Review a la Dunya: The Rice Bowl

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Review a la Dunya: The Rice Bowl

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By Wishal Raheel

There are generally just two types of restaurants that offer Chinese food: the very fancy and the not-so fancy places.

My dream was to be able to go to a somewhat casual Chinese restaurant and The Rice Bowl fulfilled that dream. Located in the heart of the city, this is a restaurant that has managed to become uber successful over time. The first time I tried it was at the inaugural Lahore Eat and realised I wanted more of it. When it finally opened in Gulberg, I obviously wasn’t going to stay back.

Here’s my take on The Rice Bowl.

The ambience

I absolutely love the outdoor seating arrangement the eatery has, which is why I always prefer going when the weather allows for outdoor plans to materialise. Indoors, it’s a very casual, almost café-like feel. They have expanded the area though, allowing you to find a table much quicker than you could before the expansion.

The restaurant has a very casual, almost café-like feel to it. Photo: Wishal

Soup

I’m not the biggest fan of soups, but I had to try at least one soup just for the sake of trying. I can almost never have a meal after having soup, so instead I decided to give it a try at home and got their Thai soup delivered. The soup wasn’t bad but it definitely could have been better. It lacked the sour kick that Thai soups usually have. Then again, not being a fan of soup, I really didn’t mind.

Main course

While dining at Rice Bowl, I always skip the starter or soup and go directly for the main course. You can choose from a number of different options which range from Rs. 500 to Rs. 675. I always choose the Classic Deluxe Bowl, which has one side and two classic mains i.e any two chicken mains. My side is always a half-and-half combination of rice and chow mein that, by the way, is an excellent combination.

At Rice Bowl you can choose from a number of different options with prices ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 675. Photo: Wishal

Crispy chicken with sweet and sour chilli sauce

This is perhaps the best dish the restaurant has to offer. It comprises of perfectly golden, fried chunks of chicken that have a crispy exterior with a wonderfully soft interior. These chunks are immersed in what is perhaps the best sweet and sour sauce in the city. You can taste the sweetness of honey with the tangy flavor of the sauce and a mild spicy flavour that kicks in just as you bite into the chicken. The dish has lots of stir fried vegetables in it too. The only downside of the dish is that sometimes the onions and capsicums are a bit too undercooked.

Chicken with cashew nuts

This is a more salty main dish that, when combined with the sweetness of the aforementioned dish, makes you feel like you’re in heaven. It is a perfect blend of soft chicken chunks glazed in a wonderful thick gravy with a good portion of vegetables added to it. The cashew nuts add crunch to the otherwise very soft dish and add to the richness of the flavour.

The cashew nuts add crunch to the otherwise very soft dish and add to the richness of the flavour. Photo: Wishal

Overall experience

The Rice Bowl, although a great restaurant, has some days when the quality of the food isn’t as high as it is on other days. I know this perfectly well because my order is always the same. There are days when the food is either too salty or too oily. It’s still a risk worth taking because when they get the food right (which is mostly the case), they offer some really amazing food.