Looks can definitely be deceiving. That’s one thing that I learned in the trip we had to Rice Restaurant and Lounge. This is the first stop of the two restaurants that offer Korean cuisine that I am visiting and criticizing in the process. We traveled for around twenty minutes to get to the place located on Hillsborough Ave. I’ve read a few comments stating that this place is hard to find so; I kept my eyes peeled to look for a small sign. It wasn’t tiny at all. It was a humongous bright yellow sign that pretty much lit up the whole plaza. I’m exaggerating. But seriously, the people who said that it can’t be seen that well due to the reason that it’s hidden is ridiculous. It’s literally blinding.
Walking in, I felt like I was in a Korean ghost town. It was a huge place, but it was eerily empty. They had a couple of tables to the right. All of them were made of wood. Pretty, but it amplified that weird awkward feeling. There was also a karaoke machine playing, showing a Korean singing. It was like silent movie since the place was dead quiet. Creepy. I realized we were the only ones there. It was dinnertime. I was puzzled. If people say that this is a great place to eat, then why is it that we were like the first customers of the night?
There was only one guy there who had his head buried in papers. He was probably the owner, since he stood up and greeted us with the biggest smile ever, complete with his eyes barely being seen. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m Asian and I know that feeling of your cheeks pushing up on your eyes to the point that you know they’re just seen as lines.
It was so empty that we couldn’t even choose where to sit. There were three booths with dandy little door-like arches. I didn’t know what to step into. We were walking back and forth, until this young lady came up to us and said, “First booth?” So, we finally sat there. She had the menus in hand and set them down in front of us. She seemed really friendly and got our drinks. While waiting, I looked around to absorb the ambiance of the place. I couldn’t really do it. I didn’t want to. All I saw was dirty everything. The walls were clearly not scrubbed for ages, the corners of the booths were not really swept thoroughly, and even the glass dividers weren’t wiped down. I just tried to get the thoughts out of my head so, I proceeded to pick up the menu to pick something to eat, but whoa was it heavy. I thought to myself, “Oooh. Fancy. I’ve never held a menu that weighs a ton and golden before. It’s like bling-bling.”
Looking through it was pretty frustrating and confusing. They had a vast variety of food consisting of appetizers, barbecue, stews, grilled fish, stir-fried and steamed food, rice specialties, noodles, sushi, etc. It was annoying how all the pictures did not have a caption and were not aligned with what it’s called. It was like a good-luck-in-doing-a-matching-type-test-with-the-pictured-food menu. What surprised me is they had a selection of cold noodles and stews. That’s kind of weird. I wasn’t that adventurous to try that one out and criticize it. I might just give the whole restaurant a bad review.
Our server was really nice and was patient to explain the different kinds of food that we might want to order. She answered all our queries about the dishes that I have not even heard of at all. However, my best friend and I decided to stick to what previous customers have already tasted. Sadly, the dishes were pretty pricey: more than the budget, actually. Thankfully, they had Dinner for Two Specials. It fit in the allocated money that my best friend and I had for the place. We chose the Rice Dinner for Two.
Only a few minutes after ordering our food, our server came pulling a cart full of bowls. I was pretty sure that we were the only ones there and I was wondering if all of the stuff she brought was actually for us. She then started setting every single one of them on the table. My eyes were darting back and forth to all the different types of vegetables that I guess were considered to be our appetizers. There were anchovies with peanuts, stems of sweet potatoes, ginseng, black beans, chilies, and so much more. The bowl of bean sprouts tossed in oil was really light and crunchy, while the seafood salad was very refreshing. One favorite that I had was the sweetened and cured potato. It was the right kind of mushy and the right kind of sweet to get your taste buds ready for the meal ahead. There were even three different kinds of kimchi served. My best friend lives for this stuff. He loved it. He said it was so fresh. The tartness was perfect. I never really liked it, but he made me try some. And, I could definitely say that the kimchi they had was, in my world, eat-able.
The next wave of food arrived, and it consisted of fish cakes, steamed egg in a pot, and bean paste broth. I have one word for the fish cakes: divine. It actually had a real fish fillet underneath the thin layer of well-seasoned coating over it. It was so fresh that it pretty much melts in your mouth, without that pungent fishy taste. It was delightful. The steamed egg in a pot was not my cup of tea. It had no taste at all. The only thing I thought of the dish was the fact that it was fluffy and watery at the same time. There’s one description that I can think of when it came to the bean paste broth. It was very interesting. It was a mix of spicy, gritty, kind of thick soup with various chunks of things I don’t even know of. The tofu in it was the best I’ve tasted so far though. It was perfectly cooked. It was spongy and gummy in all the right ways. The dish was not what I would say recommendable, but it is definitely something one should try if he or she is adventurous.
Lastly, there was the grilled galbee, bulgogee and the grilled pike mackerel. I’ve tasted galbee before and I could say that this restaurant made me love the meat more. It was so delicious. I expecting a little bit too much with the grilled pike mackerel because of the review written by Sally L. in yelp.com. It’s all praises about the grilled pike mackerel and bulgogee. It pretty much gave me the impression that these are two dishes you have to try before you even step out of Rice Restaurant and Lounge. I’m not sure about the grilled pike. It was perfectly seasoned and all, but the bitter insides weren’t even removed and I had the disgusting taste in my mouth for a few minutes. I couldn’t even get it out with water. Also, there were like a thousand bones in there. I just thought that fish was not worthy of all the effort I had given to make sure I dug through every part to see if there were tiny bones that could get stuck in my throat. I enjoyed the crispy skin though. Call me gross, but it actually tasted like the crispy seaweed wrappers. I love those. However, I would say that the main meat highlight of the night was probably the bulgogee. Goodness, it was literally an orgasm in my mouth. It was so tender and so perfectly seasoned and cooked. Like the fish cakes, it had this melt in your mouth factor. I can’t even describe how good it is right now. It’s absolutely amazing.
Stuffing our faces with all the food on the table ended up to be a tiring task for both my best fried and I. Once the bill came, our server smiled at us and knew we were satisfied. She was so thoughtful and even offered us to try some rice punch. Wow, it kept getting better and better. We were about to make our stomachs rest, and still, this sweet, rice-y, creamy goodness touched our lips. It was like a dessert-drink, if there’s actually something like that. It was the perfect way to end our meal.
I can definitely say that this “Korean-ghost-town-of-a-place” deceived me. In my thoughts, I claimed that this was going to be a disappointing place to eat at as soon as I walked in. There was not a person in the restaurant, but it exceeded my expectations. The evidence is in the sincere service and the quality and taste of the food. It was amazing, and there were so many different flavors that you can have, especially with what was ordered. It’s like you won’t get tired of the taste because there’s always something new that you could put in your mouth to wash the previous taste off. The extensive choices of food set in front of you all at once makes your taste buds yearn for more. The whole trip was just awesome. Right before leaving the restaurant, my best friend turned to me and said, “You know that we’ll have to come back here again soon, right?”
Rice Restaurant and Lounge
7525 W Hillsborough Ave Tampa, FL 33615
Phone (813) 889-7766
Extra Thoughts on Ms. DJ’s WWFF:
“Your next decision is when to go. Reviews of dinner are standard, unless the restaurant relies on its biggest crowd at lunch.
Monday and Tuesday are the most frequent chef’s nights off. Friday and Saturday nights put the most stress on the kitchen. (These
are things to consider for your own research, but that readers don’t to be told.) You can go for lunch and dinner, but not just for
lunch.”
DJ’s theory of going to dinner for a review instead of lunch is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of when
the best time to go is. I concur with this because during lunchtime, yes the quality of the food may be the same, but you don’t really
get the vast selection of food that the restaurant offers. They just normally serve lunch specials at that time. On the other hand,
going there for dinner is a whole different situation. They usually have everything that they can offer during this time. Also, knowing
when the chef is more often not in the restaurant is very detrimental, especially if it’s a fancy place that will be reviewed. And
everyone does know that Friday and Saturdays are really hectic and busy since people are mainly going out and ending their week with
a nice meal out. So, naturally, one should not pick these days to go if you would want to consider the quality of the food and service
you are given.
This review was great! I am asian too, and I love hunting for great asian food. It happens all too often that you walk into a place that hardly looks inhabited. I'm glad you had the guts to stay in there and try to food, I probably wouldn't have and would have missed out on all that awesome food!
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