Tucked in a corner of the food maze better known as Chinatown Complex Food Centre is two-month-old grain bowl joint, Rice Bowl Boys. The decor is grungy – colourful stickers plastered over the hob and fridge, and a wood panelled design of its mascot, a rice grain, decorates the stall front. The vibe is millennial hip, with Glass Animals and The Weeknd playing on the speakers as three guys clad in black under splashy mascot-bearing aprons busy themselves in the kitchen.

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To understand what sets Rice Bowl Boys apart from other grain bowl joints, it helps to learn about the resume of its ringleader, Josiah Chee. The 30-year-old has spent over seven years as a mixologist at some of the top cocktail bars in Singapore, including Jigger & Pony, 28 Hong Kong Street and Employees Only before launching his own business.

“We started off as an alcohol delivery service called AA Club during the circuit breaker. We offered bottled gin-based cocktails made with stabilised acids instead of fresh fruit, and alkaline water that you can keep for a longer period of time,” Josiah tells us.

They also wanted the cocktails to be ‘health-conscious’, boasting high probiotic and antioxidant content. While AA Club did “pretty well” from the get-go, the veteran mixologist knew that the bottled cocktail trend was not going to last after the easing of lockdown measures. “We wanted to create something sustainable, and it became natural for us to transition into clean food.”

A friend suggested selling ‘atas’ healthy cai fan (economic rice) and the idea clicked immediately for Josiah. “I used to visit places like Daily Cut and Grain Traders a lot, so it made sense to make something that I eat all the time without having to burn a hole in my wallet.”

The “Boys” in the stall’s name refer to Josiah and his younger brother, Jeremy (right in pic), 26, a former financial consultant. The duo is backed by two partners, who work on the marketing and design. For Jeremy, building a business with Josiah is a self-fulfilling prophecy. “When I started working full-time at 22, I told Jo (what he calls Josiah): ‘Bro, you have all the ideas, I’ll get the money and let’s do something together.’ We didn’t talk about it after that, until last year.”

On the business front, Jeremy is the numbers guy – his finance background makes him “meticulous about every dollar and cent”. However, his biggest takeaway from previous work experience lies in service and hospitality. “I was trained in public speaking and how to talk to clients – these are skills that I can now apply to Rice Bowl Boys,” shares Jeremy, who admits that he’s “a little more introverted”.

“Honestly, he’s doing great. Without Jeremy, I’d be terrible with the elderly folks here,” jokes Josiah, referring to his tattoos – vibrant designs that include the iconic logo of TV series Friends and Vito Corleone from The Godfather cover both of his arms.

These days, Josiah splits his time between Chinatown and Prinsep Street, where they just opened a new sandwich shop under the same name, while continuously refining their menus. Jeremy helms the hawker stall with help from a friend, Fad, working from 9am to 10pm on most days.

“Covid made us hungry,” shares Josiah. “Our game plan is to launch a concept with an X-factor from the get-go and not just focus on rice bowls. We’ve just started doing sandwiches at Prinsep, and we’re also looking at setting up a physical shop selling specialty kopi-o.” The boys have some silent investors behind them.

Even though the home-based F&B industry is thriving right now, the move from home kitchen to physical stall was part of the brothers’ plan all along. “The one thing I learned from working at bars like Jigger & Pony and 28 Hong Kong Street is the reason they’re at the top is not only because of their drinks, it’s the service that sets you apart. Just like how the third Michelin star is awarded based on consistency and hospitality, these are things that we really want to incorporate in a hawker setting,” says Josiah.

“We want to break the norm,” Jeremy explains. “For example, you don’t really see hawkers explaining things on the menu. We want to create a carefree setting where our customers feel welcome. If they’re not sure of what we’re selling, we want to take the time to educate them.”

The brothers, who told us they’re not fluent in Mandarin, have also made tweaks to accommodate the elderly crowd that frequents the hawker centre. “We didn’t have a menu at the beginning, but we quickly realised that the older folks may feel intimidated by the flashy concept, so we had to add Mandarin into the menu. We also use more visuals and fewer words on our menu board,” shares Jeremy.

Their efforts appear to be paying off, as unlikely customers including a fishmonger from the wet market in the same building, as well as several uncles and aunties have been “converted” into regulars.

Josiah tells us the sauces are the best representation of his cocktail-making background. The Apple Wasabi, for example, is made from poached apple shrub (a type of fruity drinking vinegar), a common ingredient in cocktail recipes, while Thunder Sambal features lacto-fermented pineapple and mango – a process favoured by bartenders who love experimenting with acidity and unique flavours.

There are also bartending techniques on display here that you’d never get at your average grain bowl shop – like how Josiah deftly dabs liquid smoke on a freshly cracked sous vide egg.

For the indecisive, go for any of the four signature bowls that range from $6.50 to $9.50 depending on size. The team also recently introduced a bar bites menu – a no-brainer move, considering they are two doors away from popular craft beer bar Smith Street Taps – with snacks priced between $6 to $8. In comparison, a grain bowl from Daily Cut starts from $9 and goes up to $15.

You can customise a ‘Regular Bowl’ that includes a base and protein, three sides and sprinkles and a sauce goes for $9; or the smaller ‘Lite Bowl’ with a half-portion of base and protein, two sides and sprinkles and a sauce for $7.

Oven baked chicken is cooked till lightly charred and perched on a fluffy, hearty base of pilaf rice. We enjoyed the juiciness of the thigh meat, which pairs beautifully with the crunchy edamame and refreshing pop of cherry tomatoes. A scoop of apple wasabi sauce ties this comforting bowl together, adding a hit of acid and spice.

The Lite size is just right for smaller appetites – you get about four thick slices of chicken and even at half-portion, the pilaf filled us up more compared to other bases like couscous.

This bowl features a cozy pile of pastina (Italian for ‘little pasta’) that includes tiny shells and orzo (rice-shaped pasta) tossed in zhug, a Yemen-style hot sauce loaded with parsley, coriander and chilli, and its crowning glory is a fillet of salmon smothered in loud pink miso beet jam.

The fish was cooked perfectly, flaking easily under our fork. We were also impressed by how the flavours of this visual explosion hold their own – the bright, herby zhug pasta balances nicely with the gingery-sweet miso beet sauce, while the dynamic textures of chewy pasta, tender salmon, jammy sous vide egg and crunchy pickled cucumber and spiced fried cauliflower had us hooked from the first bite.

While a few flourishes didn’t quite hit the mark – we failed to pick up on the smokiness of the sous vide egg and found the initial tang from the pineapple-mango sambal a tad too strong for our liking, we enjoyed the layered flavours of building blocks like the mushroom-infused couscous and the well-seasoned striploin.

The medium-rare beef was a joy to behold, pink on the inside with a deeply browned rosemary-garlic crust. Despite the generous portion, this beefy bowl did not feel too heavy, thanks to the spiciness from the sambal, which builds slowly but surely. Crunchy broccoli specked with almond bits, and the familiar flavour of crispy fried shallots kept us going for more.

We think the Tempeh Fries ($6) will be an easy hit among the drinkers. While nothing compares to French fries, we really like its crispy exterior and lovely, moist soybean centre with a rich nutty flavour. It also comes with RBB’s signature sambal for those who want a spicier kick.

The Rice Bowl Boys menu may not look that different from its mall-based grain bowl competitors, but a closer look reveals bowls packed with flavour and thought. While prices are not cheap for hawker food, they are reasonable compared to typical CBD counterparts, given the quality of ingredients and generous portions. The sauces are skilfully executed and the star of the show, and we believe that the other elements will catch up to the same level of precision and sophistication as the team gains more experience. An added perk: the people behind it are pretty cool, too.

Photos: Kelvin Chia

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