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- [Sydney] This is RiceBox.
It's a hit spot in Downtown LA for Cantonese style barbecue.
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I hope you came hungry.
- Well, I like everything, the chicken,
the rice, everything, and he loves it too.
I do think that it's a unique experience.
Especially where it's located.
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- [Sydney] The restaurant sits inside
of the Spring Arcade Lobby in Downtown LA.
Although it's on the smaller side,
the bright red tables out front make it easy to find.
We are here in Downtown Los Angeles at RiceBox LA.
They do Cantonese style barbecue.
I'm really excited to eat some delicious,
slow roasted pork, let's go!
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- [Sydney] Meet Lydia, she owns RiceBox
along with her husband Leo.
So we serve traditional barbecue,
Cantonese barbecue dishes here in RiceBox.
But we chose to use higher quality ingredients.
Cantonese barbecue is, the dishes that we serve here
kinda embodies what traditional
Cantonese barbecue will serve.
But we also play a little bit on what
we feel is a little more elevated
than what traditional is, yeah.
- [Sydney] Today, we're focusing
on three of my favorite menu items.
First up, we have the Porchetta Crackling.
It's marinated for one day, air-dried for two to three,
and then slow roasted for about two hours
in a 600 degree oven, until unbelievably crispy.
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- RiceBox, in literal meaning
in Cantonese, is called lunchbox.
So we adopted the name and also the concept here
in RiceBox. Because Hong Kong is such a fast pace city.
That's why we also chose to be in Downtown LA.
To kinda mimic the fast paced lifestyle.
- It's super crispy and crunchy.
Every bite is a little acidic, a little garlicy.
The Chinese five spice that they added
adds like a nice punch.
It's one of my favorite all-time flavors.
I wish they made, like a Chinese five spice candle.
I would burn it at home all day.
It's like Cantonese chicharon.
- Well I'm Chinese, so I've eaten it before.
This is like the best, it's good!
- [Sydney] Now, it's time for the OG Char Siu.
Just like the porchetta, the pork is marinated
for an entire day.
Only this time, it skips the air-drying process
and goes into the same 600 degree oven,
where it's roasted for just 30 minutes.
Chef Leo explained how a balance of lean meat and fat
is what makes this pork so addictive.
So much so, that I couldn't help stealing a little
taste for the crew and myself.
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Wow!
Char Siu, the star of the show, some might say.
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Earlier, Chef Leo was explaining
like when you get Char Siu pork,
what you wanna do is like, fatty piece, lean piece,
fatty piece, lean piece throughout the slice.
And that kind of really helps you have different textures,
gives you different eating experience.
And I mean, I've had Char Siu many, many times.
But I never thought about it that way, I guess.
And it's absolutely outstanding.
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and last, but certainly not least,
the iconic Roasted Duck!
- It's also long labor intensive.
It takes four days total to make.
- [Sydney] Four days to make,
and only available on Saturdays
for this gem of a duck?
I'll take it!
First, the duck is stuffed with hoisin,
soy sauce, and dry spices.
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it's then basted in hot oil to help
the skin crisp up during cooking,
followed by layers of honey glaze.
It's hung to air-dry for for three to five days.
And then slowly roasted for an hour and a half.
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Speaking of being a lucky girl today.
They usually only make the duck on Saturday.
So get here early.
They use really, really high quality meat here.
This is Mary's Free-range Duck.
It's not cheap, but it's worth the price.
I'm gonna try it on its own first.
Got a little duck sauce here.
Mm, yes!
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Mm!
Look how shiny that is, uh, it's beautiful!
This is my next tattoo, there's room for it right here.
- That's what really makes us happy,
is when people who come in here,
they never had Cantonese barbecue,
and ate it, like oh my God, it was like
the best thing I ever ate!
Or people who have been to Hong Kong,
or lived in Hong Kong, and they'll come in
and say it actually tastes exactly like
what they tasted in Hong Kong.
That also makes us very, very happy.
- Tastes like stuff that we use to eat growing up.
Exactly the same!
- Do you like it?
(mom laughs)
- They use much higher quality ingredients,
and they prep it just right.
You're not gonna get dry flavored meats
or anything like that, so I do think
it's a unique experience, especially where it's located.
- Being able to get like, really high quality
Cantonese barbecue in Downtown LA is so
special and so rare.
Usually, you have to go to the San Gabriel Valley
to get something like this.
But having the Cantonese Barbecue in the mix
is so exciting!
If you've never had Cantonese Barbecue before,
like remedy that immediately, and come check this out!
My chopstick skills are wanting.
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