Rice Zen

To no surprise, this place has closed. You simply can’t sell mediocre fast food in Old Town.

3.5 stars
+ 1 star: open late– until 10 pm on a monday and the staff was nice and didn’t rush anyone out after closing — there were 2 other couples and a group of about 10 people in their early 20s maybe and only about ½ of them were eating. The place looked really clean too which is always good!
+ 1 star, all white meat chicken available, had healthy steamed noodles instead of fried ones available, good veggies included on side of teriyaki and noodle plate
+ 1 star price — combo was under $ 10 for a large plate (we ended up splitting it between the two of us and were full afterwards) of white meat (I think it was .75 cents extra for all white meat) chicken teriyaki, noodles, vegetables and bamboo shoots (pretty good), a frozen yogurt (tasted like pinkberry but called something else) with one topping (plenty to choose from, we opted for fresh strawberries) and a soda.
+ 1 for the entrée — I’m not sure what everyone was complaining about but the white meat chicken was good, vegetables tasted fresh, steamed noodles were fine but then again I don’t know much about asian noodles, seemed pretty healthy overall
+ bonus ½ star for the frozen yogurt– it was really good! and a savings of like 2 or 3 $ by getting it with the meal combo instead of buying it afterwards but they let us still pick it up after we were done with the meal (not that I waited until the end! I love fro yo!)

I came here because it was close to work and I haven’t tried it before. It’s pretty basic and plain. Nothing really pops out at you when you see their menu or even taste their food. It’s your typical not too complicated teriyaki beef/​chicken with rice. I had their crispy chicken salad. Not too bad. They do give a lot of chicken, but not spectacular. What’s worse is that they only take cash. Who doesn’t accept debit/​credit cards nowadays?! Get with the times!

I give this place another 6 months before the owners of Noodle World change it again. The décor and ambiance is much like the food– uninspired and extremely boring and bland.
They have your typical BBQ Beefs, Teriyaki’s and Thai Chicken on rice or noodles and yep. that’s about it.
Nothing new, nothing creative, nothing worth talking about.
Combo meal includes a drink and a small yogurt. The yogurt was descent for any yogurt amateur, however if you are a huge yogurt snob, you might run into problems. I did give them credit for the exotic southeast Asian toppings like jack fruit and long an… but then again– who really eats that?

I did not like this place. It reminded me more of one of those hawaiian bbq places, but worse. Décor, top notch. Very nice look. Clean and cheap. The chicken was grisly, when the menu said white chicken meat $ 1.75 more, I knew what i was getting into. Unfortunately, I was here with other people who decided to eat here. CASH ONLY, Seriously? It’s 2008, y’all.

Not bad and not great. The food for three people was a little over $ 20 bucks which is a pretty good deal in this area. The Thai chicken is good, but don’t let it sit for too long since it will dry out quick. The macaroni salad was decent, but a bit bland. Watch out for the sweet sauce that comes with every meal. I am still finding it all over me. Cash only, but they do have an ATM machine near the register.

I ordered the teriyaki chicken with lo mein noodles. it was pretty disgusting… the chicken was just slathered in a sugary, syrupy teriyaki sauce, and the noodles tasted like. nothing. they were dry and stuck together.
not to mention i got a fountain drink, Lemonade specifically, and it tasted like a dirty sponge. just to be sure i wasnt going crazy, i had my boyfriend take a sip as well, and he confirmed that it indeed, tasted like a dirty dish towel or sponge.
OH and one more thing, by law in California you HAVE to post your rating so its viewable to the public: this place had no grade. ANYWHERE. i looked everywhere for one.
will NOT be returning.

I came here couple of weeks earlier with a group of friends. Each of us enjoyed what we got. We ordered Beef Chow Mein (Good), BBQ Chicken Lo Mein (Pretty Good), Teriyaki Tofu (Good), Teriyaki Chicken (Good), Chicken Gyoza (Ok), and Vegetable Gyoza (Ok).
4 Platters + 2 Appetizers + 4 Coronas + 2 Beverages = $ 54.56 Inexpensive Good Dining.
Food experience is 3.5 stars.

HAVE A RICE DAY! Asian Grill and Noodles. This place opened yesterday and it’s great because there aren’t a ton of cheap good options in Old Town Pasadena.
My first impression is they give you a ton of food, for around $ 7 or $ 8. Good solid food. Comes with macaroni salad. Brown rice if desired.
They did a great job with the interior as well.
Teriyaki Chicken and Teriyaki Beef were good. I’ll have to go back and try the lowmein, yakisoba, and curry. Maybe throw some Capn’ Crunch, Mochi, and fruit in there too (they offer yogurt like pinkberry called «Frozen Monster»!
My day was crappy until they made my day much ricer.