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| - OVERALL: my favorite Southeast Asian restaurant in Oakland. Delicious curries, warm and sweet coconut rice, and life-changing roti canai. The cons are that there is usually a long wait if you come during prime hours, and they don't have many vegetables in their curry entrees.
I'll start off by saying that I regret not eating at Spice Island sooner. Since discovering it three months ago, I've been there a total of about 6 or 7 times and definitely plan on going again. The food here is really phenomenal, flavorful, and always served hot.
My favorite dishes are the burmese pork curry, lemongrass beef curry, java fried rice, and roti canai. Seriously, if you come here, you have to order the roti canai! Every single time I've eaten here, no matter how stuffed I know I will become from the entree, I order roti canai - and I never regret it, despite my bloating stomach complaining afterward. However, the one dish I did not enjoy was the Chicken Malaysian Sate on skewers. I wasn't a fan of the peanut sauce, and the chicken seemed lackluster in terms of flavor and presentation.
One complaint I have about the food is that it is a bit too salty, and it could use some more vegetables. Whenever I order curry, the only vegetables it comes with are potatoes...which is terrific, because I love potatoes, but I do wish there were more greens and healthy vegetables in the dish. Also, the wait can get long due to the large amount of customers during peak hours. If you come, try and come before 11:30am or after 3pm for lunch, and before 6pm for dinner!
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