The Kitchens at Old Spitalfields is getting exciting with more new faces, some stalls who have made their success through popups.
Ricebrother has been at the Old Spitalfields for a year now serving signature rice rolls and tofu puddings in The Kitchens.
Ricebrother is inspired by a traditional Chinese street food, originating from Eastern China ‘Zifantuan’ – a Chinese style stuffed sticky rice roll made by tightly wrapping a piece of fried dough stick and pork floss with glutinous rice.
You will find these sticky rice rolls wrapped in clingfilm or stuffed in thin white plastic bags which is the basic way they are served. (See picture at the bottom)
At Ricebrother, they have taken the rolls to the next level by wrapping them in paper.
When I saw them, I thought they were Korritos which are basically Korean Burritos.
Also on the Ricebrother menu was savoury soy pudding (silky tofu pudding) which reminds me Toayuan village, a competitor in a different aspect.
Although I wasn't going to try the dessert, their soy pudding with goji berries and homemade osmanthus honey was healthy as well as unique.
Most soy puddings are just served with syrup or crushed Chinese sugar.
As I was the Old Spitalfields, I decided to try a rice roll.
There was three to choose from: BBQ Pork, Crispy Chicken and Sichuan Pepper Tofu.
The chicken and tofu both have Sichuan pepper which is delicious but in the end I opted for tofu because I like tofu more than chicken.
The roll was ready in a flash and they offered to slice it in half which makes it convenient to eat as well as instaworthy.
It would be good if they served the rolls in a paper tray/box as it was difficult to hold both of them if you have small hands.
Compared to the traditional ones, these are much bigger and look presentable.
Just out of curiosity, I unwrapped it to see if it stuck to the paper and it didn't.
To my surprise, the roll was wrapped in seaweed in the middle which makes it look good as well as tasty.
The taste of the rice roll as a whole was good especially the tofu, if I do get a chance next time I hope to request for more tofu instead of the omelette because I found it a bit boring.
I didn't really like the creamy coleslaw in the roll as it was a strange pairing with the Sichuan spices however I wouldn't mind pickles or something punchy as it would complement the tofu better but this is just my opinion only.
Rice Rolls in wrapped in Clingfilm.
