There’s a new Rice for King location, in a new development called ‘The District’ just off Highway 2 on Country Hills Boulevard. We were pretty excited for the new development, until the shops started moving in… with a McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks, Mary Browns, a liquor store and a nail salon, there’s not much to be excited about. This restaurant is OK, but there are so many Vietnamese places up in Country Hills/Coventry Hills already, we really didn’t need another one. Kinjo sushi will be opening soon, which will be nice, but again, sometimes we crave a good steak and potato, not more rice or noodles.
My neighbour said he loves the food here at Rice for King so I gave it a shot with a quick take-out order the first time. I got salad rolls and spring rolls just for myself. I only had to wait a few minutes in the restaurant while they prepared the food. When I got home I realized there was no peanut sauce with the salad rolls – I’m guessing they forgot to include it? The salad rolls were good, with more lettuce than noodles so they weren’t super filling. But, without any peanut sauce I really can’t give the rolls a rating. The spring rolls here are quite good and I ordered them when I went back a 2nd time.
The 2nd time I ordered take out was just after I picked up Jay from the airport because I really didn’t feel like cooking. I got spring rolls (4 for $6.95), pad thai with chicken ($13.95), stir fried satay beef & mixed vegetables ($13.95), stir fried curry seafood with lemon grass ($13.95) and coconut rice. The 2 stir fry dishes come with rice already, but I ordered an extra 2 servings of coconut rice (for $1 each) to make sure I had enough. And, I had plenty! I actually had to freeze 2 of the servings of rice because I had too much. I was actually impressed with the takeout containers – the pad thai came in a nice plastic container with a lid (rather than an aluminum container with a cardboard lid) and the stir fries can in plastic tubs. There was no leakage or mess with the way the take-out was packaged.
I wasn’t thrilled about the pad thai (it was good but not quite like a traditional pad thai) but the two stir fry dishes were pretty good. The seafood was cooked well – tender and not chewy. There was imitation crab in the seafood dish, but there was lots of other good (real) seafood to enjoy. I quite liked how the beef was cooked. It was thinly cut and tender. All the vegetables were cooked perfectly – tender but crisp. Not even the peppers were soggy. Pretty impressive, especially for take-out. I’m looking forward to trying some of the Vietnamese menu items, as I’m sure that’s where their expertise lies. However, I’m sure the vermicelli, subs and soups will be comparable to the other noodle joints around here. In short, I know I’ll be back. It’s a good location for us, and it was enjoyable.
Rosa says
What a terrible experience. Rude service. Ridiculous prices compared to quantity and other Vietnamese restaurants. Below average taste. Would not recommend and will not revisit.
Eat With Me Canada says
Oh no Rosa! That’s unfortunate. I’ve never had rude service per se, but then, I’ve primarily had take out from this location. We ate in once and it was super slow and they mixed up our order so it wasn’t enjoyable since I got my coconut rice after the rest of my food was cooling. I appreciate your feedback!