Rice Queen
Rice Queen is the new Asian kid on the block, in Smith Street below Panama Dining Room. Previously a Latin American dance studio, it is the progeny of restaurateur James Langley (of aforementioned Panama Dining Room and also St. Judes).
Like Panama, the room is light and airy, with cheap and cheerful Asian restaurant touches: cane furniture, vinyl chairs and Formica tables, in fact if they threw in some wall-mounted TVs and a gold cat waving its paw at the till you could be mistaken for thinking you were in the exotic east or at the very least Victoria Street.
Any Asian worth their salt approaches 'new' Asian places with the same feelings of trepidation that they would a share-house stir-fry. Thankfully, Rice Queen dispenses with such fears through a fresh take on pan-Asian classics such as dumplings, lemon chicken and Thai noodle salads. Go to Rice Queen if you cannot be bothered climbing an extra flight of stairs to Panama and want a GEC meal from a menu that is essentially the UN of Asian food.
Image:
By Fitzroyalty
Venue: Restaurant
Meal: Dinner
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