For the first time in what seems like months–and probably was–my kids and I had a free afternoon after Sunday School. So we headed to our favorite brunch place, Fat Rice. It’s not just a brunch place, but I’ve only taken the kids there for lunch or brunch.
We always over-order when we go there, and today decided to choose every new dish to the menu since we were last there a few months ago. The kids started with a spiced grapefruit soda, garnished with a rosemary sprig. I always order their genmaicha, but have tasted the grapefruit soda and it’s so delicious.
A diner two tables over marveled at the sodas and asked what they were so she could order one, too.
The first dish we ate was an empada de peixe or Macanese fish pie. Fat Rice is known for its cuisine from Macau, the former Portuguese colony off the southern coast of China. It returned to China in 1999, but still retains its Portuguese flavor. The highlight of this dish was the lemon curd inside, which gave the pie the right balance of sweet and savory.
The chili prawns were great and even my younger two loved them. They came with a plate of warm towels and lemons we could use to wash our hands afterward. The kids were really into that, too!
The clams were new to us and we all enjoyed them!
We also ordered chai tow kway, a radish cake with Chinese sausage and egg. I don’t eat pork, but my kids do. They devoured it.
But Jake doesn’t eat egg, so we asked for it on the side. The owners came out with this dish of scrambled egg and XO sauce, which would have been on the chai tow kway. I ate that!
The owners asked if we’d ordered the oyster omelet. We hadn’t because of Jake’s aversion to eggs, but they said we could still order it and eat it among the three of us. So they brought out an order and it was amazing! The omelet was actually made from rice noodles and eggs. It was crispy and fluffy at the same time.
We also ordered Hong Kong French toast and four Portuguese egg tarts, but had to take those to go.
And if all of this wasn’t fabulous enough, Fat Rice is going to open a bakery with their signature Portuguese egg tarts and much more later this spring. And in the fall, their book will come out. Exciting times!
Fat Rice is located at 2957 West Diversey in Chicago. Their website is www.eatfatrice.com.
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