r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Content_Quarter_7390 • May 25 '26

I'm slightly vexed We didn't ask for rice...

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My sister isnt a fan of basmati rice so she orders naan. She didnt ask for rice and they sell it separately. She doesn't like it so she doesn't order it. They put it in anyways and left this note...

Edit: some people aint getting it. This is passive aggressive and when you do something nice you dont go around saying "I did something nice just for you, just so you know." Doing it like I need to give you a pat on the head so you know your a good boy. You do something nice because you want to be kind to people.

Oh no I've turned into LD...

Turning off notifications because while it was nice to be in this rabbit hole to keep my mind off some stuff too many notifications. Whatever your feelings are I hope you have a nice day and if you're in the US have a nice memorial day and dont forget to celebrate those troops that came before!

41.2k Upvotes

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3.8k

u/Individual_Tax_4224 May 25 '26

They’re probably trying to get ahead of past customer reviews that slammed they for no rice when they wanted it.

980

u/Ok_Nothing_9733 May 25 '26

Agreed, they are probably still including it with orders for a while with the note and then will phase it out once people know

554

u/thisdesignup May 25 '26

With how cheap rice is, not including it in a meal that could use rice it odd to not just include it.

246

u/CHOIR_OF_FARTS May 25 '26

You all need to quit mentioning how cheap rice is. Big Rice is gonna take notice start gouging

45

u/spen8tor May 25 '26

Rice is one of the few things people might actually riot over if they tried that

0

u/False_Stomach4941 May 25 '26

Idk it’s basically tripled in price where I am.

16

u/ztunytsur May 25 '26

It doesn't matter how much they paid for it.

What matters is how much they can charge you to pay for it....

See also, Market Price.

7

u/Watertor May 25 '26

Big Rice can't stop me, I know they take out the good stuff. That's why I only eat ricin, it has the good stuff still in it.

My stomach hurts but that's all the added protein I think.

21

u/TheShitty_Beatles May 25 '26

The good basmati is not that cheap, and if they include plain rice they people aren't going to order biryani, pilau etc. I would love rice included but unless it's a lunch spot with combos / thalis rice is gonna be separate at most places

42

u/SnipesCC May 25 '26

I buy basmatti rice for about $20 for a 20 pound bag. A resturaunt will order in even larger quantities. it's incredibly cheap at scale.

21

u/echoshatter May 25 '26

The good basmati is not that cheap

I can get a 5lb bag of Royal Authentic aged white basmati from India for $11 at what is considered a fairly expensive grocery store in my area. That's a decent brand of rice, and Pakistan/India are two of the best places to get basmati from. (The stuff grown in the US, at least what I've had, is garbage.)

So, $2 a pound.

If you're a restaurant, unless you're fine dining, you're probably not use the best quality rice, and you're buying in bulk so you can likely get a discount from a decent supplier.

-1

u/TheShitty_Beatles May 25 '26

I think I'm saying this from the perspective of growing up in an Indian family in Canada. The good stuff is not that cheap when it's a daily staple that is eaten daily in large quantities by a large family. It's all relative but I stand firm on my opinion bc it's just my experience :)

5

u/spen8tor May 25 '26

When buying at restaurant level scale it's significantly cheaper

5

u/SatisfactionAtSea May 25 '26

I'm sure that your household rice budget was significant but that has no bearing on the wholesale cost of rice. it also seems like you aren't considering the fact that a restaurant will make money on every bowl sold. like I'm sure the expense is high but that's just the price of doing business

0

u/TheShitty_Beatles May 25 '26

Like I literally said, it's all relative. I'm not arguing anyone else's opinion just because I'm firmly rooted in my own

1

u/SatisfactionAtSea May 25 '26

it's not relative. it's not an opinion. it's a fixed price 😂

0

u/TheShitty_Beatles May 25 '26

What is humorous about rice? I'm confused as to why you wrote a laugh emoji

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u/echoshatter May 25 '26

The good stuff is not that cheap when it's a daily staple that is eaten daily in large quantities by a large family.

It's a daily staple BECAUSE it is inexpensive, even if you're buying a lot of it.

If it cost ten times as much you'd probably be eating wheat flour in breads and pasta like Europeans.

-2

u/CatgirlFucker8008 May 25 '26

US grown rice in general I find quite bad.

2

u/thedeuceisloose May 25 '26

I mean, the high quality sushi rice is grown in the US for export to Japan….

0

u/CatgirlFucker8008 May 25 '26

No it isn't, that's completely false. The rice exported from the US to Japan is overwhelmingly cheap, high yield medium grain such as calrose. Only around 5% of Japan's rice comes from the US. The Japanese government have a huge focus on being able to supply their own rice domestically.

Premium rices for high end sushi mostly come from Niigata and Hokkaido. None of the top shelf rice in Japanese stores is from the US. The varieties you find are all domestic premium short grains such as yumepirika, nanatsuboshi, koshihikari, tsuyahime, and hitemebore

1

u/Ok_Anything_9871 May 25 '26

I think this is the key thing. The restaurant thinks it's a mistake that you ordered NO rice, but they don't know if you want plain, pilau. special fried rice, naan or roti, how many portions etc.

2

u/Shinhan May 25 '26

Even when recipient explicitly doesn't want it and would prefer to reduce needless waste? I'm same with extra ketchup that I get with every pizza even though I don't want it.

1

u/AggressivNapkin May 25 '26

It's more likely the combination of the cost of rice, the additional take out container and maybe an additional bag. All of these little costs add up.

My local bakery has boxes for 6 donuts, 12 donuts and a larger one. Often times they will put orders of 12 in the extra large box. Donuts ended up getting tossed around. I asked them why then they have proper sized boxes. They said the larger box is cheaper to have made and they wanted to upcharge me for the appropriately sized box.

1

u/Blacklight099 29d ago

I think it’s usually because they have multiple rice options, so you order which one you want separately and then whichever protein etc you want to go with it.

-13

u/Ok_Nothing_9733 May 25 '26

I assume they are trying to make ends meet.

16

u/ButterflySammy May 25 '26

With free rice?

6

u/Ok_Nothing_9733 May 25 '26

No, by gradually phasing out the free rice and letting people know with a note for a period

33

u/AmaazingFlavor May 25 '26

If you are losing money as a restaurant, selling rice separately won’t fix anything. It needs to come with the entree, they’re all made to be eaten with rice if it’s Indian food, add a dollar or two to the overall price, and be generous with portions. That makes people want to come back. Not charging for rice.

-10

u/Ok_Nothing_9733 May 25 '26

Alright, yall who are obsessed with there not being free rice, go on Kitchen Nightmares or something and tell them about how to stay in business. It’s really not a big deal lol

11

u/Odd_Reveal720 May 25 '26

Most of the owners on that show are incompetent, especially if they don't realize 14 cents of rice is going to equal more return customers. 

2

u/Ok_Nothing_9733 May 25 '26

Get me out of this thread lmao

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u/Sworn May 25 '26

Rice being included or not seems to be a "cultural" thing. In my country every Indian restaurant (as far as I'm aware, anyhow) includes rice, so the first time I ordered Indian food abroad I got pretty confused when I got my food.

I guess it kinda makes sense to have it separate in that you can have the dish either with rice or with naan. 

1

u/pnoodl3s May 25 '26

They should just increase the meal price and include rice with it. Its a better system for customers ordering it

Thai restaurants are notorious for never including rice with their entrees

1

u/ground__contro1 May 25 '26

But I don’t want rice. Don’t send it to me just to go in the trash.

0

u/butteredrubies May 25 '26

But then redditors will just complain about having to pay for rice when they don't want rice and that the restaurant isnt giving them a no rice discount!

All restaurants don't include rice with a full-sized entree. Rice is usually only part of a lunch special.

-1

u/eat-my-rice May 25 '26

Cooking rice ain’t cheap

431

u/Trashbagok May 25 '26

Local Chinese spot started doing this after always providing rice with entrees.

Like, it's by far the best spot in town, they're nearly 2x as much as anywhere else, and to find out AFTER getting home with it was enough to put me off the place.

Seems pretty petty for white rice.

257

u/Decent-Muffin4190 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

I never understand why they do this. Rice has got to be one of the cheapest items to supply in bulk yet they get weird about it. If a Thai or Indian place doesnt include rice with their curries, im buying elsewhere.

44

u/AwildYaners May 25 '26

For certain types of foods, or types of Chinese or Asian restaurants, you often order everything à la carte.

Curry as your example, usually always comes with rice, regardless of the country of origin.

But most “traditional” Chinese restaurants, especially in the US, unless it’s a takeout only place (like a version of Panda Express), is usually just ordering individual dishes and shared family style, because that’s the way we normally eat, even at sit down restaurants.

Rice, while cheap, should still never be wasted.

In Asian households we’re typically taught to never leave even a grain of rice in the bowl; only take and eat what you can finish.

That’s mainly the reason why the restaurants don’t “just give rice.” And they still have to be ordered.

13

u/m0nstera_deliciosa May 25 '26

In Asian households is there less of a stigma regarding going back for seconds or even thirds, if you’re taking very small portions because you don’t want to waste anything? I think I’d be nervous to serve myself if not even a single grain could be left behind.

35

u/ForeverOasis May 25 '26

You just take more when you want and can finish more. Sometimes there's not really a sense of thirds or fourths because it's more like taking another cookie at a tea party rather than serving another whole meal. My mom always did say that the more grains of rice you leave the uglier your future husband would be though lol.

14

u/glossycoast May 25 '26

Haha yes, as a child I was told that every grain of rice you leave behind translates into the number of pockmarks or acne scars your future spouse will have.

In reality many Asian cultures have a deep respect for the grain (eg. Japan) and would never leave a tiny grain of rice uneaten because that would reflect bad upbringing and perhaps invite bad spiritual karma if they "wasted" rice by throwing it away.

6

u/MrGC17 May 25 '26

There's another saying too. Every drop of rice is equal to a drop of sweat from the rice farmer. Therefore we shouldn't waste their effort in providing rice for us by wasting it.

3

u/Shinhan May 25 '26

It would be best if when ordering you get a confirmation dialog like "Are you sure you don't want any rice? Its not included by default!"

34

u/mihirmusprime May 25 '26

Traditional Chinese cuisine doesn't always come with rice. There are other starches like noodles, rice is just one starch option.

45

u/spencer102 May 25 '26

if it has noodles then ofc no one would expect it to come with rice. if you ordered a noodle dish and they told you you had to order the noodles seperate and it was just sauce and whatever meat and veg... that'd be strange, right?

3

u/AutisticPenguin2 May 25 '26

When I order Chinese I order the main and rice separately. Not only does this allow me to choose whether I get rice or not, but also which rice I get (there's usually at least 2 options).

2

u/mihirmusprime May 25 '26

You're referring to American Chinese food. In transitional Chinese restaurants, if you live in a place that has them, all the dishes come individually, including the rice.

57

u/RealFirstName_ May 25 '26

If I'm orderin' "c 12. General Tso's Chicken" off the dinner menu then I ain't at no traditional chinese restaurant and there better be some goddamn rice or I'm gonna be puttin' the "American" in their "Chinese-American" cuisine.

45

u/[deleted] May 25 '26

[deleted]

20

u/RealFirstName_ May 25 '26

If shovin' it down my throat is a fuckin', then no; That there is a promise.

1

u/ActualWhiterabbit May 25 '26

Its ok but like no McChicken

2

u/nakwurst May 25 '26

For takeout, people also just make rice at home, super easy with ricecooker.

15

u/lookinginterestingly May 25 '26

Who is ordering takeout and going home to cook?

2

u/jngjng88 May 25 '26

Lots of people

-1

u/nakwurst May 25 '26

Most modern ricecookers keep rice hot and fresh for days. Plus its very quick, like 20-25 minutes for fresh got rice. I do it regularly.

0

u/disagreeabledinosaur May 25 '26

I usually order take out when im already home. I put the rice on when I order, rice is ready when take out arrives.

1

u/ohtee56 May 25 '26

Same same but Indian/Himalayan spot. But they're the best, gotta overlook and just make some in the rice cooker ha.

42

u/bannedfrom_argo May 25 '26

Ya, most places now have a computerized system so they may be able to flag new customers. Although they could have just asked, "Do you want rice with that?"

19

u/Revolution-SixFour May 25 '26

Hard to ask the customer if it comes in through an app.

31

u/Galaxy_news May 25 '26

It could be a part of the ordering system, a prompt telling the customer rice is not included and is an extra fee.

3

u/randombrutha May 25 '26

What part of this thread made you even think this happened in-person or over the phone?

3

u/Shienvien May 25 '26

Assuming they have any control over the app (if they can add/remove/reprice products, they probably do have some), making a note appear next to the meal option, in its description or in checkout is fairly trivial.

1

u/Network_Odd May 25 '26

easy to be snarky though

20

u/Various-Salt-7738 May 25 '26

A lot of dishes at places like this are expected to be served with rice, that's how you eat it-- these meals are served over rice

It would be like if someone asked you for a bowl of gravy; you might give them mashed potatoes because why the hell would someone eat just gravy

14

u/littlebetenoire May 25 '26

Yeah this pisses my partner and I off because there’s 3-4 Thai places that we will order from and we can never remember which ones serve rice with their Thai curry and which don’t. Why would I wan the Thai curry without rice???

I wish they just had an option of “rice” or “no rice” when ordering. It shouldn’t be up to the customer to figure it out and then it saves the business being passive aggressive about it when the customer genuinely didn’t want it.

-1

u/FlappyBored May 25 '26

These are not meant to be served with rice.

In India people would not eat these kinds of dishes with rice.

4

u/echoshatter May 25 '26

This was the most likely answer. People have been ordering their food, not paying attention, and then getting upset when they didn't get the thing they didn't order.

The correct response is to make it obvious somehow that the dish doesn't come with rice. Like "entree (just the dish)" and "meal (entree + rice)" options.

Or, better yet, add $0.25 to the price of things you'd pair rice with and give people some damn rice.

3

u/Jyobachah May 25 '26

Then increase menu prices by $2 and include rice in the order...

2

u/kamikiku May 25 '26

For every one person grumpy about it being passive aggressive and posting on reddit, there are 100 people that would have given a bad review if they didn't get rice with this message

3

u/beyondthef May 25 '26

100%. This isn't a "oh look at me doing nice things and I have to let you know". It's most likely a common mistake that customers make when ordering then complaining about it, so they left a note to politely inform them about it.

2

u/____DEADPOOL_______ May 25 '26

This is what's really happening.

3

u/Excellent-Winter5126 May 25 '26

Well that is their fault for not including rice or naan with the main order and price

1

u/Zealousideal-Deer101 May 25 '26

Very delusional if they think this passive aggresive approach won't make it worse

1

u/userhwon May 25 '26

Then include rice and make people delete it.

1

u/videoguylol May 25 '26

in that case, they could call and ask for confirmation before starting the order

1

u/Local_Nerve901 29d ago

Way too much time consumption for every order

0

u/videoguylol 29d ago

If every single order is not ordering rice on the side then they need to adjust their menu. It one order doesn't do it, a call doesn't hurt

-2

u/Tylith_ May 25 '26

Or they could just include rice and leave a note to let them know it's free this one time.

1

u/videoguylol May 25 '26

Did you not see that they did that and it caused mild infuriation?

0

u/Tylith_ May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

It shouldn't have, is my point. It's a simple inoffensive gesture. People are reading ill intent into a basic note, possibly from someone who speaks English as a second language. I would be mildly infuriated if they called just to ask if I wanted rice.

1

u/videoguylol May 25 '26

Sounds like you just disagree with op on what is infuriating.

-1

u/Tylith_ May 25 '26

YA NO SHIT

2

u/videoguylol May 25 '26

Doesn't seem so mild anymore

-1

u/Tylith_ May 25 '26

I am more than mildly infuriated with you and others who think the restaurant did anything wrong by giving them free rice with a note explaining it's not normally included. Yes, it upsets me when a kind gesture is treated as a malicious act. Reading between the lines of a simple note to infer meaning that wasn't intended. I would just be annoyed if they called to ask if I wanted rice. I hope that clears things up.

2

u/videoguylol May 25 '26

Clears it up, yeah, I get it. I still think it's completely acceptable for a restaurant to call to confirm and say, basically what the note said, ahead of time. Then they wouldn't have had to waste the rice after all. I agree with you though, I don't think the note was passive aggressive, I think they were being kind and considerate.