Fab French-Japanese Rice Bowls By Ex-Restaurant Chef In Lavender Kopitiam From $5.80 - 8days Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Fab French-Japanese Rice Bowls By Ex-Restaurant Chef In Lavender Kopitiam From $5.80

The hip, young restaurant chef-turned-hawker serves refined fish and beef rice pilaf bowls.

Fab French-Japanese Rice Bowls By Ex-Restaurant Chef In Lavender Kopitiam From $5.80

A quiet kopitiam tucked away on French Road in the Lavender area is not where you’d expect to find rather fancy French-Japanese-influenced rice bowls. But that’s where former restaurant chef Mandel Ban, 25, decided to set up his hawker stall, simply named Nice Rice, in early December. It offers modern rice pilaf bowls topped with torched salmon, sea bass or steak, starting at $5.80 a pop.

The young chef specialised in French and Japanese cuisine – including three years at the now-defunct one-Michelin-starred French fine-diner Vianney Massot Restaurant.

Nice Rice’s storefront, complete with noren curtain and logo of a samurai helmet against the blue, white and red of the French flag, stands out in the sedate kopitiam (which also houses Mr and Mrs Nasi Lemak) – as does its immaculately-groomed towkay, whose slicked hair, glowing skin, earrings and snug tee wouldn’t look out of place at a hipster bar or salon.

All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg

Advertisement

Shopping

Advertisement

Want More? Check These Out

Watch

You May Also Like