44362 Tue Mar 14 02:11:33 -0800 2006 3 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 218177 This falls outside the usual Chowhound fare, but has anybody else had the tongan food at Islands Market, in East Palo Alto? I've been a few times in the last several years, and the food is certainly unique: mutton ribs, lamb and coconut milk stew, squid in coconut milk, and roasted turkey tails. Green bananas, manioc, taro. I've never seen anything else like it around here. The folks there have been consistently friendly too. -Rob Link: http://www.robertyu.com/wikiperdido/Islands_Market Tue Mar 14 02:11:33 -0800 2006 0 Robert Yu 1 218242 I would hope nothing is "outside" chowhound fare. This one sounds interesting to me. Since I was always the one that took dibs on the Pope's Nose, I'll have to get there somehow. Link: http://eatingchinese.org Tue Mar 14 12:56:55 -0800 2006 218177 0 Gary Soup 1 218328 I've eaten there a couple of times. One lunch combination is more than anyone should eat -- they're mammoth! I couldn't finish all of the starches they added to the meal -- when asked which one I wanted, I said let me try a bit of each (they had green bananas, sweet potatoes, etc.). Some dishes are amazingly good (the corned beef was succulent and cooked perfectly) while others are worth missing (some of the overcooked chicken really took a lot of chewing). Still, this is the only Tongan place I can think of, so for Chowhounds, it's worth checking out. Just make sure you skip breakfast. Tue Mar 14 18:33:19 -0800 2006 218177 0 Peter Yee 2 218391 Thanks for the tip. I've saved this off for next time I'm in the area. Oddly enough I have a little experience with Tongan food. My first job in the bay area had about a dozen people from Tonga working in the company, so at pot lucks ... Tongan food. Will have to see how this compares. The Sunnyvale area at that time had a Tongan community. This was well over 15 years ago, so I'll have to see if it sparks any memories. Wed Mar 15 03:09:40 -0800 2006 218328 0 rworange