This story is featured in CityBeat's March 6 print edition.
The Gatherall, a food hall located at Factory 52 in Norwood, is a melting pot of delicious cuisines and flavors. Walking among the stalls, you’ll find American favorites like burgers, loaded fries and barbecue to internationally inspired dishes, including Vietnamese rice bowls and Filipino chicken adobo, with even more offerings to come. One spot you don’t want to miss out on is Pan-Asian-inspired Nice-Nice Noodles and Rice, owned by Mapi De Veyra.
De Veyra is no stranger to the Cincinnati food scene, having been a part of many successful business ventures in the area, from Quan Hapa to Decibel Korean Fried Chicken, to name a few. With Nice-Nice Noodles and Rice, though, it’s more personal. “This one’s a little bit closer to my heart,” said De Veyra.
It was a tough transition when De Veyra’s family moved from the Philippines to the United States when he was 16 years old. One of the things that kept him connected to the Philippines while making Cincinnati feel like home was food. “It was tough moving here,” said De Veyra. “The food made me more comfortable. It was a way to put me at ease but also, later on, be able to tell a story of where I’m from.”
De Veyra dove into the food industry with passion and grit. “It was just learning,” he said. “A lot of learning, a lot of reading, and then just our travels. We would always eat; food was always a big part of my life, so wherever we went, we always had different types of food. And then going home and trying to recreate that and eventually trying to create new things at the restaurant.”
Along with hands-on experience and travel, he credits the brothers and owners of Pho Lang Thang, Bao and Duy Nguyen, for helping him to show him that he could make a life here in Cincinnati with food. This connection to food became so strong that when asked what kept him in the Queen City, De Veyra said, “Food, truly.” (His fiance also has a job in the city, too.) “We love it here,” he said.
De Veyra describes Nice-Nice Noodles and Rice as fast-casual Pan-Asian island cuisine inspired by his experience growing up in the Philippines and worldly travels. “There are a lot of different types of food in the Philippines,” he said. “Gabriela [Filipina Kantina] in the Gatherall, they’re doing the Spanish version of things. I’m doing more of the Asian and island type of food.”
Nice-Nice Noodles and Rice’s menu is simple, but don’t let that fool you. De Veyra loves to serve dishes that he enjoys and would eat himself that tend to have a mix of flavor and tradition. “We just want the ingredients and techniques to come through, and that’s really what Nice-Nice is about,” he said. “Sometimes it’s traditional, most of the time it’s not. The essence and traditional flavor is always there, and that’s kind of what Nice-Nice is about.”
One of the fan-favorite offerings on the menu is the Garlic Noodles, made with soy sauce, parmesan and green onions. “That’s one of my favorites,” he said. “It’s kind of a hybrid ‘cause of the butter and the parmesan cheese. I love Italian food a lot and make what I like to eat.”
Another popular dish is the Teriyaki Chicken, which De Veyra describes as a well-balanced meal with grilled chicken thighs, broccolini and white rice. The lumpia, which are Filipino egg rolls that are crispy and fried, are also popular with two different offerings: the pork-filled lumpia Shanghai with a side of sweet and soy dipping sauce and one of De Veyra’s childhood favorites, cheese lumpia with a mayo-based aioli dipping sauce.
“The cheese lumpia was a favorite snack growing up,” he said. “It’s one of those things that you would have in your freezer, and then if you’re hungry, you would just throw it in your oven if you didn’t feel like frying it. It’s something we always had growing up. It’s just very simple with cheese, and then you wrap it in an egg roll wrapper.”
Other menu offerings include a pork belly barbecue dish made with grilled pork belly that’s glazed with Filipino barbecue sauce and served with java rice and pickled papaya, and Gambas Al Ajillo, which consists of shrimp in a garlic paprika sauce with shishito peppers and white rice.
When creating dishes, De Veyra likes playing with various flavors while aiming to keep everything balanced. “It’s just always something savory, and being Filipino, there’s always a touch of sweetness and trying to introduce a little bit of spice because where I grew up, we don’t eat a lot of spicy food,” he explains. “There are some regions in the Philippines that do eat spicy foods, but we didn’t, so that’s something I integrate into my food now.”
Since opening in November of 2023, things have been going well. “It’s been a great response so far,” said De Veyra. In addition to the mainstay menu, he has also started hosting a monthly event called Nice-Nice Chef Counter, which offers off-menu options that allow him and his staff to be more creative with the food offerings. For these events, he provides a plated three-course experience at the four bar seats at the stall, which allows for a more intimate setting with elevated offerings. “I get to talk with the people,” he said. Guests must purchase tickets for available time slots in advance, which are often advertised on the restaurant’s Instagram page before each event.
Nice-Nice Noodles and Rice, 2750 Park Ave., Norwood. Info: instagram.com/nicenice_nr.
