The Rice Den

It was one of those I'm so out of it Sundays up until The Rice Den. 

I love the chalkboard wall.

Wood panels and a rather unusual resort to lights

The ambiance projected a rustic cool image with the black hues, contrasting red bricks, and the warm panels of wood. I have to admit, it was a BOLD move opening this sort of restaurant considering the location it was in.

Steamed Cheong Fun- $8
Silk smooth steamed rice noodle rolls
served with our nutty sweet sesame and Rice Den sauce
topped with fresh shiitake mushrooms

For starters, we had the Steamed Cheong Fun. Cheong fun is one of my favorite things, especially when there are fried donuts inside! This one was just a plain one, but the rice noodles were really silky smooth. They were evenly rolled out as well, don't you just love obsessive compulsiveness? The sesame- peanut sauce wasn't something they skimped on, it was abundant in flavor and quantity as well. I'd just say that I want MORE mushrooms!

Nasi Goreng- $12
Fried rice wok-tossed with sambal chilli, sweet soy,
king prawns, chicken, bean sprouts, onion,
broccoli and topped with fried egg.

We had to try a rice dish since that's what the restaurant suggested! There were 4 fried rice dishes on the menu each having their own personality. But what we found most catching was the Nasi Goreng. The rice was cooked to perfection, I mean perfection when I say perfection. The dish was well- balanced, it had that spike coming from the sambal chilli sauce every now and then. And it had prawns that were undeniably fresh, they had that nice snap and bite to it.

Tu's Original Hometown Pad Thai with Prawns - $16

This was one the side!:)
I thought it was a nice touch.

Another carb dish we had was Pad Thai. This dish was solely focused on the noodles done impeccably well. It was the star of the show with a few sidekicks such as the prawns, bean sprouts, and peanuts. There aren't a whole bunch of words to describe this dish actually, it was just REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD. 

Red Duck Curry- $16
Creamy red curry cooked with kaffir limes leaves,
juicy lychees, and tender roasted duck.

The duck was hiding underneath the mound of veg.

The one and only non-carb item was the Red Duck Curry that was recommended by the waiter over lamb chops and deep fried crocodile. The curry is just at the brim of being flavorful enough, it wasn't as powerful as I was expecting it to be which turned out to be disappointing. The duck is cut into manageable pieces and all the bones were disregarded. The vegetable that came with it however was crisp and well done; I particularly liked the bamboo shoots. The element of lychee was really great proving as a sweet contrast to the heavily bodied dish.

Fried Ice Cream- $6
Specially prepared ice cream that is crumbed and fried

The coating was the perfect thickness.

There's only one single item for dessert, and that's deep fried ice cream! The last time I had deep fried ice cream, it wasn't great at all so I was quite keen on having a fantastic one. For that Asian flare, the ice cream inside was green tea and it screamed green tea like it was supposed to; it wasn't drowning in sugar or anything of that nature. The batter that enveloped it tasted like crushed biscuits! It was amusing. But for the price, it wasn't that stellar.


The Rice Den
3/77 Archer Street
Chatswood
Sydney, Australia


Tel: 9411 2001
Opening Hours: 7 Days/ from 11am till Late


Website: www.thericeden.com.au