Great northern Chinese cuisine. One of the only authentic Chinese restaurants in Ottawa. The lamb skewers are delicious. The fish in chili oil is also good. The liang pi is good too but not the best ever.
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This is one of my absolute favourite restaurants in Ottawa. Rice Pea specializes in northern Chinese cuisine. This is a cuisine with which most Ottawans will be wholly unfamiliar. It's not your grandad's Chinese food, unless your grandad is from northern China. Northern Chinese cuisine is very different from the Chinese fair that the denizens of our Nation's capital would recognize. It's not Canadianized Chinese nor is traditional Szechuan or Cantonese fair. Northern Chinese cuisine is wheat based as opposed to rice based. It uses cooking techniques with a Central Asian influence like barbecuing over coal. Most of the dishes at Rice Pea derive their flavour from the freshness and quality of the ingredients. Some of their standout dishes included bbq'd lamb skewers (phenomenal), cold fresh handmade wheat noodles in a mild chili oil sauce that taste like nothing you've ever eaten before, hot oil poured over hand made noodles - that's the actual name of the dish - it's garlicky and a little spicy and super delicious, griddle cooked shrimp served with fries, pork on a bun - basically a Chinese pulled pork sandwich. There are several outstanding noodle dishes and so many things I haven't tried which will keep me coming back for a long time. On top of all that, the prices are very reasonable. On my most recent trip, my friend and I had 2 noodle dishes, lamb skewers, griddle shrimp, and steamed rice. We're 2 big guys that eat and there was enough food to feed a third. All this for a total of $42 after tax. Great deal for fantastic food!
As an Asian I feel obligated to bring this restaurant to your attention. If you can't read Mandarin you might be at a disadvantage when you try out this place for the first time since the menu is vast and the descriptions are google translated, but all you need to know is that the food is a perfect representation of westernized Chinese cuisine. When you come here to eat you don't just order fried rice and play it safe. No no, you need to order the cold mung bean noodles or the spicy fried potatoes. The portions are meant to be shared and the food comes out fast, hot, and fresh! So go find a Chinese friend and get them to order for you because otherwise you're missing out!
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Update 2017: The restaurant has changed ownership and has a new chef, it's not nearly as good as it used to be.
Alright, well what do I say about Rice Pea?
I had gone for lunch a few times and ordered the typical Canadian-Chinese dishes (General Tso, Singapore Noodle, etc) and found them to be completely underwhelming.
I started to get adventurous and order off of the specials board which is entirely in Chinese (which i don't speak). The waitress who always seems to be there speaks almost no english but we make it work! The dishes on the specials board are always a total surprise and generally enjoyable albeit totally alien to me.
It wasn't until i went to Rice Pea with a Chinese co-worker who was able to bridge the gap for me did this place really start to blow my mind. She ordered stuff which wasn't on the menu and out came a seemingly never ending parade of awesome, authentic dishes. We ate until stuffed with ample leftovers.
Worth checking out. A bit on the pricey side if you are going in solo.
Small & cosy place that serves authentic food with different things on the menu to a typical Chinese restaurant. The handmade noodles with hot oil combined with the skewered lamb is amazing. Service can be a bit hit or miss as dishes don't always come out at the same time but the quality of the food & polite staff makes up for it.
It was for the love of their handmade noodles, and positive comment from a Chinese acquaintance on their authenticity, Dee took Jay here again. The first time we visited, we met their busy dinner hours and were completely neglected so we walked out and ate at their Thai neighbor instead.
We took home five dishes - Spicy Chicken with Handmade Noodles, Stir-fried Potato, Green Pepper & Eggplant, Xi’an Style Hot & Sour Pork Noodle Soup, and Pork Dumpling in Soya Chili Sauce. Jay couldn't say if the noodles were genuinely handmade, or what the Sichuan chilli was doing in the chicken dish as it's supposed to be a northern Chinese dish, but she didn't mind as they all tasted so good and made her feel nostalgic. The next day, Jay ate all the leftovers by herself.
Made me like Chinese Food. Until I had eaten here I was not a huge fan of Chinese food, having mostly been exposed the "north americanized" versions thereof. This place has complete changed my opinion. They make the most incredible handmade noodles. My personal favourite is Xi’an Style Hot & Sour Pork Noodle Soup. Our other favourites include shrimp spring rolls, steamed noodle in chili sauce, hot oil topped on homemade noodle, kung pao tofu with peanut, beef with black bean sauce, beef fried noodle with cumin. Have never had anything I haven't liked from their traditional menu. Canadian Chinese menu is meh, but that sums up my feeling about Canadian Chinese food in general.
Try their black noodle, tastes soooo good
Jack. Authentic Chinese food. Lamb kebabs are the best!
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