Rice Bowl — Restaurant in Texas

When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for 11 years. Indonesia's a great country with vibrant culture, wonderful people, and food so good you'll wonder why you can't find it everywhere. It shares similarities with other Asian cuisines, such as Indian, Malaysian, and Thai, but has enough setting it apart to give it equal standing with some of the best dishes of any ethnic cuisine. Rice Bowl in Katy has Indonesian food on the menu, and if you're overlooking it you're missing out.

The rendang is on point, and freezes well for leftovers to enjoy another time. You can get it in three varieties of spicy, and if I have to criticize I would say their hottest isn't quite up to what I remember as authentic, but I can't fault them for tailoring to an American palate. I could add a comment when I order to "please hurt me with cabe chilis" (ghost peppers, basically, commonly used in Indonesian spice), but the rendang is so flavorful otherwise that the spice really isn't that important in the grand scheme of things. The kwetiau goreng is also excellent, with a great balance of meats and noodles exploding with flavor. The mie goreng and nasi goreng make wonderful side dishes with virtually any other entree. If you're looking for Indonesian food as a fan or first-timer, Rice Bowl has you covered and won't let you down.

They have Chinese food on the menu, too, and I'm sure it's good, but I can't get Indonesian food anywhere else in Houston so everytime I order food from here I go Indo. Give it a try if you're in the area, it gets my seal...

I am not a complainer or hard to please. I think I have only ever left one bad review. However, I was appalled at the terrible food I was served at this place. The Rice Bowl replaced my beloved Canton Chef, so I had hopes the menu and quality would be similar. It is not! I ordered Orange Chicken and House Lo Mein, and egg rolls. The chicken was so tough I could barely bite through it in both dishes. The pork was hard as a rock in the Lo Mein and the shrimp were little rubbery fried pebbles! I had to pick out the beef which was decent and enough noodles to have something to eat. My son had to eat a corn dog instead. I have to assume the meat is just pre-cooked and sitting around in dried out batches and is mixed into whatever dish as it is ordered. The egg rolls and crab puff were gag worthy, tasted “off” like the contents were about to spoil and the oil they were fried in was rancid.

I did call the restaurant to complain and I have to say the lady who answered was very kind and apologetic. She promised to give me my meal for free next time and speak to the chef. Sadly, there will be no next time. It was just that bad!

I just wasted about $30 to dump most of it in the trash. Now I have to go brush my teeth to get the taste out of my mouth.

Back to the search for great Chinese takeout in this area. Come back,...

My husband and I always drove past this place and never thought much of it because of the name, but one day while craving something other than your basic Chinese dishes we looked at the menu and decided to give it a try, and we were amazed. We've been going back ever since our first visit for the past 3-4 months. First, the dishes are affordable, made fresh, and we've tried both a broad selection of the Chinese fusion and Indonesian dishes and were satisfied every time. Last time we had the ramen and it was the best bowl of ramen i've had outside of Japan. I want to say it'd even rival some of the more popular places in the Katy area. The staff is kind and courteous and just want you to be happy and enjoy their food. I highly encourage giving this place a shot. It's small, the name is deceiving, but being a little adventurous can...