Rice Terraces

The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2012) edition.

Edinburgh’s only Filipino restaurant, Rice Terraces is a tiny, homely place, made cosy with green and white tablecloths, red candles and a sweeping photograph of rice fields adorning one wall. Original ‘fusion’ cuisine, Filipino cooking reflects Chinese, Malaysian, Spanish and American influences and while the menu may seem unfamiliar, there’s plenty of help and advice on hand, including the suggestion that bitter melon is an acquired taste. The menu, divided into vegetable, beef, pork, chicken and seafood dishes, features lots of stews and hotpots which arrive bubbling on a hotplate. A stew with chicken, plantain, chorizo and chickpeas is chunky and hearty, although a little bland, while string beans and squash simmered in coconut milk is fresh and colourful with a hint of ginger. A side of rice studded with shrimp and vegetables comes served in a bamboo dish. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s good value home cooking. If you have room for a dessert, choices include ube halayan, a rich purple yam and coconut soufflé and a banana and jackfruit spring roll with coconut ice cream.

• High point: Hearty, warming home cooking …
• Low point: … although some dishes lack flavour