veggieburgh

Spice Island Tea House is a cozy Southeast Asian restaurant located in the heart of Oakland, one of a string of reasonably-priced ethnic eateries on Atwood Street. Their menu features traditional and fusion dishes from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. There is a vegetarian section on the menu with 8 entrees, and many of the rice, noodle, and curry dishes on the rest of the menu can be made with tofu instead of meat. It’s a favorite spot for us to come with friends after a concert or event in Oakland. We found ourselves there in just that situation on a recent weekday night.

The decor, not unlike the food, is a casual fusion of Eastern themes and contemporary-chic. Cardboard menus and Fiestaware dishes meet laquered dark wood furniture in the dimly-lit, narrow dining area. Though you’ll find plenty of students inside, it’s a couple notches in class above your typical student-ghetto Asian joint. An extensive wine list is on hand for the just-as-common 20- and 30-something hipster clientele, and it seems to be a popular couples destination. Don’t be surprised to wait for a table on Friday or Saturday night.

In a “tea house”, it’s a safe bet to start with some tea. Since the tea list is overwhelming, we went with our waitress’ recommendation, a pot of Nishi green tea ($3.95), which was more than enough for three of us to share. It was nothing less than excellent; this pear-infused aromatic brew was flavorful and smooth. We followed up with popiah ($2.50), a cold spring roll of crunchy vegetables in a chewy steamed rice-flour wrapper. It came with a tangy-sweet brown sauce topped with chopped peanuts. The sauce had excellent flavor but the filling, while pleasantly crunchy, was very bland.

For vegetarian entrees, our waitress recommended the Curry Trio or Monsoon of Vegetables. We took the Curry Trio ($7.95) with tofu (+$0.50) and ventured the Fresh Bean Sprout with Basil ($6.95) with tofu (+$.0.50). Each dish came with a small mound of white rice topped with fried onion and garbanzo beans. The rice was not quite enough to acompany the spicy curry and we could have done without the mushy beans. However, both the curry and the beansprouts had excellent flavor. The beansprouts, in their delicate basil sauce, had just the right amount of crunch, although acompanying onions were severly undercooked (seemingly a common problem on Atwood St). The curry, in contrast, had a strong, rich, spicy sauce, and was very filling.

As for our friends, Tom7 reports that the Pad Thai, a “flavorful and heavy” interpretation of the dish, was good, as usual. But arh006 complains that the Spice Island Garden Vegetables are overcooked.

Overall, considering the good service, plentitude of interesting menu options, enjoyable decor, and reasonable prices, we can give Spice Island a commendable 4-veggie rating. Their weakness may be the uneveness in quality among their many dishes, and so it may take you a few visits to find one you really like.

[4 veggies]

Recommended Dishes:

• Nashi Green Tea
• Curry Trio with Tofu