Ottawa Foodies

4

Awesome! We had the noodles in chili sauce, the lamb skewers, shredded potatoes, chicken wings with cumin, and the monthly special, which we were told was spicy with pork - ok enough of a description, bring it on. Also had the dumplings in chili/soy sauce. The pork and the chicken dishes ended up being similar, but with more cumin in the chicken dish. Both dishes were made with small pieces of meat with lots of small bones. No problem for me, but some people used to Canadian boneless stuff may not be ready to spit out bone bits during supper (which is fine - leave it to the rest of us). Dumplings were really good, sitting in a swimming pool of chili oil and soya sauce. There does seem to be a lot of oil, or at least I chose a lot of dishes with oil. Again, I had no issue with that, it was all tasty. Can't wait to go again.

2

This is the curd sticks and black fungus dish. A fresh veggie dish. One of the favourite at the table.

1

Finally went here for dinner. Yes, it's a foodie kind of day: Union Local 613 for lunch and then this for dinner! I am a happy gal!

Sorry for the bad quality of the picture but this was my favourite dish after the handmade rice noodle with chili oil. This is the preserved vegetable egg foo young. It is exactly like my mom makes it!

This place is non pretentious and the food has a homemade quality. My only complaint is that the rice was a bit dry.

2

Thanks to the other reviews here, went to Rice Pea last night and sampled some interesting and tasty dishes, most of which have been discussed here already. This pic (from my phone, sorry about the quality) is what is listed on the menu as candied sweet potato. Not really sweet potato the way I expected, it is a dessert and it's kind of a wedge fried potato, drenched in hot toffee that hardens to a crunchy coating, sprinkled with sesame seeds. Mouth-burningly hot when they brought it to the table, but so unusual and intriguing. We really loved the taste and the texture and would come back to Rice Pea again just for this dish.

5

The fern root noodles were most delicious, as Captain Caper surmised. They differ from the handmade noodles in chili oil by having less garlic and more of a sweet/sour flavour. Highly recommended!

We also had the sesame crispy beef and that was just okay. Again, stick with the stuff you *don't* see in other Chinese restaurants and you will do great here.

5

We were quite thrilled with our visit to Rice Pea restaurant on a Saturday night. We arrived at 8 pm and were immediately seated without a reservation (earlier would have meant a wait for sure). Our server was friendly and happy to offer her opinions to help us decide on dishes. We were especially thankful for her recommendation of the phenomenal steamed noodle dish!

Here's what we had:

Skewered BBQ Lamb (spicy) - these are tasty meaty skewers indeed. Highly recommended!
Steamed Noodle in Chili Sauce - amazing... see comment under Handmade Noodles
Kung Pao Shrimp - tasty and generously filled with shrimp, but a bit boring (as one might expect from the more "Canadian" part of the menu).
Stir-fried Nappa and black fungus with dark vinegar - very tasty veg dish! Nicely balanced and a good counterpoint to meaty dishes.

I can't wait to go back! I'd recommend sticking to the more authentic Xi'an dishes (presumably these would be the ones you don't recognize from Cantonese and Chinese-Canadian restaurants). And for goodness sake, try those steamed noodles in chili sauce!!

3

Here is the salt and pepper squid. Nicely battered. Not too oily. Not rubbery. Quite tender and tasty. The toasted chopped chili's and diced vegetables was BANG ON !

In the background are 2 out of 3 lamb skewers. A hit at every other table in there. The other popular item seemed to be the fresh noodles served in what looked like a large ice-cream sundae bowl.

I gotta go back and some some more chef specials. Being the only Caucasian person in the packed restaurant, speaks volumes.

2

This is the sesame beef. I should have got the fern root noodles instead. The beef was really good but the couple slurping back the jet black chili oiled noodles looked OH-WOW.

4

Stir-fried potatoes, peppers and eggplant.

6

I'm quite conflicted about writing a review for Rice Pea. It was rather busy when I was there and there aren't many tables; the service can be slow and if you don't live in the area, it's a bit of a schlep to get to. If people like this review and decide to go there, it will make it harder for me to nab a table and treat myself to Shaanxi-style food.

Lamb (a meat not often associated with Cantonese or Westernised Chinese food) is available on grilled skewers. Order it! If your sinuses don't feel anything when eating it, then you forgot to ask for it to be served spicy.

Burgers and Chinese food are oxymorons, right? Wrong! They serve both lamb burgers and pork burgers. The lamb burgers are spiced with cumin and served with scallions and other goodies. You could share one between two people, but that means that you have to share it with someone else. Selfishness isn't always a bad thing... Next time I'll simply order one of each (my mother taught me to share).

Stir-fried potato, green pepper and eggplant is pure comfort food. The only less-than-good thing I can say is that it is a dish best shared among a larger table of people to be used as a side dish - it's a bit too heavy and greasy to be eaten as a full-on main dish.

My raison d'etre for going to Rice Pea is because when I was Xi'an, I had the local specialty of handmade wide noodles with hot chili oil, scallions and garlic. It isn't a complicated dish as such and it was one of the best dishes I've ever eaten. When I came home, I couldn't find the same dish anywhere. There is restaurant in Montreal (Maison du Nord) which serves lamb burgers, amazing dumplings and a similar noodle dish, but the noodles just weren't the same (which doesn't mean that I won't go there every time I get the chance). The only other place I know for these noodles is Xi'an Famous Foods but New York is just a bit out of the way. Who would have thought that Ottawa would have what I was looking for?

I think I saw a few generic dishes on the menu and if you order these you are not only propagating the stereotype that Canadians eat bad North American Chinese food, but you are depriving yourself of the opportunity to try unique food that can transport you to China for an evening.

Please don't interpret this review as a reason to go eat here, I don't need the competition for a table.

5

Here is a nice daytime photo of these delicious noodles. Soooo good!

4

We opted for the Steamed Noodle in Chili Sauce from the "Chef's Specials" menu at the recommendation of our server (we were also considering the "Hot oil topped on handmade noodle" dish).

This dish is not hot in temperature! It's a little spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. If you like Thai noodle salads then you will love this dish! The succulent, wide, flat, tender-chewy noodles are swimming in a tasty chili oil concoction, and they sit between a base of bean sprouts and a garnish of julienned cucumber. This is an addictive food!!