Ha Long Bay

I decided to check this place out. It’s close to Century College where I go to school.
Restaurant atmosphere is really nice. The waiter/​host knows what he is doing. He doesn’t bother you too much but he keeps check every once in awhile in a timely manner.
I love phở so I had the phở here. I’m a phở fanatic and I have tried phở from around the country and even at many Vietnamese friend’s home. The phở was good for MN. The size of the phở wasnt too small or too big for the price which was about $ 9. I would give it an ⁸⁄₁₀ for the phở.
The Fried Dumplings on the other hand was amazing! One of the better fried dumplings I have tried around MN. The sauce with it was good also but the dumplings alone was very good! The price was a little high but it was worth it. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ dumplings.
The Vietnamese Iced Coffee was good and sweet also. A strong coffee taste like it should be but not straight black.
I give it a ⁵⁄₅ for my visit this time. Everything was good. Expect to use about $ 15-​$ 20 for a single person if you are a big eater.

Good food, friendly staff, reasonable prices. The restaurant is clean but not fancy. Vegetarian friendly, too. What more can you ask for?

Worst food ever. After 1 egg roll what tasted burnt and had an ever worst after taste, I can’t even eat the rest of the food I ordered. Next time I’ll drive up the road to pagoda.

We had family over and ordered the thai basil chicken (spice level 6), orange chicken, pork dumplings (steamed) chicken fried rice, moo shui pork, pad thai, and egg foo yung. We recently moved to the area from the DC area and have had a lot of different Chinese take out experiences, many of which were sub-​par. However, this place blew us away. The only way the fried rice could have been more fresh is if they made it at our house. The pork dumplings were superb, and the dipping sauce that went with was perfect. The dumplings had a great ration of wrapper to filling and were perfectly steamed. The orange chicken was a bit of a surprise, the chicken was your take out stye fried chicken, like you see when you order sweet and sour chicken. The orange sauce was out of this world, it tasted like it was actually made with real oranges and orange zest, not some chemicals. The thai basil chicken was perfect, thin slices of chicken breast with lots of fresh stir fried veggies in a fantastic basil sauce. The spice level was perfect. The moo shui pork was also well done, again with lots of crisp veggies. The pad thai was your typical take-​out pad tha, a sticky brown sauce and rice noodles, light on the veggies and meat, not my preferred type of pad thai, but still very good. The egg foo yung was unfortunately a little burnt on the edges and the sauce was a lot thicker than I expected, but still very good. We ordered take out and the food was hot and ready when picked up and stayed hot until we got home. The prices were affordable as well. This is one of our new favorites and a new go to when we want Chinese/​Vietnamese food. We are looking forward to trying the Phở as well.

I got the pad tai it was ok nothing special. My mom in law had sweet and sour chicken and loved it but she’s old and likes food that is bland. Got my hubby the beef with black mushoom and brown sauce. Basically it was steamed veggies with 2 mushrooms and no sauce it was so bland he coukdnt eat it. On the good side the creamcheese wonton were yummy. Think ill check out other asian places before going back here.

Great food for a really great price. I frequent Ha Long Bay whenever I’m in town, It’s definitely my go to in the area when I’m craving Chinese. It doesn’t have a humongous 8 page menu like other Chinese restaurants its simple and americanized. They have all the classics from sesame to sweet and sour chicken dishes. I believe you can substitute shrimp into most of them as well. I would recommend the black pepper chicken dish. The chicken tastes fresh and of good quality which is typically my main concern when I’m eating Chinese. The food comes out in big portions and is very flavorful. Each dish is distinguishable from the next, they aren’t using the same 3 sauces for all the dishes. Their spring rolls are great and come with a delicious salty sauce on the side, and you can never go wrong ordering the cream cheese wontons. The best part about Ha Long Bay is the cheap bill at the end of the meal.
The inside looks nice, they have put some work into updating it since it first arrived in town. Nice lights and décor but it still could be better. The service can really be hit or miss. They usually have just the one guy in there so if there is a lunch rush you definitely wont be getting the greatest service. As long as they get the food out that’s all the matters.

My boyfriend and I stumbled in here on a very hangry (hungry + angry) trek for something to eat during lunch time. Good decision on our part! We’ve been coming here almost once a week since then.
The same waiter is always working when we come in and he is very friendly and attentive. The lunch specials are a really good deal for the portion size you end up with + a small serving of appetizer.
I love the Phở (beef stock) and H Tiu (chicken stock) — perfect for a rainy day and the portion is more than enough for one person. I especially enjoy the H Tiu because the celery is fragrant and very noticeable in the broth– making it an especially great soup for spring.
I’ve also had their egg drop soup — parents of picky children be ware, it has onions and peas and carrots in it. It is still delicious, but as a former child picky eater I am obligated to warn parents prior to ordering. :)
Pad Thai is very delicious and not a congealed glob of rice noodle and peanut sauce like I’ve, unfortunately, experienced at other quick-​serve restaurants.
Need a pick-​me-​up? Get the Vietnamese coffee! It is amazing! You’ll be zipping through errands in no time. Vietnamese coffee is a small brewed portion of coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk. But it is zippy for us occasional coffee drinkers. They serve theirs cold here in a tall glass of ice, but I am sure you could get it warm if you asked.
Additionally, the server will ask you how spicy you want your food. I believe 1 to 10. 10 is very, very spicy. I have a very Scandinavian palate and 10 is way too much for me. 10, however, is not spicy enough for my habenero hot-​sauce guzzling boyfriend who has vacationed in South America. So figure out where you fall on that scale, and happy eatings!

Delicious food service is awesome as well. My boyfriend and I have have been going here for years now and we can’t help but go all out because the food is so amazing. We usually start off with some pot stickers and spring rolls alway great. I love to get the phở on a cold winter day (even on a hot summer day) always fresh! Try their Vietnam coffee also amazing.

Great little place to get vietnamese. Great for take out, not bad for dine in. Cheap, and the food is outstanding!

Seafood phở is a weakness of mine I admit. And this one reached all my expectations. (Except no fish balls. I love them.) I did enjoy the scallops and the no-​tail shrimps!
The jalepenos were hot and that makes my heart happy.
The oyster wings were amazingly good and spicy! The wontons were thin, crispy and perfect.
Young is so nice and always working. And managed to take care of us as well as anyone who walked through the door.

I have ben there a few times and Food is bland and over priced not sure if I will eat there again if I had to pay for my own food

This is our favorite in the area. Love the food. Staff is exceptionally helpful and attentive whether eating at the restaurant of taking the food out. It’s a great value and has always been very consistent.

The restaurant could use a good updating and cleaning but the staff is friendly and the food is decent.
The oyster wings are meaty and crispy and come with a nice sweet sauce that is cut with the heat from the peppers.
The chicken and rice dish is ok– kinda one note and nothing spectacular but not bad. The chicken had a light batter– not crispy which would provide a contrasting note so bit of a shame. The sauce could have been a bit more developed though which is a shame– I was expecting big bold flavors which is what I would expect from a southeastern Asian restaurant. The side salad of carrot and cucumber in the dish is both forgettable and unimaginative though and should be replaced or removed with something more creative.

I had the take-​out curried tofu/​bean curd with veggies. I appreciated being asked for the spice level (I chose 10, the «hottest»). Veggies included water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, carrots, mushrooms. I really enjoyed this curry change-​up. My only ‘beef’ — the portions were too small. The unwritten rule about Asian take-​out is this: fill the containers past the top so that you need to staple them shut. This place skimped on filling the containers.

Really enjoyed the beef and broccoli and pineapple pork!

Our dinner was burned one night and we scrambled for a substitute and settled on Ha Long Bay since it’s very close to our home. We’d never tried it before but I was curious.
We ordered steamed dumplings, thai basil chicken and chicken pad thai to go.
The steamed dumplings were good, we order them because our daughter likes them.
The thai basil chicken was good but had an odd taste, like seaweed. I don’t know if that’s how thai basil tastes or if something was off. I probably wouldn’t order that again.
Chicken pad thai was standard, but only tasted good once you used the lime wedge and mixed up everything.
We’ll try them again since they’re so close but probably order more «American Chinese» dishes.

I tried Ha Long Bay again today and it was a completely different experience from my previous visits.
I stopped today because I was in a hurry and I didn’t have time to get to my regular Phở spot (and still make it to work on time).
To start things off, they opened ten minutes late. Not a huge deal but when you’re crunched for time, that can make a difference. I ordered Phở Tai and waited for about twenty minutes before it arrived. I was beginning to think that I wouldn’t have time to eat before leaving for work. When my Phở did finally show up, I realized that I would have time to spare because it was such a small bowl.
It was not hot (warm at best) and the stock was pretty bland except for a very odd, unidentifiable flavor.
Twenty minutes isn’t usually a long time to wait for a meal but with Phở, I think it is. Everything is prepared in advance and the extremely hot broth cooks the meat (with Phở Tai at least). When I get Phở just about anywhere else I receive it in less than five minutes and it’s piping hot, usually to hot to eat immediately. Today I got a warm bowl with a substandard flavor, it was ridiculously small, and it took a very long time. I was very disappointed to say the least.
When I go to Saigon Express on Arcade, I get a bowl that is about five times the size for about $ 1 more, It’s consistently flavorful and fresh, it is really hot, it arrives in about two minutes, and I never have to wait for them to open.
The service at Ha Long Bay was as friendly as ever and the place was spotless which is why I’m giving them two stars today.

This place is tied for my favorite Vietnamese place in the White Bear Lake area. The food is always very fresh, and the portions are generous.
Every dish tastes unique, instead of everything tasting similar, which seems to be the trend these days.
Like I said, it’s one of my favorites, and well worth a visit.