Wholesome NY-inspired Mediterranean rice bowls and falafel bites

When you consider avenue meals in New York, the very first thing that involves thoughts might be sizzling canine. We’ve all seen it in lots of types of media— sizzling canine stands littered on a chilly and dry New York afternoon, with steam blowing throughout the wind. What if I informed you that lately, rice bowls have been giving sizzling canine a run for his or her cash? Well, the oldsters at Overrice positively did their homework.

No prizes for guessing which in style NY cult model impressed Overrice’s impressed rice bowls. Each bowl comes with proteins, lettuce, and tomatoes, and is completed with a drizzle of an elusive secret sauce together with a serving to of sizzling chilli sauce mix. Need extra hints? The Halal Guys, a sequence of halal eating places that began as halal meals carts in New York. You can now discover this hyped favorite at Overrice, which is positioned at 48 Arab Street.

What I attempted at Overrice 

The Hal…I imply Overrice has a close to similar menu to its inspiration. It has the whole lot The Halal Guys has, other than some extra snacks and desserts. Well, they do say that imitation is the best type of flattery. 

I went with the Combo Signature Bowl (S$14.90++) which has each pulled beef and hen, in addition to a facet of Falafel Bites (S$8++).

For mild eaters, they’ve pita pocket choices such because the Chicken Pita Pocket (S$8.90++) and Spicy Popcorn Chicken Pita Pocket (S$9.90++). There have been additionally snacks resembling Yawn Balls (S$8++), Buffalo Chicken (S$8++) and Beef Fries (S$8++).

First up, the Combo Signature Bowl got here with shredded lettuce, three items of pita bread, each pulled beef and hen, and was drizzled generously with its secret white sauce. A separate menacing-looking pink sauce was given its personal container, perhaps hinting on the ache it may trigger.

“This tasted like biryani with yoghurt sauce,” I assumed to myself as I went for an additional chunk, which didn’t change my preliminary notion. The use of yellow basmati rice solely made each dishes indiscernible from each other. The much-touted secret white sauce was actually nothing greater than any yoghurt-based sauce that you just’ve ever had, maybe only a contact milder.

Similarly, the pulled beef was nothing of be aware. It wasn’t the juiciest and was fairly chewy. Maybe it’s a placebo, however I swore that it tasted a bit like these beef dishes that often accompany a biryani. The hen fared higher and was seasoned effectively. 

The pita bread was fluffy and had a pleasant chew. It additionally offered a refreshing change of texture should you ever get tired of the rice. I discovered that the easiest way of consuming the pitas was to make use of them to pinch a chunk of your rice bowl to make your very personal tiny pita wrap.

The pink sauce was pure warmth and tasted too oriental to warrant a re-evaluation. I’m glad that Overrice didn’t comply with the observe set by The Halal Guys, which is to have the pink sauce drizzled immediately onto the dish by default. See, Overrice wasn’t copying blindly!

Despite my preliminary misgivings, I used to be completely having fun with my meal as the person parts, although fairly customary on their very own, mixed collectively to enhance all of the flavours and textures within the bowl. It was one of many uncommon instances after I really loved the addition of lettuce to my meal.

The Falafel Bites got here with the identical signature secret sauce with scallions. It had an unexpectedly crispy exterior, and was nearly crunchy like freshly fried breaded hen. Its inside was mushy and had a extra herby style to it as in comparison with a traditional falafel. You may style the grounded chickpeas however what adopted after was this barely bitter style.

Predictably, it was dry, and I assumed a extra ample serving of the signature sauce or offering a dip would have executed wonders for the falafel. Maybe a greater method of getting it might be to get a falafel wrap as a substitute.

Final ideas

I by no means had The Halal Guys earlier than, so perhaps it does style like biryani, to which I applaud Overrice for replicating it. Though I had larger expectations, my emptied bowl meant that I had an excellent meal regardless.

It is simple to name Overrice “Overpriced”, and perhaps it’s, however contemplating it’s positioned at one of the crucial crowded vacationer spots in Singapore and with all that’s going round on this planet when it comes to inflation and warfare, the worth is at the least comprehensible.

There’s additionally a sure novelty that comes with consuming an apparently “foreign” dish that we’ve solely stumbled upon by way of social media. But if that isn’t your factor, then Overrice might be not for you. 

Well, should you ever want incredible biryani that’s wallet-friendly, boy do I’ve a spot for you!

Expected injury: S$8 – S$14.90 per pax

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