Any reports? Pictures look good.
i was only able to have the Porchetta which was ok. Had a little bit of the Black Soy chicken and also the Mapo Eggplant. I thought everything was just ok. its a cool option for lunch for the area.
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Based on this excerpt in the write up, it MUST be good
" The Lees have dedicated to making the Rice Box space an ode to their hometown of Hong Kong. Old school Stephen Chow and kung fu movies play in the background as Leo chops up the barbecue. …The wall is an homage to Hong Kong as well, with a caricature of Stephen Chow’s character in the action spy comedy From Beijing with Love, where Chow appropriately plays a Chinese barbecue butcher turned spy."
I thought everything is just ok. Also if they wanted to reference a Stephen Chow movie they should have done The God of Cookery and riffed on the legendary cha siu rice from that movie:
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Pretty close to what you can get in HK according to my friend, perhaps the pork belly was slightly Westernized (will have to ask what that means). Thought the rice could have used more sauce. Was my first time having this dish!
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Just went for lunch today. I had the rice box with two options–the porchetta and the ma po eggplant. The porchetta was good, meat was nicely seasoned and had a nice layer of fat, but the skin was too hard. I find that the skin is too hard with most roast pigs, so others may disagree and call it crispy. I didn’t enjoy the pickled greens which covered the porchetta. The meat was good enough on its own and while I understand they wanted to cut the richness of the meat with something tangy, I just wanted to taste the meat. The eggplant mapo was good. The eggplant not so well seasoned but the sauce was good and had a little bite. I especially enjoyed the chinese broccoli they put in the box. Cooked to a perfect texture–not too al dente, not too mushy. My friend’s chicken looked juicy and excellent. The ginger sauce looked great. She said there was too much ginger in it, but I love ginger so probably would have loved it. Next time.
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Did your friend visit HK once and eat at a supermarket siu mei lunchbox? The meat at Ricebox is nowhere near Hong Kong quality. I still maintain that Ho Kee probably has some of the best Cantonese roast meats in the SGV for now.
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No, my friend was born in HK.
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I know their technique isn’t super traditional the way they sous vide it but I thought their char siu was quite tasty! I will say watch out for a little bit of the burn on the porchetta, I think the problem with that preparation sometimes is that it doesn’t get the nice even crunch on roast pork that you want and the skin does kind of stick to your teeth the way a traditional porchetta might do. There’s good flavor and texture otherwise. With their sauces and on a bed of rice it’s a solid takeout lunch option. I personally enjoy their food in that context a lot, especially in that neighborhood where good chasiu isn’t so much hard to find as it is otherwise nonexistent.
Leo and Lydia are both salt of the earth and they’ve been resourceful and hard-working during the pandemic to continue to find ways to serve diners (including doing deliveries themselves in various locations). I’m so happy to see them get recognition for their work!
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I too found the mapo eggplant just okay. But I would go back and try something else. To be honest: Cantonese / HK versions of Sichuan food often aren’t very satisfying to me.
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Looks like they nailed it! 
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Nice! I just went last week after a long absence because it’s a closer to me via Metro than PRD (BTW… the Beef Stew and Noodles at PRD are now my favorite bowl… Just awesome!!). I got the Beef Curry and loved it. It was properly tender and I really liked that they included plenty of greens. Again, it’s been a long time and I remember the Char Sui being Meh and the Dumplings okay. I would not pass up PRD or Needle in order to go here. But again, if you are kinda stuck in DTLA… it’s a nice option.
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