.)
Overall, I like the decor in their dining room--it's bold and colorful. On a recent visit I noticed that they replaced their lovely votive candles with electronic votives that change colors. Okay, so they don't need to be re-lit all evening, and I'm sure those little bulbs last forever, but I still think it's pretty cheesy. Other than that, I have no complaints.
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I am a pretty big fan of this place.
I like cheesy decorations and booths, so they have me there. I also really like places that have fruit smoothies. They are a little pricey for their size, but I think they are totally worth it.
I like thai and lots of different asian dishes and this place is close to my apartment and carries lots of different stuff. Its good because then you have options. I have lots of friends that LOVE pad thai and that is all they will order from thai or similar places. AKA my roommate. So when I want asianish food but not thai, this is a great compromise. She can order pad thai and I can get whatever I want!!
I REALLY like their nasi goreg this indonesian dish. Its cool because not that many places will do things with brown rice, BUT they do, and its VERY yummy, and then more healthy!
Their kitchen is also open REALLY late in comparison to other things in the area! Oh, and they carry my favorite wine ;)
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Service is okay. Food is okay. Everything is just average here, nothing to write home about. But yet I keep wanting to go here for some reason. I guess it's simply that it's nearby and it has roti canai (or island roti or whatever they call it here).
Oh and they say they have dim sum for brunch on weekends, but don't order it... it's nowhere near Chinatown quality dim sum.
Another yummy southeast asian restaurant in Boston with decent delivery portions!! My usual dish was the Mango Chicken, which my bf would compliment with either the Sesame Chicken or the Hong Kong Steak, either way all of it were aaalllwaaays satisfying!! SOOO GOOD!!! My only qualms with this place is my always all-important sticky rice with mango. Island Hoppers' version is a little different---it's served with the rice set inside bamboo sticks, which while I praise for it's ingenuity, is ultimately annoying because it allows for a smaller serving while also giving you slivers of bamboo with your bites at times.
Other then that, I loved Island Hopper :)
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I haven't actually eaten here, as much as I've ordered 72 dollars worth of snacks, and loved every minute of it. Their DimSum is unique, full of flavor and cheap. I love the little tick boxes that you get, like a cheap sushi restaurant , but with class. There's no take backs either, becuase you make your decisions in pen.
I highly recommend their samosas, pork bao buns, and their scallion pancakes. I've come back a few times, and religiously, the service is great, and the Iced tea is outta this world delish. They also have lime rickey's for the summer, and great people-watching windows.
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I ate here several times during college. Food was decent. I know I've tried several things on the menu but nothing stands out in memory other than the Malaysian Curry Chicken, but that may also be cause it was the first time I tried sweet curry with coconut milk (which is good for people who don't like strong curry).
The only other thing I can remember was one time when we had a strange waitress. She apparently did not want us to order food, cause after ordering drinks and appetizers she grabbed the menu from our hands. I had to stop her and tell her we hadn't finished ordering and she look surprised/annoyed. She looked even more so when we wanted to order dessert later; I almost felt guilty for asking and thought I should promise her to eat less from then on. Other than that service was always very good.
All in all it is a safe bet for not-bad/pretty-good food and atmosphere.
This place wasn't anything special. My boyfriend and I randomly decided to stop in and we were somewhat rudely greeted by a waiter with strange hair. We sat down by the window; points for that. Our waiter was actually pretty nice.
We got Crab Rangoons to start & for the price, they were a pretty good deal. I liked them, but I'm a sucker for cheap, greasy ones at small Chinese places more than the fancier ones.
I got the Mango Chicken and I didn't like it at all, but I'm a picky eater. There's nothing but awesome reviews about that though on here, so I'm sure I am alone on my views. My boyfriend got Basil Beef and liked it enough to eat most of it, but wasn't a huge fan. We weren't sure what the deal was with the salads on the plate, either.
Overall, it wasn't bad. I liked the seating, but the food wasn't anything fantastic. I probably wouldn't eat here again.
A typical experience at Island Hopper for me:
Me: Here we are!
My friend: I tripped over the decorative elephant in the doorway!
Me: You're not supposed to kick decorative elephants. It's bad luck.
My friend: Aw.
Me: Hey, is there something wrong with the map on the menu?
My friend: What? I can't tell what's land and what's water because they're both blue.
Me: There seems to be a made-up bonus island in Indonesia. And I don't recall the Philippines having this extra land mass attached to it. It's like some sort of Filipino ghetto booty.
My friend: You should get a smoothie! They're good. Like Oh raspiration.
Me: Do I have to say it like it's written when I order it? "Oh! Raspiration." Like I have to have a mini-orgasm before I can say the smoothie? What about this one? "Mmhhhhh." How do you even say that?
My friend: Ooh ooh Hot Waiter's here. I hope we get him!
I like the food here, so I got a different friend a gift certificate. Island Hopper decorates their gift certificates with a border of smiley faces around the edge. But the best part is that half the smiley faces are normal like this : ), but the other half are like this : |
Which means that Island Hopper believes that gift certificates should elicit a mixture of joy and stoicism.
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I was impressed on my first visit with the taste and presentation of Nena's Chicken (chicken sauteed with pineapple chunks and lemongrass in a mildly spicy sauce served in half a pineapple). It was a generous portion and tasted great warmed up.
I went today with literally 28 minutes to spare. The one waiter was swamped but got me in and out and was super nice to boot. I had the lunch special Green Papaya salad and miso soup, but really wanted to try the Malaysian Curry Beef or Sayor Masak (veggies wok fried in a light garlic sauce). The papaya wasn't shredded the usual way, but cut on the bias. It was excellent, crunchy, and refreshing. The Burmese Cold Noodle (yellow noodle tossed with shredded tofu, lettuce, bean sprouts and raw onions in a special Burmese mildly spicy sauce topped with fried shallots) was also calling my name. Island Hopper offers all the usual pan-Asian suspects, as well.
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Our lunch here was ok. I got the pad thai and my mom got the shrimp and veggies with rice. Both were good, but nothing special. They both seemed to be missing sauce or something, kinda bland.
I did really like the decor, and loved being seated in one of the window seats that looks out onto mass. ave. My mom, from the North Carolina 'burbs, was kept very busy just looking at all the people and goings-on out there.
The service was great. He was attentive and let us take our time after we had finished our meal. After we paid the bill, we ended up talking in our booth for a while and he kept refilling our water glasses, which was nice since we were so hungover from the night before.
All in all, a good value for the area, but nothing to go out of your way for.
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For lunch, I was hoping for a flavorful fusion of Thai, Malaysian and Chinese cuisines. Instead I got a rather schizophrenic meal consisting of average dishes that seemed disconnected and uninspired by one another. The only exception was my entree of Malaysian Curry Tofu, which was very delicious despite lacking vegetables, and well, tofu. And the price tag?! I guess I won't be island hopping anytime soon..
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This place is ill! It's the first restaurant I've ever liked enough to go somewhat regularly.
Island Hopper has great service on the weekdays because usually there are very few people in the restaurant. I've been there once on a Friday night and it was really busy, though--so don't be dissuaded by the scarcity of patrons.
The prices vary. I've never had any of the specials because they're the more expensive things on the menu, and because of that, I've always gone with the cheaper stuff. The food is great and the portions are just right--not too little, not too much to make you feel gross or unable to finish.
Appetizers- the chicken satay is very good, and not too expensive. If you're in the mood for soup, the won ton soup is made with a perspicuously strong amount of ginger, but trust me, it's good.
As far as the non-special main dishes go, the Nenas chicken/shrimp/tofu is the most aesthetically-minded dish, I think; it's served in a pineapple shell. The sesame chicken and General Gau's chicken are not too different from their stereotypical preparation, but they're still really good.
The Thai Seafood Noodle Soup is a little bit spicy and there's a lot of liquid. It tastes good, but I'd like it more as an appetizer-sized portion. I think it's too much for a main dish. The Hokkien Lo Mein is a good variation on lo mein, and has a nice taste, but it gets a little dry. I would suggest getting soup or a drink with it.
Check on the back page for smoothies- these are super good and they complement the meals very well. The portions, again, are just adequate. My recommendation would be the Avocado or the Naughty Monkey smoothie, but if you're nice enough, your server might make you an Avocado + Green Tea smoothie, which is BOMB.
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This place is consistantly fantastic. Highly highly recommend ordering the soft shell crab (when they have it) but request it with ginger and scallion, if you like ssc it will blow your mind! Best wonton soup in the Back Bay with just a hint of that "Pho Pastuer" flavor! the Hainese ravioli are excellent and so are the shrimp and pork shumai. If you like duck try the 5 spiced, served on a bed of spinach its awesome! two large sauteed duck breasts, also comes with a great house salad. No need for chinatown unless your hammered and its after 11 ;)
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Meh not so great. I came here mainly because it was close to where my ex lived.
The food was OK, nothing special really. Thought the prices were kinda high for what it was.
The decor is cute though but that doesn't really make it worth going.
There are better places to eat but if it's on your way it's not the worst place in the world.
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