rice. @ RASA Space / @ricekitchen.co

Rasa Space, Republic Plaza: Rasa Space is a pleasant surprise that runs against the grain of the sometimes stuffy and dull Raffles Place. It’s a hard find but when you do, the nondescript door on the second floor opens up to a cavernous space with a stunning “The Jetsons” 60s feel bar. There is an industrial luxe feel here. “Rice” is their asian restaurant that sits at the side, overlooking raffles place. Come before sunset for a nice work view or as the night descends for that fantastic neon lit ambience. We were fortunate to be here when they have a happy hour deal where 3 scrumptious ood plates were $10 each. Aperol spritzes are at a ridiculous $10 - but we are now teetotal drinkers. I absolutely love this space.

The minute i sat down, the warm and welcoming atmosphere made me feel comfortable instantly. the music choice was splendid, vibes on point as well. I tried the golden pork collar pops and it’s probably the closest to perfect with its crunchy exterior and chewy pork collar. its flavour amplified with sweet and spicy thai sauce. moving onto the food main, xoxo claypot rice. wok hey could be smelled once it made contact with my tongue. even better when eaten with the bonito flakes on top. 🤤 As a sweet tooth, i tried the seared white sugar cake. i liked the chewy texture of the fermented rice cake that incorporated a slightly salty gula melaka sauce. it was nice but not necessarily spectacular, the gravy was overwhelming for the portion of cake given. All in all, a good 8/10 😋. i would come back with friends if i was in the area.

loved it from the beginning! friendly staff to greet me, i didn’t have to wait long for my food either! began my meal with beef rendang chips. spectacular, chomped all of the rice crackers down. tasty contrast with the soft, savoury meat and the sweet rice cracker. followed by the the soto bebek with thai noodles. simply delicous. not strong smelling mee soto soup pairs well with the thai noodles and yummy duck breast. i tried the roasted rice pandan mousse which reminded me of an asian pandan fusion of the italian cuisine tiramisu! the cream was a little heavy. if the dessert was lighter and less filling, it would have been perfect. but it is still pleasant to wrap my meal with. i ended with goji berries tea. it had a light flowery accent. i think it would also pair nicely with heavy mains. overall a solid 7.5/10, i would recommend this to friends and family if they wanted a place to chat over food.

starting from the entrance, i was greeted with a pleasant ambiance. loved the high ceiling and cozy interior design. loving seafood, i was excited to try the tom yum tossed squid bites. it certainly didn’t disappoint! devoured the combination of squid with tom yum flavour. when dipped in the sour cream sauce, it formed a new mix of flavours! especially when it is coupled with generous Nyonya assam fish tacos. as a spice lover, it was the perfect balance between the Mexican styled taco and Peranakan spices! the red snapper was generous in size and soft. paired beautifully with the diced carrots, tomatoes, carrots. the gravy tied tau pork and tortillas together. black rice panna cotta really sealed the deal. the soft black glutinous rice, otherwise known as pulut hitam, coupled with the panna cotta contrasted against the crunchy gula melaka crumble created a tantalising mouth experience. i chose to go with the classic coke as a drink that concluded my meal. 10/10 i would visit again to try their other dishes.

Have been following @themeatmenchannel for at least 10 years, hence I knew I had to check out their restaurant asap when I found out they opened one. Verdict? Food was overall good. Excited to come back to try the other items on the menu! 🤗 Pictured: - Braised Beef Brisket with Thai Rice Noodles: slow-cooked beef brisket with radish and carrot served over fresh khanom jeen noodles 👌🏻 - Dashi Laksa Seafood Pao Fun: laksa infused dashi broth with prawns, squid and mussels served over steamed & crispy rice 👍🏻 - Beef Rendang Crunch: slow-cooked beef rendang piled onto Thai crispy rice cakes; 3pcs 👍🏻 - Black Rice Panna Cotta: panna coua layered with pulut hitam. gula melaka crumble and crispy rice 👍🏻 - [Takeaway, hence pardon the plating/aesthetics] Roasted Rice Mousse with Pandan roasted rice tea and pandan infused mascarpone, layered with savoiardi biscuits 👌🏻 - [Takeaway, hence pardon the plating/aesthetics] Seared White Sugar Cake: pan-seared fermented sponge cake with sea salt gula melaka and calamansi 👌🏻

unique cozy concept featuring dim table lighting and interesting food & drink choices. laksa paofan was a 7/10 - they were generous with the seafood but doesnt taste like anything special or mindblowing. Beef noodles were a 8/10 - broth was too salty in our opinion but texture of the beef & noodles were good. Our favourite turned out to be the pork collar surprisingly, 10/10 would recommend trying if you happen to be here during happy hour! We both ordered sake from the happy hour menu, but preferred the Ozeki one for its sweetness. Total bill was about $42/pax.

From the crew of the Meatmen, the concept certainly lives up to its reputation as an expert in local-southeast Asian recipes. We ordered the Dashi Laksa Seafood Pao Fan, Smokey Fish Soup and the Beef Rendang Crunch. All of which either met or exceeded our expectations in terms of the complexity of flavour, good use of Asian spices and cooking methods and contrasts in textures through clever use of cooking techniques e.g. popped rice. The location, while not as straightforward to find is in itself a hidden gem under the backdrop of the Singapore CBD, with good atmosphere and environment conducive for conversations with your loved ones and friends. The operations and service however could be improved as we noticed several instances of broken telephone situation where our order was only conveyed to the kitchen in part (only our laksa Pao fan was ordered) and we had to prompt before the others came later. The laksa Pao fan also initially did not come with the popped rice as advertised. When we asked the staff, he did not seem to be aware of the condiments that came along with the dish. We noted that the staff seemed to be busy with the bar most of the time, but knowledge of the food items is important as well if they were to help out with the restaurant side of the house. Overall it’s a positive experience still and I look forward to returning to try more of their menu and the it’s changing menu concepts!

Having followed meatmen recipes for years, I have no doubt that the food will be decent. This was for a visit on Thursday night. Ordered the Beef Rendang Crunch and Dashi Laksa Seafood Pao Fun. Beef was tender and well paired with the rice crackers. Seafood used in Pao Fun was very fresh. Had some teething issues with service crew who forgot about the condiments that came along with Pao Fun. But crew was apologetic upon checking with the kitchen and came back with it. Service is definitely slower. There were miscommunication between service crew and kitchen resulting in one main not being served until service crew asked what did we order. But upon checking, it was served in about 10 minutes. I’m sure as this is a fairly new establishment they have teething issues. But for food wise, it was top notch. Will return to try more dishes!