Nice Rice (Telok Ayer)

I was planning to try it in Ang Mo Kio few months ago, but then they have moved again this time to CBD area.

When I was ordering it at the counter, I almost say it as cow boy, but it actually called the cow bowl.

The cow bowl comes with slices of beef that cooked medium rare as recommended. Accompanied by soy-glazed eggplant, garlic confit and onsen egg.

They used Taiwanese pearl rice here instead of the traditional long grains.

Enjoy it by mixing the slices of beet with the onsen egg, and savour with the juicy and chewy beef.

Sadly for mine, I found it a bit over burnt on the taste. But overall the truffle oil still maintains the nice flavour.

Nice Rice is not a stranger for those whom have been following the happenings of the local F&B scene — these folks have been around since 2021. Being first established as a stall situated within a coffeeshop at the foot of a HDB block along French Road in Lavender, Nice Rice had been moving around the island quite a lot. Initially vacating the coffeeshop which it was situated at due to the sale of the coffeeshop, Nice Rice ended up making its move to the Foodfare food court at AMK Hub in mid-2022; another notable stall which was required to vacate the French Road coffeeshop was Mr and Mrs Nasi Lemak (which again, moved out of the Tiong Bahru coffeeshop that it relocated to due to the sale of that coffeeshop as well). Nice Rice had then announced the closure of their AMK Hub outlet in May 2023, whilst dropping deets of their move to a stall at China Square Food Court in the Central Business District where Pasta Craft is located at. For some background, Nice Rice is a concept by Chef Mandel Ban; the concept being conceived as one that serves up Japanese-French fusion rice bowls — Chef Mandel Ban himself being noted to have worked in the now-defunct one-Michelin-starred Vianney Massot Restaurant. As mentioned, Nice Rice focuses on their offerings surrounding Japanese-French fusion rice bowls — it is to no surprise that the menu only comprises of rice bowls for those intending to have a main course here. That being said, Nice Rice does offer some sides on the menu; this includes the Aburi Shisamo with Aioli and Fried Calamari with Garlic Aioli just to name a few, while the Creme Brulee is being listed as the only dessert item available on the menu here.

Skimming through the menu, we were a little spoilt for choice considering how Nice Rice’s menu does consist of a dish that features almost every type of meat on their menu — think items like the Bird Bowl featuring chicken, Super Bowl that comes with salmon, and the Duck Bowl that consists of “week old dry aged duck breast”. We found ourselves being kinda drawn to the Cow Bowl, which just so happens to also be their signature offering here — the Cow Bowl comprising of elements such as Truffled Onsen Egg, Shiny Eggplant, Blushing Beef, Leeks and Garlic Confit. While the presentation of the Cow Bowl from Nice Rice does replicate those trendy Wagyu beef rice bowls which were once especially popular circa-2013, one major different with the rice bowls at Nice Rice is how the rice that comes with the rice bowl is a zhng-ed up version of the usual white rice / short-grain rice we typically see in those bowls — there is a pictogram of the elements that are included in their “Nice Rice” which includes French Butter, Garlic and Onions. While it is noted that while they have named the beef “Blushing Beef” here, patrons do get asked on the level of doneness which they would like their beef to come in.

Digging into the rice bowl, it is undeniable that the Nice Rice is perhaps the most seductive element here; considering the composition of the Nice Rice, this was pretty much akin to having a more spruced-up version of western buttered rice — the rice was not particularly greasy, with the addition of garlic cutting through that inherent jelat-ness of the dish and a bit of chili powder for a tingly spiciness that just tickles the tastebuds lightly. We opted for the Blushing Beef to come at medium-rare doneness; the intended level that it would have been if left unspecified — whilst we note that the beef was tender without much gaminess and came with a pinkish centre, there are some parts where we did feel that it was a little veiny / fatty that required a bit more chew than some. The same truffle-infused brown sauce that came with the Truffled Onsen Egg is also drizzled on the Blushing Beef; provides a savoury note with a noticeable hint of truffle that lingers at the back of the tongue, though not particularly overwhelming. The Onsen Egg came wobbly with a flowy molten yolk that bursts eagerly as one slices through the egg, while the garlic confit provides a soft bite with an intense note that cuts through all the meat and carbs; the Shiny Eggplant comes with a sticky and sweet glaze that went well with the soft, juicy flesh of the eggplant with a neutral note.

There has been quite a fair bit of rave reviews about Nice Rice’s offerings ever since the media coverage that happened in their initial operations at French Road. While we had never visited their locations at French Road or AMK Hub, we must say that we were left pretty impressed by what they had to offer during our visit to their China Square Food Court outlet — no doubt that the rice looked plain on first sight; this is even despite the addition of various elements listed as per their pictogram. That being said, the Cow Bowl was nothing short of being a gastronomical affair to say the least. Looking at what Nice Rice has to offer, it might seem that their move to the Central Business District would likely to them a favour in the longer run. While they have no doubt garnered a strong following ever since their days at French Road, their offerings might not quite suit the demographics of the heartlands as well as an office-centric crowd — the population in the heartlands might not be ones that would crave for such offerings as much as they would for local fare on a given day, though the office crowd in the Central Business District might not mind shelling out a little bit more money for lunch just to treat themselves something better during the week. The prices of the rice bowls at Nice Rice range from $7.90 to $18; most of the Japanese-French fusion rice bowl offerings are priced at the lowest price in the range, making it rather wallet-friendly for those willing to spend just a little more than usual for lunch. The priciest rice bowl here would be the Duck Bowl, while our Cow Bowl comes at a price tag of $12.90. Nice Rice is most certainly a stall that we would be revisiting if we were to grab lunch from the area — the next rice bowl to try on the list for us would be the Super Bowl, which comprises of Aburi Salmon; we congratulate the folks at Nice Rice for the opening of their relocated outlet at China Square Food Court, and wishing them all the best in what is to come!