rice kitchen

a contemporary, yet authentic vietnamese dining experience is on offer here. all the ingredients werefreshand of good quality. the protein was nicely cooked and the flavours well balanced. the serving size was tiny however. the smallest bowl of pho i have had to date for $16!

what a great addition to the charm of south melbourne! i ordered the lemongrass soba noodles and i absolutely loved it. i could have this everyday. it was light,freshand of course - tasty! service was great, ladies at the front were warm and their smiles elevated our first time visit. will definitely be back.

very impressed with our visit to rice kitchen! such a warm and pleasant little restaurant to relax in. 

we ordered:
- fried eggplant bao buns
- chicken spring rolls
- oxtail curry 
- bun cha ha noi

everything tastedfreshand flavoursome. 
the eggplant bao buns were the highlight! couldn't fault the crispy eggplant and pillowy,freshbao buns. the oxtail curry was also tasty and the serving was generous. would definitely come back to try the other items on the menu (the hashbrowns and pho rolls looked so good!!)

best vietnamese in melbourne. reallyfreshand the dishes i have never eaten food like this. modern vietnamese get the duck dishes. very friendly staff

we loved tasting our way through the bun cha hanoi and vegan set menus.

nothing encapsulates hanoi street food better than bun cha. char-grilled pork in fish sauce broth, pickles, vermicelli and plenty offreshherbs. rice kitchen’s amazing hanoi crab and pork spring rolls were the perfect accompaniment as was their must-try hai phong style pork floss and liver pate baguette stick.

the vegan set menu was similarly delicious. crispy on the outside, moist and tasty on the inside, with a refreshing taste of the sea, there is so much to love when it comes to rice kitchen’s plant-based fish cakes. served with woven banh hoi noodle,freshherbs, salad, pickles and ginger soy sauce this was one flavoursome dish. we loved that this set menu included stunning pulled jackfruit and apple salad with black sesame cracker and the vegetarian fried rice paper spring roll.

each set menu also features one of che desserts’ newest creations. the flanatastic was a rich and creamy french influenced dessert. the silky smooth flan, baked from premium eggs andfreshmilk, simply melted in our mouths. we loved the generous toppings of refreshing jellies, crunchy water chestnut gems, and pearls.

simply amazing - the decor, the staffs and the food. we unknowingly went in 15 minutes prior to their closing during the day. they could have turned us away but the staff was accomodating enough to open up an extra 15 minutes. we are fast eaters so it was no issue. really loved the pork belly pho and the pork bao buns. veryfreshand flavoursome. loved the chilli paste as well. tried the vietnamese coffee - nothing against the restaurant - but they are sweet as hell. one sip and am done. no more vietnamese coffee for the foreseeable future.
will definitely be back to try their other dishes.

no better way to end the week than a vietnamese feast at rice kitchen🤤! i’ve always been a critique for vietnamese food and the words i can think of to describe rice kitchen is; explosive flavors🔥,freshingredients and a whole lot of love❤️! the 2 must have dishes has to be the fried chicken and popcorn prawns 🍤😍!

really amazingfreshfood. the lamb ribs a standout out dish wit soft tender melt in mouth tasty ribs. the pho rolls really soft &freshas well. had the beef. no msg bad feel after as well

how is this store not busy at dinner!? i wouldn't be surprise if the shop becomes the next sought after restaurant for melbourne foodies in a few months time. the eatery is fairly new in the area taking over the former pho establishment.

from initial entry and until we left, we had felt welcomed and valued. the friendly waitress was prompt with taking our orders, bringing out the food, and attentive to our needs and feedback.

as for the food, we can't fault on anything that we tried. the food was delicious, well presented, and refreshing to see original flavours creatively delivered like the grill chicken bao and ha noi spring rolls (vietnamese customers will know what i mean). in addition, the salad and veggies that accompanied each dish wasfreshand balanced the fried items.

last wednesday my family and i decided to head into rice kitchen south melbourne to sample some of the foods they have on offer at their new establishment.

this place is the “bees knees” and “cats pajamas” for vietnamese food. it’s where the 25th century meets vietnamese food, this is the kind of place you would find buck rogers hanging out eatfreshspring-rolls in zero g.

if you’re looking for a two bit bowl of pho served in a old crusty chipped bowl then head down to springvale, otherwise come to rice kitchen and taste the delights of vietnamese food made with love.

on this fine melbourne day i chose the grilled chicken served with sticky rice hash-browns. there was nothing i could complain about the dish, the timelines of ordering to receiving my meal was good, the presentation was superb and the taste delicious. the chicken was grilled to near perfection and the taste was great, it must have been sitting in the marinade since the 25th century as the meat was soft, juicy and oozed with flavor. the four triangle pieces of sticky rice hash-browns where cooked well and tasted just as delicious, especially when dipped in this secret soy sauce combination. and finally the little side salad topped the whole dish off well.

the portion of the meal i felt was perfect, now i am big dude and i can almost fit the titanic in “ma belly”. but i walked away feeling satisfied and content.

so if you are down in south melbourne and keen to see what food delights our future generations will be eating in the 25th century then head down to rice kitchen and let your taste buds party like its 2399.

this place doesn't look like much but is actually great. they have a more interesting menu than your average vietnamese restaueant with tons of vegan options including a mock meat curry (although it wasn't available when i visited). so instead, i got the pulled jackfruit on a large rice cracker (they gave us 3), the gluten free taro and tofu spring rolls, tempura eggplant bao, and glutinous rice and taro "hash brown" served with tofu and mushroom salad. the hash was so good, slightly sticky and chewy from the rice and we'll flavoured. the spring rolls were also great, as was the sauce they came with. jackfruit salad was light on the jackfruit but fleshed out with freshly shredded apple and veg. a bit expensive at $17, but a quality dish. the only slight disappointment was the bao, which could have used more sauce or some other condiment. but place a bit of the jackfruit salad in them and they're great. forfreshand healthy vietnamese, i definitely recommend this spot.

a decent bowl of pho - not the best i've had in melbourne, but still very tasty. the noodles were a little wider than i'm used to & were quite slippery and difficult to eat. but the bowl was huge and very filling

n.b. be careful of the chilli paste - it packs a punch! maybe stick to thefreshchilli instead

we were delighted to have lunch at rice kitchen. we got to try thefreshpho rolls, bun cha hanoi, wagyu beef pho, coconut pancake and of course vietnamese coffee.

right off the bat we would tell that the ingredients used werefreshand unprocessed. the beef in the pho was tender and juicy, just how wagyu should be. the bun cha hanoi was also absolutely delicious.

we also had coconut pancake for dessert, they serve this asian style coconut pancake with sesame and coconut ice cream. it was really yummy !

the staff was really friendly and welcomed us with a massive smile.

the food is yummy. i love rice paper rolls. and also vietnam's bite-sized crunchy spring rolls, the crispy shell with a soft veggie and meat filling dunked in a fish sauce gets the gastronomic juices flowing before a main course.
small restaurant but lovely, friendly and good service. highly recommend to people who love vietnamese cuisine food! don’t forget to try pho withfreshrice noodles, a sprinkling of herbs and chicken or beef.
absolutely come back next time!