the rice den

pretty looking place. good for a date night.
went here for lunch and tried their lunch special singapore noodles. they are just average - very oily and a lot of turmeric (more than usually). may give it another try but not very impressed with the food. however, the staff was nice and the decor was fresh.

the rice den does a modern take on cantonese style cuisine. the chef was telling us that creating the menu provides him with a sense of nostalgia as he channels his time growing up in hong kong and adds a modern twist to these dishes. the restaurant is decorated in the same manner, modern with a touch of old world. the restaurant and its staff were friendly and accomodating.
much like the design of the restaurant, the menu is traditional with a modern twist. the small eats on the menu will have you salivating and whet the appetite for the bigger eats that follow. the smaller bites we shared included classics such as duck pacakes and harvey bay scallops in xo sauce. for tasty, progressive modern bites; the delicate sichuan pepper beef, the zing of sakè and ponzu infused salmon salad and round it up with the refreshing flavours of the rice wine cured ocean trout.
for the bigger bites my favourite the xo pipis, the sweet hot kick of the kung pao chicken, also the succulent beef tenderloin and a side of stir fry broccolini and mustard greens all worthy dishes. so rice den? why yes... the delicious rice den with chinese sausage and shiitake mushrooms. they also have some delicious cocktails!
i know alot of people might like traditional cantonese cuisine and may turn their nose at modern cantonese cuisine. the response 'don't knock it till you try it'' a great restaurant giving cantonese cuisine a new lease.

the rice den is so very pretty, but wasn’t as big of a space as i had imagined. they had one large long table and maybe a handful more tables for small groups or twos. best to make a booking regardless of the day just in case. takeaway system seemed to be in order too.

we ordered quite a few dishes; mushroom pancakes, cheong fun, xo scallops, barramundi, veg fried rice, stir fried broccolini, veg singapore noodles, and one off their specials menu – pipis. the running theme with all the dishes seemed to be that yes they were all really tasty, but they were also all in very small portions, factoring in the price and the fact that some of them were meant to be “bigger eats”. we went with the recommended quantity, possibly even more, and still none of us were actually full. oh well, i guess quality over quantity is what they’re striving for (although if i was to be really nit-picky i’d say it’s not quite that level of incredible, amazing, mind-blowing taste either).

nonetheless, as a whole every dish ordered was tasty with a couple of standouts. it was nice to have every dish come out and be reliable and not let you down. the mushroom pancake was my favourite by far and i highly recommend this, although you do only get one each which was a little sad 🙁. $11 for 2, so wasn’t about to go ordering some more. pipis were also delicious, so would recommend them too. everything else was tasty as well, although the scallops were a tad overcooked. i enjoyed the cheong fun as well, seemed simple enough but worked well with the rest of the meal.

service for the most part was really, really amazing, they even discounted the entire cost of my red lotus mocktail (which was also delicious btw) when we went to look at the bill. not sure why so can’t comment if it was some sort of offer or deal. the aspect of the service which was a slight let down was just one extremely inexperienced staff who was completely clueless about everything and taking away plates unnecessarily and even trying to take our cups of water halfway through the meal. it was slightly distracting because it happened more than a few times, but it really was just down to lack of experience, not nasty service.

honestly, i was quite sceptical about the supposed modern take on canton food because i was brought up with the traditional way of eating. this trip was spontaneous and sudden which enhanced my experience here. despite that we didn't make any bookings, we were able to find a seat outside. first off, the staff are attentive and well trained; any questions that i had, they were able to answer with great detail and
it was evident that they knew and were proud of the food they serve. the whole restaurant was beautifully decorated with a fusion of decor from modern day and tradition.

we started off the night with cocktails and beer with orders of bruce lee and a tap beer called hangman. both were amazing in taste and i found myself having to resist drinking more. the bruce lee cocktail was sweet and light whereas the hangman had a strong hint of citrus; essentially reminding me of the spring weather.

moving on to the food. we ordered the special menu for the night which as an entree and main - unfortunately i forgot to note it down so i can't remember the exact name. nonetheless, it was a beef tataki and kung pao chicken. the beef tataki was beautifully prepared and melted in my mouth while bursting with flavour. another order we made was the rice den fried rice - i didn't find this extraordinary or different to the fried rice i usually eat at home. furthermore, we ordered the stir fry snake beans. i love snake beans so this dish was a double thumbs up for me, especially since some restaurants tend to make them too salty and oily.

after the meal, we ordered dessert, the vanilla coconut cream sago with passionfruit pulp, macadamia almond meal crumble. this dessert was brilliant. not too sweet but light and fresh. i wish i could have tried the other desserts but we were too full from food -- and beer.

after leaving the rice den feeling completely full and satiated, i realised that i had just discovered an amazing restaurant that i will, with absolutely no doubt, recommend to anyone i know. even though the prices are pushing to the expensive side, i believe it was worth it for the balanced, well thought out good. i will be coming back to try out the rest of the extensive menu. well done!!

(also apologies to my blurry photos, i had my horrible iphone 5 camera only)

a high school friend lived close by, so decided to catch up with him nearby in st leonards. heard about this place from my mum, decided to give it a go. seriously, it was a good recommendation. staff were friendly upon opening the door for us as well. sat us down in a nice, cosy and spacious traditional chinese atmosphere. 

after much contemplation, we decided to go all out on the menu. ordered the rice den fried rice for $16, and liked it because of its taste and lack of oiliness (though price could be lowered a bit). friend had the singapore noodles for $16 and that too was a classic dish (rivalling a lot of the serious chinese restaurant tastes i was familiar with). 

seriously loved the food here, a convenient stroll from st leonards station, definitely would recommend!

t h e ☆ r i c e ☆ d e n
great casual dining, serving modern cantonese. my new fav lunch spot in the st leonards/crows nest area. i highly recommend getting the duck…it didn't last long on our table. it was licked clean! ✌@foodiesguidetosydney

menu choice was very limited and overly priced. chicken and shitake mushroom was quite bland. cheong fun was average - couldn't taste the layers, it felt like a big chunk of chewy goodness. scollaps were good but pricey at $5.50 each. not a place to go for the average weekend lunch with the family. probably better if it was a gathering for something special. great service though. offered to turn on the heater during the day and was not annoyed when we asked the to to it down a bit. and they are dog friendly.

was visiting some friends close by, checked zomato
and found this place.

came here as 6 people, so we ordered the set menu. which is 45/ppl (desserts not included)

the portion is a little bit smaller than we expected, but taste is quite good. i do feel some dishes are pretty salty. i like the beef cheek the most.

we added the desserts at the end, which was quite good. i like the sago the most. very refreshing at the end.

great service and friendly staff the 5 spice duck and rice was delicious. portions were a great size and the interior was beautifully decorated .will definitely return next time i am in sydney

hard to fault. i've eaten here three times, as a couple and with a group. looks enticing from the outside and is just as good inside. warm, inviting, not too noisy. food is outstanding, cantonese-with-western-influence. delicious small and large dishes -we always share. changing menu so there's always something new. the service is way beyond what you'd expect from a suburban restaurant. fast, efficient, friendly. spot on and priced just right for such a high quality product in this area. big fan, i'll keep going back.

we managed to grab a table without notice one friday night (late) which was fantastic since it turned out to be one of the best meals i've had in a while. whilst it is asian cuisine, it is not typical. it's creative and different and a little surprising. it is so worth it for the traditional hand made cheong fun peanut sesame, hoisin sauce. they also have gluten free and banquets. so worth a visit.

cantonese cuisine with a twist.
this is our favourite go to place when we are craving cantonese cooking - that's damn tasty and the walls are not crawling with you know whats!
previously located in chatswood, along with the change in location rice den has revamped their menu focusing on cantonese delectables.
did i mention they also serve alcohol and cocktails now? yay!
the change in menu has been widely embraced by locals and it has really upped their game.
the decor is hip and modern, who says you can't have tasty chinese food in a clean restaurant?
i'd recommend the soft shell crab with mung bean noodles - fyi it is a little spicy, the jasmine tea smoked chicken salad and rice sheets, rice den fried rice with chinese sausage - wok fried the way rice should be!
i thought their take on char siew was a bit tough so it's better to skip that dish.
now for dessert they've only got 3 types, the passionfruit sago - my favourite, french toast - an asian take it's a bit meh & the chocolate tart - pastry work needs some improvement otherwise the chocolate was nice.
would i go back? it's a silly question of course i would ☺️

i am marking this place a bit lower due to the price of some of the dishes. its got a cool modernised asian decor, limited seating arrangements and a small open kitchen.

its cosy.

the food is great, and super consistent, albiet a little salty here and there but hey, its not overly ridiculous and highly managable.

i love the rice rolls, it is nostalgia to them working days in hk. there is a hawker stall in kowloon that only opens at night near a dumpling restaurant that makes these, ah memories.

the fish is fresh not over cooked and the mushroom mix well, its okay but still great on the rice as a topping.

absolutely love this place! the decor was nice and pleasant - very warm and welcoming. the food came out relatively quickly and we were well attended to, especially with the water. the pork belly was so tasty, flavoursome and a favourite among all of us. the fried rice was simple yet delicious! the barramundi was perfectly cooked. the only letdown were the snake beans which were a little dry and lacked flavour. will definitely be back!!

i love it when restaurants provide a complimentary dessert or drink for special occasions. the other night, we celebrated my friend's birthday at the rice den. traditional hand made cheong fun. i wasn't feeling too hungry so i decided to have something light and save some stomach space for dessert. debating if this dish is 'light' or not, it's definitely full of carbs. but carbs aside, it was enjoyable. although... i still prefer my cheong fun pan fried with super thick peanut sauce and hoisin sauce (like the ones you get from yumcha). unfortunately for me, the peanut sauce on this one was quite watered down.