the rice den

my rating for thisplaceis actually 4.5 but unfortunately zomato does whole number ratings now :/ the rice den was a pleasant surprise! at the end of the day it is asian food, but the flavours and taste are so refined and on point! if you are looking for aplacewhich doesn't disappoint this is it! it is on the north shore and a bit overpriced for the serving size, but the quality, taste and customer service is great which makes up for it making it an enjoyableplaceto dine, especially for a special occasion! it is a bit fancy but not fine dining and not totally casual, in between.

i was pleasantly surprised by my visit to rice den. seeking a niceplacefor a work lunch, we had walked past thisplacea few times. but the small and seemingly overpriced menu deterred my patronage on more than one occasion.
when we finally went last week, i was met with courteous, attentive staff.
the food: though a small menu everything 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.

attended rice den the other day for our anniversary, had always heard great things about thisplaceand the reviews did not disappoint. staff were very polite, informative, and very attentive throughout the service. food was fantastic and portions sizes were perfect.
will definitely be back again soon - high recommend

delicious food, theplacealways smells amazing, lovely atmosphere and excellent service. have been 3 times this week. thisplaceis a must visit.

fantasticplacefor authentic chinese cuisine.

very simple and delicious recipe. ordered satay chicken which was served quickly had awesome combination of peanuts and chinese sauces.

sausage fried rice with shitake mushroom was perfect suit for satay chicken.

lovely dinner with grand chef joy and comforting service by mable.

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 special menu - i like the garlic sauce, thisplacereally 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

ordered the xo fried rice, soft shell crab and shandong chicken. everything tasted absolutely amazing!! just wished the shandong chicken is crispier. customer service is excellent. thisplaceis definitely one of my favourites now.

i wouldn't describe the dishes i had here as canton cuisine. very much fusion. lots of things to like about thisplace(service, decor, presentation of food), yet i left dissatisfied with my dinner. can't quite pinpoint why though. maybe a little because of the serving sizes, especially that of sake and ponzu salmon and beef tataki (i should mention though that the salmon was delicate and beef soft, dressing on salmon was well balanced, herbs and onions in beef tataki gave it beautiful freshness). maybe because the kung pao chicken and chilli sesame pork was described as having vegetables yet there was only a tiny amount of diced bits, maybe because those 2 dishes were so sweet when i expected more chilli/ spice (the pork did have a nice crunchy batter and the chicken was well cooked). the spring rolls were nicely fried and the lamb filling was tasty but a little too much spring roll pastry to filling for my liking. rice was also done well. perfect consistency (not too dry, not too stodgy), but not enough ingredients through it. would like to give thisplacehigher score but for some reason it just didn't do it for me as an overall experience.

a high school friend lived close by, so decided to catch up with him nearby in st leonards. heard about thisplacefrom 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!

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 aplaceto 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.

cantonese cuisine with a twist.
this is our favourite go toplacewhen 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 thisplacea 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.

thisplaceis amazing. located on a corner in st leonards .. bossman roy has a wonderful restaurant serving up innovative modern cantonese dishes with innovative twists that has his customers lining up at the door for a table. the cocktails are fantastic here too. i highly recommend the soft shell crab on mung bean vermicelli and the smoked chicken salad!!! i wanna go back asap!

thisplacecame into my mind when i was planning for a dinner catch up with our long lost friend. serving modern cantonese-inspired dishes, the rice den was previously located in chatswood but now they have moved to a larger and more sophisticatedplacein st leonards. . theplacewas already packed with people when we arrived although it was still around 6.30pm. inside was buzzing and modernly decorated with stylish timber cabinets, hanging birdcages and chinoiserie wallpaper.

"modern asian" rubbish. this so-called "modern asian" or asian fusionplaceis essentially targeted at non-asian customers by adding lots of rich, sweet flavours and sauces which ruin traditional asian cuisine. plenty of authentic asian food around chatswood offering much better value for $.
also, their decor is quite cheap even though it was meant to fit in with the whole "modern asian" concept - glamorising asian food for non-asian people.