PUBLISHED April 23rd, 2012 01:46 pm | UPDATED March 28th, 2016 12:58 am
Since first moving to Singapore, I’ve been to The Rice Table now on several occasions and it never disappoints. Hidden on the second floor of one of the lesser visited malls on Orchard Rd, International Building, you might not know about this place unless a friend happened to tell you about it.
In a nutshell, it has all the ingredients required for a great dining experience. 1. The food is great, 2. Service is friendly and helpful, and the magic number 3. It’s excellent value.
If you haven’t had the chance to visit yet, I should explain briefly the concept. Ok, so you are sat down and given a menu. It’s pretty simple – ‘all-you-can-eat’ makan and you are served everything to the table in small plates and as much rice as you can eat. If you like a particular dish, just order another one…or three. For lunch, there are up to 14 different dishes avaiable, and dinner is up to 20 dishes…free….flow…
And in case you’re straining your eyes in disbelief at the image below, yes the price of this for lunch really is $17.88 nett, and $28.49 for dinner. Cue jaw dropping. The only downside is that tap water here is not free. HOWEVER, they only charge $1.00 for a 600ml Dasani so in this case I’m not going to make a fuss.
What is so remarkable about this is that for this price you are getting excellent food in frankly a nice place. This is no hawker or cheap eatery, the presentation and plating of the individual dishes are lovely and the decor is anything but cheap-feeling. It’s simple yet elegant. In fact it’s quite a cozy place. Personally I love coming here with a big group of friends and stuffing our faces!
As you can see from the picture above, portions are anything BUT stingy, and the service staff are quick to replace anything you’ve run out of…..including the fabulously fragrant jasmine rice.
Whilst there very few dishes (apart from the rojak – never been a fan) I didn’t like. I defintely had a few favourites. One being the tauhu telor. I adore this dish! Crispy egg coating combined with the soft tofu underneath, all in a fabulous tamarind and sesame sauce. Love it! I may have eaten 2 whole plates of this for myself.
Another superb dish is the grilled chicken which comes with a gorgeous bbq sweet sauce. Marinated well and succulent, it’s something that will disappear fast off the table…good thing you can order more :-).
Also, make sure you get a good helping of beef rendang. It’s a great ‘rend-ition’ (wow, that was a terrible joke). But seriously, soft, flavourful, spicy and not too greasy.
The Rice Table ranks amongst my top South East Asian dining establishments in Singapore. As mentioned at the beginning, it has all the right ingredients for a great restaurant, and judging by their near-full to full crowds I see there whenever I visit, this place is going to be around for a long time. Deservedly so.
For inexpensive and quality Indonesian food, The Rice Table is a great place, catering to even the most hungry of diners.