Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen

Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen
5 Changi Business Park Central 1
#B1-26 Changi City Point

https://paperrice.com.sg/

Cá Chiên Sốt Mè Cay / Deep-Fried Sea Bass Fish (SGD $21.90)

Delicious Mekong Dishes

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 6
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $31 per person.


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Opening in November 2018, Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen has quickly captured the hearts, and tummies, of nearby office workers with its delicious, robust flavoured Vietnamese dishes. Operated by the Arteastiq Group, and specialising in grilled meats and seafood, particularly those from the Mekong Delta area, Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen is frequently crowded during weekday lunch hours.

Ambience at Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen exudes a quiet, tranquil elegance. The place is low lit and intimate, and the sturdy dark wooden furniture is comfortable and well cushioned. Spotlights over each table allow you to clearly see each dish, yet creates enough shadow that it accords a measure of privacy from the next table. Ample partitions with shelves are tastefully decorated, with hanging potted plants, decorative lamps, and common household objects used in daily Vietnamese life.

Service at Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen is passable, and uniquely Singaporean. Ordering is done via a chit, and the little engagement from staff is mostly in Singlish. Not much product knowledge, though I commend their efforts to be helpful. I note they clean up and clear tables quickly when diners leave, as well as before serving desserts (if any). In particular, we had requested the kitchen to assist in portioning of several dishes, which they acceded to.

Food at Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen is naturally, Vietnamese cuisine. Although they feature the most popular and common Vietnamese dishes, their speciality is the grilled meats and seafood, along with dishes from provinces around the Mekong Delta area. The Arteastiq Group Chef Minh, who hails from Vietnam, heads up the kitchen, and produces delicious, robust, clean flavours in dishes. Portions are medium to large, and can be shared. Prices are reflective of most casual restaurants, budget about SGD $31 per person for a meal here.


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Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen Facade

Table Setting

Rattan Lamp Shade

The Vietnamese Coffee With Condensed Milk (SGD $3.80) is served as a typical drip coffee, with a base of sticky thick condensed milk. The coffee is slowly steeped through the drip, taking about 10 - 15 minutes or so, and is sufficient to fill a single cup. Slightly weak in body though, lacking that robust roasted coffee bean aroma, and tastes more milky sweet instead. As it's also not a thirst-quencher, I probably wouldn't order this again. If you must order it though, ask for it to be served at the start of your meal, to reduce waiting time for the drip.

Vietnamese Coffee With Condensed Milk (SGD $3.80)

Vietnamese Coffee With Condensed Milk

The Cà Phê Trứng / Egg Coffee (SGD $4.80) harkens after the traditional classic version of Vietnamese egg coffee, prepared with whisked egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk, and robusta coffee. Served in a bowl of warm water to keep it warm. Texture is medium thick, not as rich as those I've had in Vietnam, but still boldly sweet in flavour. I had this at lunch, and the kitchen prepares it in advance to minimise waiting time, so it was already slightly cooler than I'd like when it was served. Would have preferred it hotter in temperature.

Cà Phê Trứng / Egg Coffee (SGD $4.80)

Cà Phê Trứng / Egg Coffee

The Beer Saigon Export (SGD $6.90) is a typical Vietnamese beer, with a pale golden colour, low alcohol content, and a light taste... little character.

Beer Saigon Export (SGD $6.90)

A large glass of plain Nước / Water (SGD $0.50). A simple, healthy, and thirst-quenching staple.

Nước / Water (SGD $0.50)

The Gỏi Cuốn / Summer Salad Roll (SGD $5.90) features a sticky thin rice paper wrap, filled with stringy rice vermicelli noodles, crunchy lettuce, crisp spring onions, and fresh meaty deshelled prawns / shrimp. Nicely vegetal sweet savoury in flavour, with a refreshing brightness. The boldly savoury seafood sauce on the side is thick and rich, almost like a paste, and lends greater shrimp flavour to this appetizer.

Gỏi Cuốn / Summer Salad Roll (SGD $5.90)

Gỏi Cuốn / Summer Salad Roll

The Gỏi Cuốn Thịt Nướng / Grilled Pork Spring Rolls (SGD $5.90) features a sticky thin rice paper wrap, filled with stringy rice vermicelli noodles, crunchy lettuce, crisp spring onions, and tender grilled pork marinated in lemongrass juice. Nicely vegetal savoury salty in flavour, with a smoky aroma. I find it better without the weak watery peanut sauce on the side, as the freshness really shines.

Gỏi Cuốn Thịt Nướng / Grilled Pork Spring Rolls (SGD $5.90)

Gỏi Cuốn Thịt Nướng / Grilled Pork Spring Rolls

The Phở Bò / Beef Noodles (SGD $10.90) is decent enough. The flat, silky smooth rice vermicelli noodles are served in a delicate beef and white onion broth, which holds good savoury flavour. I understand it's made without any monosodium glutamate (MSG), but through boiling the beef bones over hours. The thinly sliced beef brisket is heavily marinated though, with intense savoury spice flavour, and is oddly more chewy than expected. Served with a side of condiments, including fresh crunchy bean sprouts, fragrant mint leaves, a lime wedge, and sliced red chili, for you to add-on as you wish. Overall decent, while I liked the soup / broth, the chewy beef wasn't as pleasing.

Phở Bò / Beef Noodles (SGD $10.90)

Phở Bò / Beef Noodles

Phở Bò / Beef Noodles

Condiments

The Bún Bò Huế / Beef Hue Style Noodle (SGD $11.90) is tasty enough. The silky smooth rice vermicelli noodles are served in a delicate beef, white onion, and chili broth, which holds good savoury spicy flavour. Made without any monosodium glutamate (MSG), but through boiling the beef bones over hours. There's a mix of beef parts here; chewy marinated beef brisket, tender beef sirloin cuts, bouncy beef tendons, all of which hold good savoury spice flavour. Served with a side of condiments, including fresh crunchy bean sprouts, fragrant mint leaves, a lime wedge, and sliced red chili, for you to add-on as you wish. I like this, and wouldn't mind ordering it again, though I wish it was more spicy.

Bún Bò Huế / Beef Hue Style Noodle (SGD $11.90)

Bún Bò Huế / Beef Hue Style Noodle

The Bún Thịt Nướng Chả Giò / Grilled Pork And Spring Roll Rice Noodle (SGD $11.90) is delicious. The silky smooth rice vermicelli noodles are served dry, with their signature fish sauce with chili to drench the bowl. Served with fresh salad (lettuce, carrots, cucumber) that is crunchy and vegetal sweet, tender grilled pork belly slices which hold bold smoky savoury salty flavour, a crisp rice cracker, fragrant mint leaves, and 2 fried spring rolls filled with minced pork, black fungus / cloud ear fungus, rice vermicelli noodles, spring onions, and wrapped in a crisp egg wrapper. The dish has lovely balanced flavours of vegetal, meaty, sweet, sour, savoury, salty, bitter, herbal, earthy, and spicy. Good!

Bún Thịt Nướng Chả Giò / Grilled Pork And Spring Roll Rice Noodle (SGD $11.90)

Bún Thịt Nướng Chả Giò / Grilled Pork And Spring Roll Rice Noodle

Bún Thịt Nướng Chả Giò / Grilled Pork And Spring Roll Rice Noodle

The Cơm Sườn Nướng / Grilled Pork Chop With Rice (SGD $12.90) is a decent meal, I rather enjoyed it. Features fresh Salad (lettuce, pickled carrots, pickled daikon radish) that is crunchy and vegetal sweet, tender Grilled Pork Chop on the bone which has a lovely smoky savoury salty flavour, and sticky fluffy White Rice shaped into 2 fragrant mounds and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. A side of soft tender Egg Meatloaf studded with preserved daikon radish has a decent eggy sweet savoury salty flavour, while a tangy spicy dipping sauce of fish sauce and chili completes this dish. Good!

Cơm Sườn Nướng / Grilled Pork Chop With Rice (SGD $12.90)

Salad

White Rice

Grilled Pork Chop

Egg Meatloaf

Cơm Sườn Nướng / Grilled Pork Chop With Rice

The Cơm Thịt Bò Nướng / Grilled Beef With Rice (SGD $13.90) features the same fresh crunchy vegetal sweet Salad (lettuce, pickled carrots, pickled daikon radish), 2 mounds of sticky fluffy White Rice, soft tender Egg Meatloaf studded with preserved daikon radish with eggy sweet savoury salty flavour, and tangy spicy dipping sauce (fish sauce, chili). The moist, tender strips of Grilled Beef Striploin have a robust smoky aroma from grilling, with good savoury salty meaty flavour that is so enticing. Loved it.

Cơm Thịt Bò Nướng / Grilled Beef With Rice (SGD $13.90)

Salad

White Rice

Grilled Beef Striploin

Egg Meatloaf

Dipping Sauce

Cơm Thịt Bò Nướng / Grilled Beef With Rice

Cơm Thịt Bò Nướng / Grilled Beef With Rice

A popular communal dish around the Mekong Delta area, the Cá Chiên Sốt Mè Cay / Deep-Fried Sea Bass Fish (SGD $21.90) features a whole, fresh sea bass fish, deep-fried and served with fresh lettuce, pickled carrots, pickled daikon radish, crisp rice paper wraps, thick rice vermicelli noodles, and a sharp tangy sour spicy tamarind sauce. The tender flaky sea bass fish is tasty enough on its own, with good savoury sweet flavour, but is better paired with all the ingredients in a crunchy DIY wrap, which lends additional vegetal sweet sour spicy notes to the natural flavours of the fish. Do be careful to remove small bones though. Good!

Cá Chiên Sốt Mè Cay / Deep-Fried Sea Bass Fish (SGD $21.90)

Cá Chiên Sốt Mè Cay / Deep-Fried Sea Bass Fish

Cá Chiên Sốt Mè Cay / Deep-Fried Sea Bass Fish, Filleted

Cá Chiên Sốt Mè Cay / Deep-Fried Sea Bass Fish, Filleted

DIY Wrap

The Gà Nướng Đồng Quê Bánh Tráng / Grilled Spring Chicken With Rice Paper (SGD $18.80) is good enough to share between 2 people, and is just delicious and lovely. The Bánh Tráng / Rice Paper is served in a holder that doubles as a water container for dipping and softening the rice paper wrappers. The Gà Nướng Đồng Quê / Grilled Spring Chicken has a lovely smoky aroma, with tender moist chicken meat that tears off easily from the bone, and has delicate savoury sweet smoky flavour. Served with an intense herb salt, for seasoning as you wish, though I find the chicken to be tasty enough on its own. Good!

Gà Nướng Đồng Quê Bánh Tráng / Grilled Spring Chicken With Rice Paper (SGD $18.80)

Bánh Tráng / Rice Paper

Gà Nướng Đồng Quê / Grilled Spring Chicken

The Thịt Nướng Tổng Hợp / Barbecue Meat Platter (SGD $24.90) is an exquisite sharing platter and meat fest. It's accompanied by a thin yet balanced Nước Chấm / Vietnamese Dipping Sauce, a signature sauce that combines the 4 flavours of sweet, sour, salty, spicy. The chunky grainy Nước Sốt Đậu Phộng / Peanut Sauce lends a nutty earthy bitter savoury flavour to contrast. The fresh Rau Xà Lách / Salad has crunchy pickled daikon radish and carrots with sour sweet flavour, along with fresh leafy lettuce with vegetal sweet flavour, to pair with the barbecued and grilled meats. Finally, thin chewy Bánh Phở / Rice Noodles are wrapped around crisp Cây Bạc Hà / Mint Leaves. These fresh mint leaves lend a sharp herbal note to the grainy flavour of the rice vermicelli noodles.

The Bò Cuốn Nướng Lá Lốt / Minced Beef In Betel Vine Leaves has tender chunky minced beef with bold savoury salty flavour, wrapped in crisp betel vine leaves which lend an earthy bitter herbal flavour. The tight package locks in the meat juices, bursting forth when bit. The Thịt Lợn Nướng Bụng Xiên / Grilled Pork Belly Skewers was the only disappointment here. While the overly oily skewers had decent smoky savoury flavour, it lacks a salty edge, and some of the rather firm pork belly meat was overly charred. The best was the Gà Nướng Sả / Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Skewers, with its juicy chunky tender texture, and clean herbal sweet savoury flavour to the lemongrass marinated chicken thigh meat.

Thịt Nướng Tổng Hợp / Barbecue Meat Platter (SGD $24.90)

Nước Chấm / Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

Bánh Phở / Rice Noodles & Cây Bạc Hà / Mint Leaves

Rau Xà Lách / Salad

Bò Cuốn Nướng Lá Lốt / Minced Beef In Betel Vine Leaves

Bò Cuốn Nướng Lá Lốt / Minced Beef In Betel Vine Leaves

Bò Cuốn Nướng Lá Lốt / Minced Beef In Betel Vine Leaves

Thịt Lợn Nướng Bụng Xiên / Grilled Pork Belly Skewers

Thịt Lợn Nướng Bụng Xiên / Grilled Pork Belly Skewers

Gà Nướng Sả / Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Skewers

Gà Nướng Sả / Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Skewers

Nước Sốt Đậu Phộng / Peanut Sauce

Thịt Nướng Tổng Hợp / Barbecue Meat Platter

The Hải Sản Nướng / Barbecue Seafood Platter (SGD $28.80) is a sharing seafood platter. It's accompanied by a rich Tương Ớt / Chili Sauce, a home made gravy that is both sweet and spicy. The fresh Rau Xà Lách / Salad has crunchy pickled daikon radish and carrots with sour sweet flavour, along with fresh leafy lettuce with vegetal sweet flavour, to pair with the barbecued seafood. Finally, thin chewy Bánh Phở / Rice Noodles are wrapped around crisp Cây Bạc Hà / Mint Leaves. These fresh mint leaves lend a sharp herbal note to the grainy flavour of the rice vermicelli noodles.

The Cá Kèo Nướng / Grilled Capelin Fish Skewers has moist tender capelin fish or smelt, filled with grainy roe. Seasoned lightly with salt, this has good smoky salty savoury flavour. The Mực Nướng / Grilled Squid Skewers has a firm bouncy semi-dry texture, as if they used dried squid that was rehydrated and grilled. At least it had decent smoky savoury sweet flavour. The Tôm Nướng / Grilled Prawn Skewers was not good as it wasn't cleaned properly, plus it tasted like either frozen or day-old prawns / shrimp, with the meat sticking to the shells. Overall, I cannot recommend this.

Hải Sản Nướng / Barbecue Seafood Platter (SGD $28.80)

Tương Ớt / Chili Sauce

Bánh Phở / Rice Noodles & Cây Bạc Hà / Mint Leaves

Rau Xà Lách / Salad

Cá Kèo Nướng / Grilled Capelin Fish Skewers

Mực Nướng / Grilled Squid Skewers

Tôm Nướng / Grilled Prawn Skewers

Hải Sản Nướng / Barbecue Seafood Platter

The Rau Câu Dừa / Coconut Jelly (SGD $5.90) is a good dessert. The base is clear transparent jelly made from coconut juice, while the top is opaque white jelly made from coconut milk, and studded with golden raisins and young coconut meat. The bouncy gelatinous texture holds good fruity earthy sweet flavour, very nice. Good!

Rau Câu Dừa / Coconut Jelly (SGD $5.90)

Rau Câu Dừa / Coconut Jelly

The Chè Chuối Nước Dừa / Banana With Sago In Coconut Cream (SGD $5.90) is a comforting Vietnamese dessert. A warm base of coconut milk and coconut cream is filled with bouncy chewy tapioca sago pearls, and soft tender caramelised banana slices. Garnished with crushed peanuts, which lend a lovely contrasting crunch to texture. This has a warm, fruity sweet floral earthy flavour, that fills both belly and soul.

Chè Chuối Nước Dừa / Banana With Sago In Coconut Cream (SGD $5.90)

Chè Chuối Nước Dừa / Banana With Sago In Coconut Cream

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