Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen Review: Value-For-Money Western Food From $5.50 At Woodlands

Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen serves affordable Western fare

Update: Rise & Rice has permanently closed.

From Yes! Nasi Kukus to Yan Ji Seafood Soup, Woodlands is home to some of my favourite food gems. So as a Northie foodie, I was curious to find out if Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen was yet another hawker Western stall, or in fact a hidden treasure in Woodlands.

When I visited, one of the friendly chefs shared that she had used to work in Collin’s. Having taken a part in crafting Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen’s menu and recipes, she quipped that she wanted to bring quality dishes to customers at an affordable price after her experience working in Western restaurants.

Food At Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen

I went straight for the Grilled Chicken Chop ($6.50), which came with a generous slab of meat doused in black pepper sauce, alongside a liberal portion of aglio olio, fries, and salad.

Our chunk of chicken was succulent, giving a good bite as I bit down on it. The starchy black pepper sauce also gave this thick piece of meat extra juiciness and nice, sharp kicks of pepper.

Accompanying the protein was a well-seasoned serving of garlicky aglio olio that had a light touch of heat from red pepper flakes. For just $6.50, this dish made a hearty and filling meal for me.

As a seafood lover, I had to give the Seafood Marinara ($6.50) a try. It was coloured a fiery orange, which was a beautiful sight!

Digging into my plate of pasta, I was greeted with a punch of satisfying tanginess from the tomato sauce, justifying the marinara’s intense colour. The creamy sauce which clung to the strands of spaghetti also brimmed with a fragrant garlicky aroma with each bite.

Toppings of seafood dotted our pasta as well, and I was delighted to find fresh chunks of fish, prawns, and luscious, juicy mussels.

Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen is known to Woodlanders for serving affordable dishes. As such, to test if their affordability translated to quality as well, I had to go for their cheapest item—the Carbonara ($5.50).

While carbonara may sound simple and fairly common, many eateries tend to do it too bland. However, Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen’s version was extremely delectable, serving up buttery and creamy carbonara, topped with liberal amounts of grated Parmesan cheese for that extra savouriness and texture.

Streaks of bacon tossed into the pasta provided just the right amount of saltiness, complementing the buttery pasta sauce. Sufficiently chewy, the bacon also sported a good fat to meat ratio.

Apart from pasta, Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen also has baked rice on their extensive menu. Thus, I decided to break our pasta streak with the Cheesy Sausage Baked Rice ($6.50).

The baked rice came with juicy and soft slices of sausage which were oozing with savoury melted cheese. While the rice had hints of buttery fragrance, it teetered on the drier side and there wasn’t as much cheese action as I was hoping for. I would’ve preferred more cheese with my baked rice for moisture.

Ambience at Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen

The stall is located a convenient five-minute walk away from Woodlands MRT Station. Also situated in a shaded, well-ventilated hawker centre, Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen lets you enjoy your food comfortably, away from the blistering sun.

The verdict

Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen brought us generous servings of satisfying Western dishes at a rather affordable price. While the pasta and proteins were enjoyable, the baked rice had much room for improvement. Being a Northie, I would still look forward to visiting them in future, just for their very value-for-money pasta.

For other Western eateries, also check out TORCHED which serves huge meat platters as well as Wagyu Bites, for affordable wagyu burgers.

Address: 892C Woodlands Drive 50, Singapore 732892
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11am to 8.30pm
Tel: 8515 7150
Website
Rise & Rice Grill Kitchen is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Muhammad Hafiq.
This is an independent review by Eatbook.sg.