Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen
Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen is one of the popular dining venues at Changi City Point shopping mall as it offers Vietnamese cuisine and relaxing dining experience at relatively affordable prices. The brand is a concept by Arteastiq Group, a company who operates Arteastiq and Cajun On Wheels (C.O.W).
As the mall is adjacent to Changi Business Park (CBP), it is frequented by office workers working in the vicinity on weekdays. Also, the mall houses several brand outlets like Nike, Adidas, Puma, Cotton On etc.. Thus, a substantial pool of local crowd visit it every weekend to get cheap sportswear and apparels.
Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen Menu
Below are its menu items and prices:
Pho
- A01 | Sliced Beef Pho with Soup | Phở bò – $13.90
- A02 | Spicy Sliced Beef Pho with Soup Hue Style | Bún bò huế – $11.90
- A03 | Chicken Pho with Soup | Phở gà – $10.90
- A04 | Da Nang Pork Noodle Soup | Mì quảng đà nẵng – $12.90
- A05 | Spicy Tiger Prawn Pho Soup | Phở tôm – $15.90
- A06 | Spicy Vegetarian Noodle with Soup | Bún huế chay – $11.90
- A07 | Vegetarian Pho with Soup | Phở chay – $10.90
Rice Vermicelli
- A08 | Fresh Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Chicken | Bún gà nướng – $11.90
- A09 | Fresh Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork | Bún thịt nướng – $11.90
- A10 | Grilled Pork Chop Rice with Egg Meatloaf | Cơm Sườn – $12.90
- A11 | Grilled Chicken Chop Rice with Egg Meatloaf | Cơm Gà – $12.90
- A12 | Grilled Beef Rice with Egg Meatloaf | Cơm thịt bò nướng – $13.90
- A13 | Seafood Claypot Rice | Cơm tay cầm hải sản – $13.90
- A14 | Chicken Claypot Rice | Cơm gà nấm tay cầm – $12.90
- A15 | Lotus Claypot Rice | Cơm sen tay cầm – $11.90
Starters
- B01 | Spring Roll Platter | Gỏi cuốn tổng hợp – $19.90
- B02 | Hue Minced Pork Lemongrass Skewers | Nem lụi huế – $10.90
- B03 | Vietnamese Hot Plate Spicy Escargot | Ốc nướng khuôn gang – $10.80
- B04 | Grilled Minced Beef wrapped in Vine leaves | Bò cuốn lá lốt nướng | $12.90
- B05 | HaNoi Pork Skewers | Thịt xiên nướng Hà Nội – $10.90
- B06 | Grilled Beef Rolls with Vietnamese Sausage and Spring Onion | Bò cuốn nướng – $9.90
- B07 | Sauteed Beancurd with Spicy Lemongrass Peanut Sauce | Đậu hủ xào xả ớt đậu – $6.90
- B08 | Deep Fried Tiger Prawn wrapped in Crispy Noodles | Tôm cuộn mì chiên giòn – $12.90
- B09 | Grilled Smoked Duck | Vịt nướng sốt cay – $14.90
- B10 | Grilled Fish Skewers | Cá xiên nướng – $12.90
- B11 | Silken Tofu with Century Egg and Pork Floss | Tàu hủ non và trứng bách thảo – $8.90
- B12 | Silk Tofu with Salsa | Tàu hủ non sốt cay – $6.90
- B13 | Fresh Spring Rolls with Prawns | Gỏi cuốn tôm – $5.90
- B14 | Fresh Spring Rolls with Grilled Chicken | Gỏi cuốn gà nướng – $5.90
- B15 | Fresh Spring Rolls with Grilled Pork | Gỏi cuốn heo nướng – $5.90
- B16 | Fresh Spring Rolls with Mushroom and Tofu | Gỏi cuốn nấm chay – $5.90
- B17 | Deep Fried Vegetarian Spring Rolls | Chả giò chay – $6.90
- B18 | Traditional Deep Fried Spring Rolls with Seafood | Chả giò tôm thịt – $11.90
Salad
- C01 | Beef with Banana Blossom and Starfruit Salad | Gỏi bò bắp chuối với khế – $9.90
- C02 | Green Papaya Salad with Prawns | Gỏi Đu tôm – $9.90
- C03 | Steamed Mixed Vegetables | Rau luộc – $6.90
- C04 | Steamed Mixed Vegetables | Rau luộc – $6.90
- C05 | Green Papaya Salad with Spicy Shredded Pork | Gỏi đu đủ heo – $9.90
- C06 | Green Papaya Salad with Spicy Tofu | Gỏi đu đủ đậu phụ chay – $8.80
- C07 | Vietnamese Mixed Green Salad with Cucumber | Rau sống – $5.00
Mekong Special
- D01 | Barbeque Meat Platter | Thịt nướng tổng hợp – $24.90
- D02 | Grilled Spicy Seafood Platter | Hải sản nướng – $28.80
- D03 | Deep Fried Seabass | Cá chiên sốt me cay – $21.90
- D04 | Signature Hand-Pulled Grilled Spring Chicken | Gà nướng đồng quê – $18.80
- D05 | Grilled Fish with Fried Sticky Rice | Cá nướng và xôi chiên giòn – $24.90
- D06 | Stir Fried Beef with Onions and Celery | Bò xào rau cần – $12.90
- D07 | Grilled Eggplant with Spring Onions and Peanuts | Cà tím nướng đậu phộng – $6.90
- D08 | Grilled Spicy Tiger Prawns (6 pcs) | Tôm nướng cay – $11.90
- D09 | Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables | Rau củ xào – $9.90
- D10 | Aubergine Skewers with Spicy Tamarind Sauce | Cà tím xiên nướng sốt me – $6.90
- D11 | Stir Fried Water Spinach with Garlic and Fish Sauce | Rau muống xào tỏi – $6.80
- D12 | Bamboo Shoot Aubergine Skewers with Spicy Tamarind Sauce | Cà tím mang xiên nướng sốt me – $6.90
- D13 | Vietnamese Vegetarian Curry
with Lychee | Curry chay – $12.90 - D14 | Sauteed Wheat Meat with Vegetable and Black Pepper Sauce | Rau củ xào chay – $10.90
Additional Orders
- D15 | White Rice | Cơm trắng – $1.00
- D16 | Garlic Rice | Cơm xào tỏi – $2.00
- D17 | Fried Egg | Trứng chiên – $1.00
- D18 | Noodles | Mì – $2.00
- D19 | Sliced Beef | Bò thái mỏng – $6.00
- D20 | Soup (Beef/ Chicken/ Vegetarian) – $3
Desserts
- E01 | Coconut Jelly | Rau câu dừa – $5,90
- E02 | Flan Pudding | Bánh flan – $4.90
- E03 | Banana Sago in Coconut Creme | Chè chuối nước dừa – $5.90
Beverages
Vietnamese Coffee
- F01 | Black – $3.50
- F02 | With Condensed Milk – $3.80
- F03 | Black with Ice – $3.60
- F04 | Condensed Milk with Ice – $3.90
- F05 | Egg Coffee – $4.80
- F06 | Egg Coffee with Ice – $4.90
Tea by Arteastiq
- F06 | Earl Grey (pot) – $6.50
- F07 | Bolivian Cherry (pot) $6.50
- F08 | Fluer’d Orange (pot) – $6.50
- F09 | Chocolate Truffle (pot) – $6.50
- F10 | Carambol Glaze (pot) – $6.50
- F11 | Cake Meringue (pot) – $6.50
- F12 | Florentina (pot) – $6.50
Fresh Fruit Juice
- F13 | Fresh Coconut – $4.90
- F14 | Pomelo – $6.50
- F15 | Guava – $5.90
- F16 | Orange – $4.90
- F17 | Carrot – $4.90
Other Beverages
- F18 | Coke – $2.90
- F19 | Coke Light – $2.90
- F20 | Sprite – $2.90
- F21 | Mineral Water – $2.00
- F22 | Lime Soda – $3.50
- F23 | Refreshing Tea – $1.50
Beer
- F24 | Saigon Export – $6.90
- F25 | Kirin (Can) – $7.90
- F26 | Frozen Kirin (Half Pint) – $8.90
Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen Review (Changi City Point)
Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen is located on Basement 1 of Changi City Point. We visited the restaurant on a Saturday evening around 5:00pm after having made a reservation on Eatigo with 50% discount. As we waited to enter the store, we noticed there were only a handful of diners having their early dinner. A waitress who barely speaks any English came to us in a minute and we informed her about our Eatigo reservation.
She then called out for her colleague who spoke better English to attend to us. Upon verifying our booking, we were ushered to our seats. As we strode in and took our seats, we found that the restaurant was nicely decorated and lighted, presenting a very warm, homely, and welcoming feel. It is a place suitable for good chats between friends or couples while having their meals.
We browsed through their menu for a good 5 minutes and the two of us decided to order a Signature Hand-Pulled Grilled Spring Chicken ($18.80), a Fresh Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork ($11.90), and a Pork Banh Mi ($9.50) to share. It took about 10 minutes for the Banh Mi to arrive, another 5 minutes for the Rice Vermicelli to be served, and lastly another 5 minutes for the Grilled Spring Chicken to be ready. As the dishes are all laid out on the table, they looked very good and instagrammable (as you can also see from our photos). We were a little surprised with the Grilled Spring Chicken as it came with 5 sheets of rice paper that is to be eaten together with the chicken, vegetables and pickled carrots. We thought there would only be a spring chicken.
We started off with the individual dishes – Banh Mi and Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork. The baguette used for the Banh Mi was warm and crispy on the outside and it was filled with pickled carrots, vegetables and barbequed sliced pork. It came with a cracker on the side that was too hard and tasteless that didn’t add much value to the dish. There was also a sauce, similar to Chinese soy sauce with chilli slices, which we didn’t find it Vietnamese at all. We have eaten Banh Mi on the streets of Ho Chi Minh city and the rendition at Paper Rice is far from similar to those we tried. Nonetheless, we are good with its taste, freshness and the generous amount of ingredients that was served.
The ingredients used for the Rice Vermicelli with Pork was very similar to Banh Mi, except that the noodles replaced the bread, a different kind of vegetable was used, fried spring rolls were added, and the dish came with a different sauce. We did not find any difference in taste between the pork used in Banh Mi and Rice Vermicelli. Overall, the dish did fine and we have no issue with it.
Finally, it came to the part we had to put our hands on the hand-pulled grilled spring chicken, literally. We were given a pair of fork and knife to dissect the chicken that was manifestly inadequate. It would be better if we were provided plastic gloves so that we can really “hand-pull” the chicken. We did not want to use our bare hands as there were no wash basins in the restaurant, and during this sensitive COVID times, we try to avoid communal basins at the restrooms as much as possible. In the end, we used the provided butter knife together with a pair of chopsticks to “pull” bits of chicken off its bones.
After this arduous process, using the given rice paper to wrap the chicken meat posed another problem. We needed to dip each piece of paper into the water container to damp it so that it can be folded to wrap the chicken, vegetables, and pickled carrots into a lump. It was very difficult to perform this task without using our hands, but we managed to do with using chopsticks and the collective effort of two people.
In sum, while the Grilled Spring Chicken wrapped with rice paper tasted very well when eaten with the vegetables and pickled carrots, the process from pulling the chicken to finally being able to savor one lump (it is very hard to wrap them nicely) of the dish was too time consuming and tiring. If the chicken had been pulled before it was served or if we were provided with plastic gloves, it would greatly improve the experience in consuming this dish. On a side note, we noticed the taste of the chicken is also similar to the pork in Banh Mi and Rice Vermicelli we had earlier. They could have been cooked in the same way using the same marinade.
Overall, we would rate the food quality and dining experience as above average. However, improvements need to be made to distinguish the taste of their dishes, to taste more Vietnamese, to serve dishes that can be easily consumed without much effort from the customers, and to use appropriate cutleries and crockeries for their dishes (their plates were way too small). We rate their food quality a 3.5/5, value-for money a 4/5 with Eatigo 50% off, service a 4/5 and ambience a 4.5/5.
We went on a second visit to Paper Rice in March 2022 to host two overseas guests to lunch. Again, we made a Eatigo booking with 50% off for an early lunch on a Saturday. We arrived on time and were ushered into the restaurant by a friendly staff as we approached their entrance. There were only 1 table of diners at that time. As we were already familiar with their menu, we made our order pretty quickly.
We ordered a Chicken Pho with Soup ($10.90), a Sliced Beef Pho with Soup ($13.90), a Seafood Claypot Rice ($13.90), four Refreshing Tea (4 x $1.50), and two other dishes we liked from our previous visit, a Fresh Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork ($11.90) and a Signature Hand-Pulled Grilled Spring Chicken ($18.80). As we learnt from the last visit that it will be difficult to cut the spring chicken with the given cutleries, so we brought our own gloves in this trip.
Four big glasses of tea were the first to be served and we took a couple of sips to the refreshing drink. It wasn’t the common black tea or green tea, but more like some herbal tea. Its taste may not be well accepted by some but was good with us. After about another 10 minutes, the other dishes were served to our table. Two separate basket of raw vegetables, beansprout, condiments and a cracker were offered to be taken with the two Pho. We noticed that the crackers came with sesame seeds this time and were different from the one we had in our previous visit.
After all the items were served, we first tried their Beef Pho and Chicken Pho. The broths for the two bowls of pho were savory but tasted pretty much the same. The only difference were the meat that were added to the noodle soup. The iconic Vietnamese noodles were good and probably one of the best we had in Singapore. However, it fell short of a really good one we had at a back alley restaurant in District 2, Ho Chi Minh city.
Next, we went on to try their Seafood Claypot Rice. This dish was a disappointment. Not only was it not a Vietnamese dish, the taste was average at best, and that only 4 prawns were served with the rice. It is not really a seafood rice as labeled. Claypot rice at most hawker centres will beat this dish hands down. We do not recommend having this dish at Paper Rice.
Finally, we went on to try the two dishes we had in our last trip. The meats in the Fresh Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork and the Hand-Pulled Grilled Spring Chicken were were well marinated and consistent in taste. The only downside with the grilled chicken was that it was still served uncut and with cutleries that were not suitable for cutting the chicken up. As we brought our own gloves, it was a more pleasant experience this time round.
With this follow-up visit, we maintain our overall rating for Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen at 4.5. Their service has slightly improved but the cutleries and crockeries for selected dishes needs to be replaced.
