It was our third visit to this place that made me sure I’m gonna write something up about The Rice Room.
It’s a typical food stall in a food court inside a mall that we found so indulging to eat and to satisfy our craving for something oriental, something Vietnamese that’s actually something Asian, something Filipino.
Our first visit there was actually a push of curiosity not because its tables and chairs were full of hungry mall-goers but the opposite of it. Well, this is Doha – Arab people would choose to eat oriental cuisine the least above their usual Arabic food. Unlike us, we would choose to eat oriental food the most over Arabic food. (Note: I also love Arabic cuisine)
So there, empty chairs and tables in front of their stall occupied our empty stomachs and ordered from their set of Vietnamese menu. The usual thing we do when we go to a new restaurant is to ask what the best seller is or the best sellers are.
Rice, is the common staple food for Asians and different combinations of it varies. Relatedly, according to research, Vietnam is the one of the world’s richest agricultural regions, Mekong Delta serves as the heart of their rice producing area. Vietnam also is one of the largest rice consumers; seventh for that matter.
And since this is “The Rice Room”, from the name itself, we asked what’s the best seller from their Rice and Noodles set aside from the plain white rice (and yes, we were really hungry). From here, the staff said that it was their Com Chien Do Bein or the Seafood Fried Rice. So we got that on our order list because it’s good for two pax for 33QAR. And the staff from the counter said that the best seller from their Main Course from the Wok set is the one they called Bo Luc Lac Shaking Beef Cubes, which is diced fillet steak in black pepper sauce, and is served with a cup of plain Jasmine rice for 47QAR. We waited for more or less fifteen minutes, and voilà! The Bo Luc Lac enticed our tastes buds with its shaking appearance and big serving, which can serve two persons.
Bo Luc Lac with Jasmine rice
Com Chien Do Bein
Hot from the wok, I really tasted seafood in Com Chien Do Bein because it was well combined with, of course, tidbits of squid and shrimp and a sprinkle of lots of onions in it. Moreover, Bo Luc Lac was undoubtedly delicious! At first, it was a bit tasted like adobo (a very popular Filipino specialty made of meat or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic) minus the pinch of sour taste plus a bit sweet. A taste of, seemingly, oyster sauce enhanced the strong but tolerable salty flavor of the black pepper sauce, and the green and yellow peppers plus the red bell peppers added to the variations of slight bitterness and sweetness to the sauce, maybe that’s why it is called “shaking beef”. And as it is with black pepper sauce, black pepper added some punch of slightly sharp and pungent aroma to the dish.
Bo Luc Lac was perfect with the Jasmine rice, but if you wanted to explore and combine things up, it is also as good with the seafood rice.
All in all, with the 500ml bottled water and canned soda, 84QAR would be very well spent for two persons.
We ordered the same set of food on our second and third visit but on the latter we added appetizer dish called Goi Cuon, which, according to their menu, is fresh Vietnamese rice paper rolls with herb and and served with hoi sin sauce. The rolls are refreshingly satisfying with its combinations of carrots, shallots, mint, lettuce and parsley rolled with sticky rice wrapper dipped in something and sour sauce.
Goi Cuon, 15QAR-4pcs
Everytime we crave for seafood fried rice, The Rice Room is the first we think about. And we always leave the place with a happy and full tummy. The service is also good and pleasant. Hungry shoppers can always stop by for a good food and good rest during mall hours. I can’t say something bad about it for now and the next time we visit The Rice Room, we will try their likely popular noodle soups or the Pho(fuh).
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My friend, Katrin, and I always wanted to explore more of what Qatar has to give when it comes to wide diversity of food. More likely, I will post some of our food tours from the past and surely in the near future.
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The Rice Room is located in Gulf Mall Food Court, Al Gharafa, Qatar
*The author wasn’t paid nor forced to write a review for The Rice Room
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