When one thinks of Chinese food, so many delicious things come to mind – Dim Sum (aka Dim Yum), pu pu platters filled with the best crispy fried appetizers, and saucy entrees that are a mix of vegetables and proteins. For many, Chinese food is their go to comfort food. This is the main reason why I love to try Chinese food whenever traveling. Great Chinese food helps make a vacation so much better.
On my recent trip to LA, I found an amazing place for Cantonese BBQ – RiceBox. To be clear, this isn’t your typical Chinese restaurant where you’ll find dinner meal sets and lunch combos with soup, egg roll and a soda. This is BBQ meats served on rice with greens all covered in sauce. These are the places where whole ducks and chickens are displayed on hooks through the windows (full disclosure – RiceBox does not have the window full of ducks and chickens, but that isn’t a reason to skip this place), and where you’ll see staff grabbing meats in front of your eyes and chopping them into bits by the second to fill to go boxes for lines of people.
The restaurant is located in the Spring Arcade Building. Depending where you are coming from, you may pass through Grand Central Market. First tip to remember – there is a lot deliciousness there, but don’t be tempted to stop. I encourage you to run as fast as you can through there, so you can get to some of the best Chinese BBQ I’ve ever had.
Second tip – when you get to RiceBox, do a build your own box. You’re not doing yourself any favors by limiting your meal to a single protein. All of these meat look and sound amazing so indulge and try multiple ones.
Since I went on a Friday, there was no roasted duck, so I went with a 2 meat combo thinking I would make it back the next day. I also wasn’t too hungry since I had just eaten some slices at Danny Boy’s. Opting to pork out, I ordered the OG Char Siu and the Porchetta Crackling. Both are amazing! The char siu is everything I expect in Chinese BBQ with it’s sweet glaze coating and red color, while the porchetta is a savory, crunchy bite that epitomizes roasted meat. The rest of your box is filled with greens, pickled vegetables and rice all of which complement the meats nicely.
If you find yourself in DTLA, I highly recommend trying RiceBox. You won’t me disappointed. Until next time, happy travels and happy eating!
Yum! I want to try this on our next visit together!