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[UPDATED on Friday, Feb. 11 at 4:00pm: Nice Rice has announced that will be closing from Feb. 28, 2022 until further notice. The stall will be relocating to an undisclosed new location.]
If you're looking for something a bit different than your typical hawker fare in the Lavender area, swing by this new stall that offers Japanese-French rice bowls.
Opened on Dec. 1, Nice Rice is run by Mandel Ban, a former Michelin-starred restaurant chef.
The stall is located in a coffee shop that is a seven-minute walk from Lavender MRT station.
Trained in French cuisine
The 25-year-old previously worked at the now-defunct The Kitchen at Bacchanalia, a French restaurant with one Michelin star.
He also worked at the restaurant after it was rebranded to Vianney Massot Restaurant, which also earned a Michelin star before its closure in 2020.
Japanese-French rice bowls
The star of Nice Rice is the pilaf rice, which is rice that has been sautéed with onion before adding stock and being cooked in an oven until the liquid is absorbed.
At Nice Rice, the pilaf rice is made with French butter.
In addition, each rice bowl also includes the following:
- Roasted eggplant glazed in soy reduction
- Garlic confit cooked in French butter and herbs
- Sliced leeks
Available in five variations, the rice bowls are priced from S$5.80 for a Bird Bowl to S$10.80 for a Cow Bowl.
The Bird Bowl features a char grilled chicken thigh glazed with spicy soy based sauce.
The Cow Bowl contains roasted rump cap steak glazed with umami truffle soy based sauce and topped with an onsen egg.
They also serve sides, including their best-selling Onion Rings (S$4) served with homemade garlic aioli dip.
You can also top up your bowl with some Ikura for S$4.
Check out the full menu here:
While diners were divided on the portion size, Google reviews have been positive so far, with most singing praises for the Cow Bowl.
One particular reviewer noted that they were almost sold out at around 7pm.
Another also said it can be difficult to get seats at the coffee shop.
Nice Rice
Address: 802 French Road Blk 802 #01-69 Singapore 200802
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday:
- 11am to 3pm
- 5pm to 8pm or until sold out
Closed on Sundays.
Top images by Nice Rice and @baekeefoodtrails on Instagram.
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