Xin chào! Tôi quay lại để ăn thức ăn Việt Nam một lần nữa! (Hello! I’m back to eat Vietnamese food again! Thanks Google Translate by the way.?) Super excited as Vietnamese food has always been one of my favourite things to eat ever since I travelled to Hanoi some years back just to explore its local food culture. It was an eye-opening experience as I was able to see and taste new ingredients and unknown flavours. To find out more, check out my Hanoi Food Guide.
Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen – More than just the usual Vietnamese fare
So happy to have found a Vietnamese restaurant that serves not just the usual, familiar Vietnamese fare but also North, Central and South Vietnamese dishes. This place is none other than Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen that is owned by Arteastiq Group – the folks behind Arteastiq Boutique Tea House and Cajun On Wheels.
Actually I had come across the restaurant several times when I came by Changi City Point but for some reason, I just had the impression that it was just another regular Vietnamese restaurant that served up pho and the like.
OMG, I was so wrong. Only realised it when I went through their online menu while looking for a place to have dinner.
Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen has two outlets in Singapore – @ Changi City Point and Plaza Singapura. This one is the Changi City Point branch located at B1 level.
Loved the interior design of the restaurant. Modern rustic Vietnamese home style. Got character eh.
Good vibes with a touch of sophistication. Perfect place to have a meal gathering with family or friends.
When you’re seated, the service staff will hand you the menus. Just write the codes of the dishes you would like to order on this chit and pass to the staff when done.
For the full menu, please refer to their Facebook page here.
Besides conventional dishes like sliced beef or chicken pho and vermicelli, Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen also does Da Nang noodles, Hue pork skewers, Mekong specialty dishes, claypot rice, wagyu beef pho and many more.
Fresh Spring Rolls with Grilled Pork $5.90
Spring rolls with prawns are pretty common on most Vietnamese menus. Here, they also have spring rolls with grilled pork, grilled chicken and mushrooms & tofu.
Wasn’t expecting much from this but I was impressed with the smoky flavour of the grilled pork. Very similar to the grilled pork I had eaten in Hanoi. That Vietnamese peanut dipping sauce was thick and rich. Great combination with the vermicelli and lettuce as they balanced out the saltiness of the sauce.
Deep Fried Tiger Prawns wrapped in Crispy Noodles $12.90
I love crispy noodles. And I love tiger prawns. So it’s unlikely I will give this dish a miss, lol.
Ooh, each prawn was pretty sizeable.
The prawns and noodles were fried to perfection – very crunchy yet not oily. I could eat the whole thing with the leg and tail except the pointy tip of the head which was quite sharp. Prawn meat was fresh and firm. Dipping sauce had a hint of lemongrass. Even the sides of pickled carrots & radish, mint leaves and pea sprouts totally complemented the fried prawns as they somehow managed to reduce any possible feeling of sickliness from eating fried stuffs.
Grilled Fish Skewers $12.90
Ordered these grilled fish skewers as I thought they would be similar to the Cha Ca that I had in Hanoi. However, they weren’t the same. Nonetheless, these skewers were pretty tasty though. The marinade/seasoning used was really good as it was redolent of spices. And best thing was, the pieces of fish had a moreish smoky flavour, just like the grilled pork. My only gripe was that the fish used was those frozen sutchi catfish kind, which had a somewhat muddy flavour. If it was a sea/saltwater fish, this dish would have been perfect.
Da Nang Pork Noodle Soup $12.90
Rice noodles paired with sliced pork, prawn, hard-boiled egg, fried spring roll and crispy rice cracker in a special bone broth. Though this was supposed to be a noodle soup, there was just sufficient liquid to cover the rice noodles below all that ingredients.
Loved the texture of the noodles. Springy and not soggy at all. The soup itself tasted quite refreshing too. Spring roll was crispy. Rice cracker had a fragrant black sesame flavour. Prawn was fresh and crunchy. The sliced pork tasted like char siew. Overall, this dish was like a cross between a prawn noodle soup and char siew noodle soup. Very special. Very homely. Delicious!
Barbeque Meat Platter $24.90
This platter came with 3 servings of pork skewers, chicken skewers and grilled beef wrapped in vine leaves.
These BBQ meat skewers were executed very well – full of smoky flavour. Particularly the pork skewers which reminded me of satay + bacon.
The chicken skewers had a lovely lemongrass flavour and were tender and juicy.
My least favourite was the grilled minced beef wrapped in vine leaves as they had a ‘leafy’ taste that I didn’t know how to appreciate.
* All prices indicated are before 10% service charge and 7% GST.
Final Thoughts
I have too many good things to say about Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen. Plating presentation was outstanding. The accompanying pickles and vegetables not only added colours to the dishes but they made great palate cleansers too. Everything looked appealing and tasted delicious. Kudos to the chefs! Even the seemingly insignificant dipping sauces were fantastic as they offered different experiences to tantalise the taste buds.
This is why I love authentic Vietnamese cuisine. And Paper Rice Vietnamese Kitchen is now ranked top on my list of go-to Vietnamese restaurants in Singapore.
Use the Eatigo app to make your reservation and enjoy up to 50% discount. Not applicable to drinks, desserts and Wagyu beef dishes.
11am to 10pm Sat-Sun & PH