Family-owned Sticky Rice Bites showcases authentic Lao cuisine and culture in Rockford

Rockford Restaurant Week Spotlight | Sticky Rice Bites

Rockford Restaurant Week runs Jan. 23-Feb. 2, and we’re putting a spotlight on different locally owned establishments to celebrate the occasion. Today we feature Sticky Rice Bites, 298 N. Mulford Road, Rockford. 

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The city’s newest Laotian restaurant has slowly rolled out more authentic Lao dishes during its first four months in operation, and now it’s showing off its sweeter side, too.

Sticky Rice Bites, at 298 N. Mulford Road around the corner from Valli Produce, added two classic Lao desserts for the first time for Rockford Restaurant Week. There’s also a new savory option that wasn’t previously on the menu.

The family-owned and operated restaurant started with a soft opening in September and expects to unveil its full menu in conjunction with a grand opening this spring.

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The new desserts are chocolate banana roti, which is a thin and crispy, pancake-like flatbread topped with sliced banana, ice cream, condensed milk, a strawberry and chocolate drizzle.

There’s also nam wan taro boua loi, which are chewy balls of taro floating in coconut milk with a hint of sugar and bits of corn and sesame.

Both desserts are often considered a refreshing break from the heat in Laos, said Rowena Chanthalangsy, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Nit.

“Over there the weather is so hot. This is winter time over there, and it’s in the 70s, 80s — during the day it’s 90,” she said. “It tastes so good and feels so refreshing.”

Chanthalangsy, who moved here with Nit from Laos 24 years ago, said it had been a goal of hers to open a restaurant that offered an authentic taste of her home country.

The menu is a mix of her favorites in Laos, with her crafting the recipes to match her admittedly meticulous taste.

“I’m an easy person as far as food, but I’m very particular about taste,” she said. “It has to be a certain way to get the taste that I really wanted.”

So far, customers have gravitated toward its pho and pad see ew, which is a stir fried Chinese broccoli with your meat of choice over chewy rice noodles with a special soy sauce.

There’s also sweet, sour and mild spicy sukiyaki steamed clear noodle soup and khao piek sen, which features thick, chewy rice noodles in a hearty chicken broth.

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The restaurant also offers a variety of boba, milk teas and fruit teas under a brand created by Sophia Chanthalangsy, Rowena and Nit’s daughter who is also behind the videos you see on the Sticky Rice Bites Tik Tok and other social media. The brand is called SabaiTea, a play on the Lao word for hello, sabaidee.

“I think what Sticky Rice Bites does really well is that their food is very authentic. Every time I order, it feels like a traditional dish I would receive back in Laos,” said Lesly Chittavong of Rockford, a nurse and the head of the advocacy brand Love Your Mental. “From the Lao sausage to the Thai tea, it’s spot on.”

For Restaurant Week, they also added pad ka pow, a flavorful and spicy basil stir fry topped with crispy fried egg with jasmine rice.

“It’s very easy, simple when you’re in a rush,” Chanthalangsy said.

Chanthanlangsy said she’s grateful for the customers who have tried the family’s new restaurant so far, and she’s eager to show them more authentic dishes in the future.

“Thank you so much to all our customers who stop by to try our food and support us,” she said. “We are so thankful and really appreciate it.”

Fast Facts | Sticky Rice Bites

What’s the special? Get a three-course meal with multiple appetizer, entree and dessert options and a Thai iced tea or Lao iced coffee for $25.

Restaurant Week menu? See it HERE

Location: 298 N. Mulford Road, Rockford

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday; closed Tuesday

Opened: September 2024

On Facebook: Go HERE

On Instagram: Go HERE

On TikTok: Go HERE

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas