Rice Forest

Presentation on point. Flavor was popping. Service is quick. Food takes time to cook and it's totally worth it. Limited seating, so order takeout if you don't feel like hanging around. Bao is a must.

The wife and I went to try Rice Forest for the first time. We waited for the past couple of months after they opened, before dining here to give them time to work out any issues that always come up when you open a new restaurant.It was a Saturday lunch time about 12:45pm. We walk in and the dining room is really small and it was nearly full there were only a couple of places available to sit down. We think to ourselves "Great, it must be good." We look at the menu and decide what we are going to get. Walk up to the counter to order and the young lady at the cash register shows us a list of all the dishes they were out of. It wasn't just one or two items, it was probably somewhere between two thirds and three quarters of the items on the menu. Every item we had decided we wanted to try, was on their sold out list. At this stage we decided to eat elsewhere. We will go back sometime and I will update my review then but we were a little disappointed that they haven't got their act together by now.

This review's strength is the uniqueness and intense flavors of the "snacks" or starter dishes. I went in and got the basil chicken nuggets and the sichiuan dumplings. The texture and flavors of both of these are worth your visit. The chicken bites were crisp outside with a noticeable but not overpowering herbal taste from the fried basil leaves. The dumplings came in a savory chili sauce, topped with the most amazing crispy garlic. Usually, a steamed-style sampling will have a small filling and leave some air pockets that make it hard to eat with chopsticks. Not these. These dumplings were plump and flavorful, filled with the most delicious sauce we used to dip other things in. My other order, the udon noodles in broth, was OK. It was a delicate broth with udon noodles, thin fatty beef, and other accompaniments. The broth was good, but the overall dish needed more of a flavor punch for me to love it. The noodles alone were what you would expect, but the overall dish didn't wow me. When I return, I will load up on "snacks" for my meal and maybe try another style of main noodle or a rice-forward dish. The service was good. When you walk in, you order at the counter, and the staff brings the food to your table when it is ready. The space is small, with just several tables and ample bar seating. The ambiance is pleasant, lit well, and cozy.

Food is really tasty, not a huge menu but a nice selection of rice and noodle dishes and appetizers. The space is small and doesn't encourage lingering but you also don't feel rushed. Very clean and minimal, it's all about the food. I will try to go regularly ...

First time trying this place out and it was ok. Very small interior, so not recommend for a large party. You order at the counter. Galbi Beef was a favorite! Next, I enjoyed my ramen with udon noodles because I like thick noodles. It was flavorful! I wish they asked if you wanted to add spice or offered to give us some chili oil. The Szechuan Dumplings were a nice appetizer. Bit spicy at all, I didn't taste the Szechuan in it. It was nice getting the free desserts at the end! I enjoyed that.

My best friend and I popped in for lunch on Saturday and were so pleasantly surprised by this new Asian fusion spot! We ordered several things from the menu to try as much as possible and it didn't disappoint! Everything we ordered was equally as flavorful as it was aesthetically pleasing in its presentation. The building is small so I could see it being quite the wait during peak hours but I can guarantee that the wait would be so worth it! We've already planned to come back and work our way through the rest of the menu!

Rice Forest is THE Chinese+Japanese restaurant we've been needing in Fayetteville. I order the Sichuan Dumplings just about once a week-both in house and to-go. The dumplings are hearty and hold up well for leftovers for days after. Their egg rolls are divine and the pork bao are amazing. The Chicken Katsu is amazing- order the seasoned rice if you can (lemongrass and ginger). Their Udon noodle soup dish is great, but could use a little more flavor. The service has been great every time I go. Drink options are pretty limited as well, but their hot jasmine tea is lovely. They are always slammed during the dinner rush and the seating area for the restaurant is extremely limited (at least for this winter), so plan accordingly. It appears they have an outside patio, so hopefully that will open up with warmer weather.

Tasteful, plentiful, vibrant, cozyWe went there on a Saturday night and it was fairly busy. It's a small place with only three long tables that you may share with someone else that is there for dinner. But it wasn't bad at all. The food came to us fairly quickly and was fresh. I had the Black pepper steak and my wife had the Teriyaki chicken. Both very good and would highly recommend. If I had any complaints, maybe just a bit salty. But it is really good. Friendly staff.

I NEVER leave reviews for restaurants, but this place was so good I made a yelp account haha. My husband doesn't even like Asian food half the time, but he said we're for sure going back. We had the BBQ pork rice dish, gyoza, taro bao, and crab rangoon. The HK pork was AMAZING. I look forward to going back to try more of the menu!

Best Asian-style food in NWA. This beats anything I've had in larger Midwest cities. Great price, awesome experience. And my favorite - Pay before you eat so you can leave right after!