the rice den

i was pleasantly surprised by my visit to rice den. seeking a nice place for a work lunch, we had walked past this place a few times. but the small and seemingly overpricedmenudeterred my patronage on more than one occasion.
when we finally went last week, i was met with courteous, attentive staff.
the food: though a smallmenueverything was delicious and of a high quality. we ordered soft shell crab w vermicelli, smoked chicken n glass noodle salad, chicken croquettes, cheong fun. my favourite was the soft shell crab.
overall: pricing is steep but we used an entertainment card which made it very worth while for the quality of the food. i would consider returning and would order any of the above dishes again.

as someone who have lived in hong kong for more than half of my life, the rice den is a trendy restaurant in sydney that actually does traditional chinese food (+ a bit of a twist) decently.

we got the $46pp banquetmenufor the night. the two dishes that really stood out are the bbq pork neck and the calamari rings. the biggest critic i have was that the chicken and the fish were slightly overcooked and the portion size should have been slightly larger.

ordered:
1. traditional hand made cheong fun - i like their sauce and it goes well with the rice flat noodle
2. bbq pork neck - this is so good, not a lot of fat which is what i preferred. the colour is not the artificial red you see at a lot of hong kong bbq restaurants
3. calamari - soggy, i did not like this dish
4. barramundi - i love the sauce, kept adding the sauce to my rice and eating it non stop
5. garlic prawn on the specialmenu- i like the garlic sauce, this place really knows how to make their sauces yummy
6. steamed bok choy - steamed not stir fried which is healthy and tasty
7. vanilla coconut cream sago - too sweet that i couldn’t finish it, was hoping it was a refreshing dessert but it wasn’t

will i go back: yes

very nice deco and design choices in this place. it's been put together with love. lots of interesting retro objects. some beautiful ceramics. excellent service - warm and professional. every single dish was outstanding. standouts for me were the drunken prawns, san choy bao (a world away from the daggy stuff i remember eating as a kid), beef cheeks, pickles, soft-shelled crab. the sago dessert was sensational. the sophistication of this food makes the northern chinese stuff i've been eating seem stodgy. we'll be back to try the rest of the menu. i didn't look into the beermenubut it seemed they had some craft beer happening on tap. good wine menu.

i used to love the the rice den when they were in chatswood. it was casual & unpretentious yet, fun & social, and had the most amazing delicious food at reasonable prices. this new version in st leonard is like they have try to up-class themselves. the space is bigger (but still not big), more refine decor, better dressed staff, a modern bar & big window to look into the kitchen. themenuis also more refined, less choices, but look more like a western fine diningmenuthan the usual chinese fair, and with prices to match.

when you pull back all the razzle dazzle, the food are still delicious, not quite the high i was expecting, especially at the prices they now charge. the steamed barramundi was nicely cooked, great softness & retained the subtle sweetness, however we expected a bigger portion than just a singular piece of fillet. the crispy chilli pork was full of flavour, but not quite that spicy. the softshell crab was generous, a little bit oily.

overall on the food & value it's more a 3.5, but we were there for a girls catch up & we hardly noticed the time, ended up there for over 3 hours on a friday night. the staff were very accommodating & didn't try to rush us out or push us to order more drinks. so they deserve a 4 for being hospitable.

the rice den does a modern take on cantonese style cuisine. the chef was telling us that creating themenuprovides 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, themenuis traditional with a modern twist. the small eats on themenuwill 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 specialsmenu– 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 specialmenufor 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)

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. changingmenuso 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.

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 theirmenufocusing on cantonese delectables.
did i mention they also serve alcohol and cocktails now? yay!
the change inmenuhas 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 ☺️

what’s going on with the north sydney area? it wasn’t until i started looking through my calendar did i realise how many trips i was making into the st. leonard’s/crows nest to eat. thai food, mexican, burgers…and now, modern cantonese. the rice den in st. leonards takes traditional cantonese cuisine and gives it a new spin with fresh australian ingredients. when we first step in, the dark wood furnishings convey a sense of old world charm, while the efficient wait staff bring it all back into the modern day. they knew themenulike the back of their hand, and could make personal recommendations based on solid food knowledge.

the rice den is a modern cantonese restaurant that was formerly located in chatswood. it is now open at st leonards housed under an apartment complex along chandos street. expect affordable cantonese and tasty dishes great for sharing. theirmenuopens to their banquet options (minimum 4) and that’s priced at an attractive $40 while the vegetarian option is only $35.

to borrow a dated phrase: “chinese, japanese goodness gracious what are these” is something that comes to mind about the rice den. it’s not immediately obvious the exact cuisine origin.

the décor,menuand aesthetics scream modern pan-asian. let’s count the ways: oriental shutters – tick, suspended bird cages – tick, asian condiments on display – tick, chinese characters in branding – tick.

the rice den used to be one of the few asian fusion restaurants situated in the heart of chatswood, but it seems like their growing popularity has meant that they need a bigger space. not long ago they moved to st leonards (behind the ibm building), featuring a slick modern fit out with wooden furnishings, hanging lanterns, a licensed bar and a brand newmenuto match.

{ _anne_with_an_e // review }
i've been keen to try the new rice den at their new st leonards restaurant after relocating from their former chatswood pad. we decided to duck in for an impromptu dinner. even without dinner reservations we were accommodated without any fuss. we were kindly greeted and seated promptly near the indoor heaters (nice and toasty). the decor is beautiful and ties in very nicely with the cantonese theming.

i remember their oldermenuoffered a fusion and variety of asian dishes, so it was refreshing to see a more specified cuisine offering. for mains we ordered the canton style barbeque pork neck with molasses and honey glaze, roast duck breast with savoy cabbage, chilli and leek plum sauce, and the rice den fried rice with chinese sausages and shiitake mushrooms. the dishes are beautifully presented, particularly the roast duck. everything was tasty and refined. the pork neck was succulent in the middle, but was slightly crunchy and sweet on the outside - delish!

for a mid-week impromptu dinner we don't usually order dessert. but we were oh so glad we did! i had my eye on the ovaltine pannacotta and we also ordered the french toast with dulce de leche, peanut crumble, mascarpone. the pannacotta did have a distinct ovaltine flavour but there was a hint of bitterness on the plate, (which i can't remember what it was), but overall was a lovely dish. and i can rave all day about their french toast which was the favourite dish of the night. it was like eating a half-cake half-donut like dessert - all the good things in one! it was warm and fluffy on the inside, and crunchy and sweet with a sugar coating on the outside. the crumble added a nice textural crunch and the mascarpone gave it a refreshing kick.

must haves // french toast
also try // canton style barbeque pork neck, roast duck breast
pros // refined quality dishes, lovely decor, great and friendly service
cons // can get expensive

food: 4/5
ambience: 4/5
service: 4.5/5