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    Rice Tales

    2.4 (74 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 11:00 pm

    Rice Tales Photos

    Business Info

    RICE TALES ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Rice Tales

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    Chicken stir fry in soy sauce at Vancouver airport
    Abigail S.

    I have given this spot at YVR airport multiple tries, and the concept of it has never lived up to the product. You're better off going with a burger from next door, or a sandwich from another shop. On a recent visit, I paid extra to get chicken breast in my stir fry. Not only did they not fulfill that request (which I of course didn't realize until I had left the terminal), but the protein was hacked to hell--with bits of tendon and even bone still a part of the equation. Not appetizing in the context of the stir fry. You are paying a premium for a very mediocre output, heavily dominated by cheap ingredients such as cabbage and carrots. Proceed with trepidation.

    Wendy P.

    I'm not used to healthy options in airports, but I'm certainly happy to have them around. Hanging out in the Vancouver airport for a couple of hours, it was a treat to have options beyond fast food joints and over priced pre-packaged sandwiches. Rice Tales was my pick this time around. The menu held options for rice (long grain or basmati) or noodle bowls, your choice of meat and a sauce. I went with pork in black bean sauce (to the dismay of my seatmates on the way back to Edmonton...just kidding!) and basmati rice. I also had my choice of chopsticks or a fork. I once went an entire week in university eating things only with chopsticks-KD and popcorn included-you can imagine which utensil I chose. With an open kitchen behind the counter, it was easy to see my food being prepared. The meat cooked up in front of my eyes, my meal was ready in a little under 5 minutes. Piping hot and plentiful, I was full after half the box and didn't end up with that greasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that I've grown used to with airport food.

    Chicken dark meat rice bowl with house sauce (coconut curry, not spicy), $9.45+tax
    Jenn C.

    Not as bad as I thought. Having looked at all the other options in this area (Vera's burgers- not at 8am thank you; BG Urban - some tasty-looking sandwiches and a few mains), I settled on this place. It's a mix-and-match choose-your-own-everything place, which can be a bit overwhelming when faced with 18 sauce choices (honey garlic, soy sauce, sweet and spicy, sweet and sour, black bean, hoisin, and more) on a small amount of sleep. Oh, and you can choose rice bowl, fried rice, or rice noodles (think pho-sized noodles) - the latter two are meatless and it's a few extra $ for meat. Oh and then add the meat itself - the standard meat is chicken (dark meat) which although is skinless (darn) may include some cartilage (yay!) so be prepared if you're not a fan of an occasional 'crunchy' bit. Other meats include white meat (extra $), and I think there is a seafood option. I chose the rice bowl, which comes with one sauce ($0.80 for one additional sauce; $1.35 for two). Pricey but I would say was satisfied with amount of food (half a box was perfect for my breakfast - or is it lunch? I'm a bit confused as to the time right now), and good chicken/veggie ratio to rice. The house sauce was a coconut curry, not spicy, and quite tasty though a bit on the salty side. The rice was good texture despite having been made in a giant rice cooker. I noticed afterwards that they offer brown rice and quinoa options too (for extra $ of course). The cashier was pleasant and the cook even said thank you to me after doling out the food. While I was waiting, two other airport employees came by to get 'the usual' - one was a honey garlic, one teriyaki. May consider those next time I'm passing through :)

    Impressive looking for airport food! Chicken teriyaki bowl.
    Crystal H.

    For airport food, in Air Canada's domestic terminal, I think this is pretty good. If it were anywhere else, like an actual restaurant lets say, I wouldn't be so glowing. But in a barren wasteland of taste that i find myself in 2-3 times a month, at least, Rice Tales has been a saviour. It's fast, it's cost effective ($6.99), it's pretty healthy. If you want healthier chicken you can have all white meat for $2 extra. My pick? Chicken rice bowl with teriyaki + peanut sauce, to go. Made fresh, and heaped with a decent amount of veggies and some serious chicken pieces, the Chinese style take away container even stays magically warm for your flight. In an airport you have few choices, but at least with Rice Tales you're getting an actual meal for the same cost as a wrap at Bread Garden, or just a buck-fifty more than an Odwalla. Put into that perspective, I pick the meal any day, any flight!

    Chicken rice bowl with ginger sauce
    Wynne L.

    Not bad; a lot more chicken then I had anticipated. The Napa cabbage tasted a bit weird though. Maybe it was the ginger sauce or maybe it went bad?

    Mary F.

    I ordered the noodles with chicken and black bean sauce. Nasty food. The big chuck of chicken, they didn't even bother to cut it in small bites. The vegetables you can't barely see it. The food is not worth 14 dollars. Please save your money and eat somewhere else. The hamburger place beside it is a better option.

    The "inedible" pile. As the Canadians say, "sorry".

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Very good service there. Food tastes ok. Opened very late so it is a good option to get some hot Chinese food late at airport.

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Food sucks!Dont waste your money!I got the seafood stir fry and my husband got the pork stir fry.

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    8 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

    This place smells good but taste is not good at all. Too saucy and greasy. I would avoid at all costs.

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    16 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

    overly salty, beed tastes like jerky. I threw out half of the box cause i just couldnt do it anymore. Instant noodles is better than this

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Missing all flavors and overpriced. Would not recommend to eat there. If you have a choice find something different

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    13 years ago

    Had the beef rice bowl with soya sauce and it was rather untasty. I bought a coke, which was delicious.

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    13 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

    Review Highlights - Rice Tales

    Seafood ( prawns & squid) rice bowl with house sauce is my favourite dish - always delicious.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    A&W

    A&W

    3.2(20 reviews)
    0.5 kmYVR
    $

    Good food, good service, decent prices for airport food! We got burgers, fries, and root beer. All…read morewere good. We were just sad they didn't have their classic rootbeer float! Other than that, good for an airport meal!

    I guess I might like their food if i had it for breakfast and lunch. But then again, there arent…read morereally much food options in YVR international Airport. I definitely didnt want to have subway or starbucks which is around every corner back home. And i didnt really want to eat at a bar in the morning. A lot of places were closed. So A&W 2x it is. I had their bacon and egg sandwich and root beer float for breakast. Hey don't judge, ok? I love root beer floats. But though the flavor was great, the paper straw wouldn't allow me to mix the ice cream, so I was left with a big glob of ice cream at the bottom which I couldn't eat with my mangled paper straw at this point. Sandwich was decent. Sorry, I woofed breakfast down too much, I didn't get a chance to take pictures. Round 2 is the teen Sandwich which is grass fed beef burger with cheese and bacon. Though it's good, I think I should have tried the mozza burger instead which uses, you guessed it, mozzarella instead of cheddar. I tried the root beer float which unfortunately didn't mix just like my breakfast one. But I let it sit longer so I think maybe half actually joined my rootbeer. Yummy. So why only 3 stars. 2 of the workers came in a little late so they didn't open at 7:30 am as they were supposed to. The menu board wasn't working so you don't know what they were offering and how much. Eventually, they found a picture card of what they can give you. But there were no prices, descriptions, or details if there were combos or value meals or such. Thats why I didn't see the mozza burger till it was too late. I also found my almost $10 breakfast a bit expensive. My lunch at under $12 was slightly better value.

    Photos
    A&W - Mozza burger. $8.99. April 2024

    Mozza burger. $8.99. April 2024

    A&W - A&W

    A&W

    A&W

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    Rock House Burgers & Fries

    Rock House Burgers & Fries

    5.0(3 reviews)
    4.1 km

    Rock House is located in the food court (inside the casino.) The burgers were really good and made…read morefresh to order. The fries were fantastic!

    Came here after a concert & was not disappointed!…read more PS I just started eating red meat about 2 months ago. What drew me was the potato onion bun. What kept me as a now repeat customer is self-serve ketchup, mustard etc, and the burger comes with a very sad 1/8 slice of pickle. But it's dill pickle so a little grace. Give bigger pickles!!! For me, I abhor any "house sauce" on burgers bc it's either 1000 island or chipotle mayo. Nope! I want my burger classic w ketchup, mustard, pickle. Bonus if I get lettuce & tomato. Well, they give you baby butter lettuce & tomato as well as "Rock sauce" (nope) and raw onion (nope). The burger was really thick: I'm guessing 1/3lb. It was made to order & took a LOOOONG time bc my friend ordered bacon on her burger (bacon takes a long time to crisp up on a flattop). But kudos on making everything to order! They give you a "side of fries" which was too much for me to eat, but equivalent to a fast food small. The bonus is skin on fries!!! Plus the condiment tower has ketchup, mustard, Asian hot sauce (NOTE: we need western hot sauce: I recommend Tapatio), malt vinegar, regular vinegar, Wing's plum sauce (IYKYK), and soy sauce. I didn't snap a pic as I was starving, but know it was delicious & filling. Delicious bc I cut up my pickle & put it in the burger...I don't know why so many burger places don't understand the savoury/tangy contrast of beef & dill pickles & why it's necessary (along with mustard to give savoury & tang, but then the sweetness of ketchup. It's simple & classic!) ...but I'm SOOO happy they had mustard packets!!! I went through 7 on my burger & fries (no ketchup on fries, only mustard!). I'm giving 5/5 bc burger was made-to-order (tho they should have asked how well you liked it cooked). There are a few missteps, but I think the quality was there. Yes, I had to custom it using the condiment tower, but that does not take away from trying this place! Come for the burger, stay for the gaming! LOL

    White Spot - Wagyu Burger

    White Spot

    2.7(3 reviews)
    0.4 kmYVR

    I've worked in the kitchen in a restaurant before but gosh, tonight was very weird - something was…read moregoing down & someone was probably getting fired tonight! I had previously only heard good things about this White Spot location at YVR. The layout is very cozy & welcoming & the lighting is as cool as you like. The food level comes in at decent to very good. This YVR location is trying to be unique in their menu offerings, with a different twist from the regular White Spot menus. The six of us were accommodated in very comfortable seating. Our server was cool but did seem a bit edgy. I had the seafood chowder to start. It was good but it definitely wasn't Pike Place Market chowder down in Seattle. My Wagyu Burger was quite tasty. Others at our table had a pizza, double Burger & the Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl. No complaints about the food. Then there was the kitchen - crash! Someone either deliberately dropped a glass or plate & was having some sort of rough day at work!? There was no apology or utterance of - 'oohh ohhhhh, did I do that? ' I clapped silently - an old tradition (when a plate falls on the floor in the restaurant kitchen) from when I worked at a White Spot decades ago. We continued eating & talking & then again, almost like on que - crash! Another plate or glass got smashed! Anyone want glass with their food? Yikes! It was friggin very loud! We looked around tryna figure out what the hell was going on!?! White Spot, dafuq is going on here at YVR!?? Are you trying to win customers over or scare them away? Was a Greek wedding or Bar mitzvah occurring in the kitchen? Made for a very odd dinner experience. Now if this had been at a restaurant in Vegas with some whacky theme going on, I would have absolutely understood. But my goodness, this was at award winning YVR airport! Come on White Spot - you gots to do waaayyyyyyyy better! You've got some disgruntled employees working here - what are you going to do!?? The manager must be terrible!

    It's located at Canada domestic flight terminal and only restaurant which has booths. There are…read moreseveral fast food restaurants behind wall but sitting in the booths is more relaxing and comfortable. That's why I like here. Service is good but slow. The menu is limited as compared to regular White Spot. I had truffled mushroom wagyu burger. It contains 1/3 pound Brant Lake Wagyu beef patty. The patty was larger than buns and very delicious. Very juicy and charred perfectly.

    Photos
    White Spot - You can dine & monitor your flight.

    You can dine & monitor your flight.

    White Spot - Truffle wagyu burger. So delicious

    Truffle wagyu burger. So delicious

    White Spot - House Salad

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    House Salad

    White Spot - Hash - overly salty

    White Spot

    3.0(88 reviews)
    4.4 kmGolden Village
    $$

    A small update to my previous review. For Americans, be careful how you pay with a credit card in…read morethis restaurant. My receipt stated "I have been offered a choice of payment currencies, including CAD." I don't recall being given that choice, though I may have been. Hence, I paid in US$ which resulted in being charged a 3.75% currency conversion fee. This fee could have been avoided if CAD currency had been selected.

    Ah the White Spot…read more Been around for decades! I remember my grandma taking me to the WS in the 70s (oh my do I date myself) & me freaking out like a little school girl, over the glass that I had my drink in. I wanted that glass so badly I cried. Grandma tried to buy it for me. Gawd bless her soul. Back in the day the WS would draw families in with their kids via The Pirate Pack. The kids meal would be served on a Pirate Pak - a paper / cardboard boat & my brother & I, in fact every kid would go absolutely bonkers! Not sure if that still happens today? Ah those we're the days when I had no bills or stress. I had not been to the WS in over 30 years nor did I miss it. A few years ago, the WS went through a major renovation updating the interior decor at all their restaurants. However, it still feels old to me. My Monty Burger was just ok. Couldn't really taste the 'secret sauce' WS is famous for. My cocktail - good. The highlight & sensation - my chocolate milkshake - it was excellent. I almost might go back just for that. These days the crowd at WS is mainly of the geriatrics type, according to my observation. This older generation must have come here frequently as kids & as a result, still love the WS today. Kudos to them. The WS continues to be a popular restaurant to eat at for many - I can't explain why. Each to his own. Do I need to go back anytime soon - nah.

    Photos
    White Spot - Bar

    Bar

    White Spot - Scrambled

    Scrambled

    White Spot - Steak

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    Steak

    Rice Tales - hotdogs - Updated May 2026

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