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    The Rice Box

    3.6 (170 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    THE RICE BOX ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Touristy
    Trendy
    Moderate noise

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    Recommended Reviews - The Rice Box

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    Ema P.

    This is my first time here. We ordered green beans, fried rice, steamed white rice, wontons, eggrolls wings, chicken lo mein, and the broccoli. I would say everything had a nice flavor. My favorite or the green beans. Full of flavor and super savory. I thought the wings were just okay. I don't think it marinated enough for the actual chicken to have a flavor. Just the skin. But it's quite all right... I had enough to where I wouldn't mind visiting again. The service was nice and the staff was kind. I had my 1 year old niece and she was having fun making a mess on the floor and they weren't irritated at all. I had my other two nieces and they enjoyed the broccoli and the low mein especially. And I thank my sister for the invitation! So, yes! I will visit again.

    Elizabeth G.

    Great vibe, friendly staff, and nice menu variety. The atmosphere is quirky but relaxing... at night I bet it's an awesome place to nom and socialize with friends.

    Lava buns under the psychedelic lights
    Lou C.

    I want to cry. No one warned me about how spicy this curry fried rice was. My stomach was burning like hell. I came to The Rice Box at Rice Village. Parked in the garage and walked over. I don't know how people can eat under the psychedelic lights and the futuristic menu was a big turn off. Got a big headache eating here. Maybe that's why the parking lot only fits 8 cars, including a handicapped spot. Lava Buns cooled my stomach from the spiciness of the curry fried rice. Phew...

    Shveta A.

    I had not tried this location and was excited to do so, I was not disappointed! Honestly I like Rice Box because of the quality and quantity balance. The food is tasty and affordable, which allows for the trying of various dishes. The baby back ribs, general tsao chicken, Mongolian shrimp, house fried rice and chicken lo mein were all very good. The ribs were a bit dry texturally, but were extremely flavorful. The lava buns were good but definitely to be eaten in moderation for me due to their sweet cream filling. The server was extremely helpful and kind. I always love the neon brightness of the interior and exterior as it makes the restaurant appear otherworldly. A great spot to grab a bite!

    House fried rice
    Mayada P.

    SHOUT OUT HUGO! I have been staying in the icu with my son and was sick of having cafeteria food. Upon arriving I was impressed with the entire set up. Super cool, very futuristic, and hip. I'm from St. Louis and I have been craving some chinamen (that's what we call it in the 314) I didn't want that light skin rice you houstonians seem to simp over. I've had soo many rices here in my 4 years and this by far was the best. The house fried rice is top notch. Let me not forget to mention Hugo! He was so sweet and a genuinely nice person. Explained ingredients and joked with me even. 10/10!!!! The photos do absolutely no justice! I forgot to take a photo before I chowed down.

    Ceiling decor
    Mike T.

    I love this place. The interior decor is straight out of an 80s retro future. Staff are friendly and helpful, and the food is great. Their Orange Peel Beef is outstanding, General Tso is addictive, and their fried rice is so good. Minus a star for the bathroom cleanliness, but I'll keep coming back!

    Tinishia A.

    This was our first time at the Rice Box. I ordered orange chicken with fried rice and lo mein. The portions are pretty huge and the food was all full of flavor. My kiddos really loved the food so that's a huge plus for me. My friend ordered Mongolian chicken and I tried it...I must say that it was very good as well. This location is no where near me as I live in Katy but since I was in the area I decided to give it a try. The staff let us know that there's another location much closer... on I-10 near Bunker Hill, on the Eastbound side of the Katy Fwy. I'm sure I'll be going there soon!

    Frankie H.

    I've been wanting to try The Rice Box since I was near it I decided to try it and I'm glade I did. The set up and music volume is nice. The water fountain is super great setup spot. I got lemon pepper ribs with side of lo mein noodles. Server nicely took the order and let me know it would take about 15 minutes. When I got the order it was wings. I took it back to the register and let her know that I ordered ribs. She nicely apologized and changed it. The lemon pepper ribs are so good, tasteful and tender. The lo mein noodles are ok, has a ok taste and too thick. My sister got house rice. Usually house rice includes multiple meats but here you have to select a meat and meats are charged, she selected shrimp. The house rice is good tasteful with no peas which is the best for me. The orders also comes with egg roll and they are good. Good spot and there are other foods I want to try there. Now the restroom room was not clean.

    Salt n Pepper Tofu
    Brandon D.

    I was studying in the rice village area and saw that Rice Box had a nitro Thai tea and people said good things about it so I decided to walk over and get it to keep me up. I also got a salt and pepper tofu to snack along with it. They were not busy at all during this time and my order came out really fast. The nitro Thai tea is like a healthier and smoother Thai tea. It has the same distinct taste but without the creaminess, and a fizzy foam on top. It was alright, I would rather get a normal Thai tea with the original sweetness. The salt and pepper tofu had way too thick of a breading coat. There was more of that than the tofu itself. It was also lacking the saltiness. I liked the grilled onions and bell peppers though. I honestly shoudlve just gotten the salt and pepper chicken because it's the same price as the tofu. Will most likely not be coming back here again

    Exterior
    Ediri N.

    Came here for lunch takeout since I was already in the area and had heard so much about it from coworkers. To be honest, I was not impressed for the amount of hype this place gets. Now, everything looks good, it's a very interesting design concept, but the food didn't quite match the ambience nor the price. I got the sesame chicken with fried rice and crab rangoons. I expected it to be one of the best Chinese spots I've been to, but the rice wasn't tasteful at all and neither was the egg roll. The sesame was decent and the crab rangoons were probably the best portion of the meal. I likely would pick Panda Express over getting food here, especially for half the price.

    General Tso ,Orange  and Kung Pao
    Gloria Emelina M.

    Came with my twin and friend. Love the look of the Rice Box gave me Total Recall vibes (fan scene inside the shop scene) iykyk. The menu has your staples, love that you can choose your protein and spice level as well as different style rice. Price very fairly. The service was great very friendly and attentive staff.

    Entrance
    Angie M.

    We stopped here for an early dinner. The building is very inviting and at the entrance there was a sign that said no soft drinks. However, the staff was very informative, friendly and patient. We sat outside on the patio because it was cold inside. The food came out hot, fresh and quickly. I was pleased With the chicken egg roll with the amazing sweet chili sauce. Next time I want to try the curry sauce. The entree portions are enough for two meals or sharing. I enjoyed the fried rice and suggest passing in the noodles. I'll be back to try the ribs, and chicken wings.

    Black pepper steak and white rice
    Joiya A.

    Ambiance is definitely the best part about this place. The service was also spectacular. The food however was neither. I ordered the black pepper steak with white rice. It came with an egg roll. I chose their JACK BURTON NITRO tea as well. Tea 3/5 Egg roll 4/5 Black pepper steak 3/5 White rice 0/5

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    Ask the Community - The Rice Box

    Is there a place to sit on a patio with a dog?

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    My mom wanted steamed fish with ginger, scallions, and that light sweet soy sauce. Hu's Cooking…read moredelivered! When we ordered, they mentioned it'll take about 20 mins but it came out in 10. No complaints here since we were starving from an 8 hour road trip. The Dan Dan Noodles...I had high expectations but sadly this dish fell short. I recommend Hu's Cooking to use a bigger bowl and more sauce because it was difficult to mix the noodles and the sauce wasn't...saucing, unfortunately. I wish there was more flavor in this dish. The Scallion Pancake was super over-fried and oily. See image in my review. The outer parts of the pancake were fried to a crisp and only a small circumference in the center stayed chewy. I know Chinese tends to be oily but this pancake soaked up way too much oil. Half a Peking duck: super great price for so much meat. The difficulty when eating this dish is gnawing the meat off the sharp bones of the duck. Mapo Tofu with white rice: pretty easy staple, no complaints here. Dinner on a Saturday was packed but we got seated quickly and food arrived fast.

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    I have wanted to eat here for months but I always passed it up because of how busy and small the…read moreplace looked from the outside. Today was my lucky day because there was plenty of parking spots and seats (although the parking lot is very small). This place is great! I understand the hype for sure. When you walk inside it's just about the smallest restraunt I've ever. Very cozy and cute vibe with smooth jazz playing on a speaker and we got our food very fast. I really enjoyed my time here. Dry Fried Green Beans 5/5- these are the best green beans I have had in my life! I am not exaggerating like I will be thinking about these green beans all week. Do not hesitate to try these. Perfectly salty and good amount of crunch still left. The flavors they used are just perfect. Colorful Beef 4/5- The texture of the beef was so tender and not chewy at all like other places. The flavor was bright and the bell peppers were cooked through well. The issue I had with this dish was the sichuan peppercorns. I was just eating and not really looking at it super closely so I got a mouth full of these peppercorns and wow it was actually horrible. Just beware because the texture of these things are god awful and I think that they should be taken out like how a bay leaf is removed before serving. It was just really intense and it almost ruined the dish for me honestly. Other than that a great dish. My mouth was so numb but worth it. Dandan noodles 2/5- This was my first time trying this dish anywhere and I did not really enjoy it at all. The sesame flavor was really strong and it wasn't really salted at all. Very strange flavor. I will not order this again, however I do believe that the execution on this dish is great. There was a lot of sauce and the noodles were cooked well. I just really wish I liked the flavor of this dish and that's a personal problem. This dish also made my mouth numb but the flavor did not make it worth it. I wanted to like these so badly but I just couldn't do it. I will be back!

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    My friend and I had dinner at Cooking Girl a few months back. It wasn't busy at all on a Thursday…read moreevening. We were seated towards the back of the restaurant and it was uncomfortably warm. I don't remember our server's name but she was nice. I started with a Lychee Martini. It was very good and very strong. For apps we ordered the Scallion Pancakes and the BBQ Pork Buns. The Scallion Pancakes were very good, but once they cooled down, it didn't taste nearly as good. I enjoyed the BBQ Pork Buns too. For entrées I had the Salt Pepper Fish Slices while my friend went with the Ingenious Fried Beef. The Fish Slices were very seasoned and flavorful, but a bit dry. The batter was good and I really enjoyed the peppers and onions that accompanied the dish. I think a dipping sauce would have helped. My friend enjoyed the Fried Beef. They have quite a few locations around town if you don't want to venture into the downtown area. If you're near the Theater District, Cooking Girl is a great dining option.

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