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Halong Bay
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
430 W Pender StVancouver, BC V6B 1T1
Neighbourhood: Downtown
(604) 568-7976
- Attire:
- Casual
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
5 reviews for Halong Bay
5 reviews in English
-
Review from Alvin S.
Vancouver, BC
8/3/2011
This place is amazing!! I work around the corner and have been trying to find good spots for lunch. Everything else is either quick, dirty, and fried...or it's just too pricey for everyday visits. Not Halong Bay! For months this area of town was a dessert when it came to Pho and Viet Subs, but not anymore.
I'll start by saying I've only had the Pho there once, and it was good. Not Kingsway, East Van good, but very good for downtown. The real star of the show though are the Subs!! They have an amazing lemongrass chicken sub with juicy, tender meat, super fresh veggies, and near perfect french bread!
They go for about $4.50 or so, which for downtown is a steal. Cap it off with an iced vietnamese coffee (about $3.50) and you're set for lunch!
The service is friendly and quick, and the restaurant itself looks nice and sunny (although I'm usually a to-go patron).
If you're bored of the usual downtown lunch, head on over to Halong Bay...you won't regret it! -
Review from Ramon V.
10/10/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This first time I visited Halong Bay, I was surprised. There is definitely a shortage of good Vietnamese restaurants to cater to the lunchtime downtown crowd, and it's therefore not usually even considered an option unless a trip to Kingsway or Main St is involved.
Pender and Richards is a somewhat quiet corner for foot traffic, so Halong Bay is not always overly busy. On most days you can walk in and get a seat.
On the most recent visit I made, there was a notice on the door stating that the kitchen was being renovated. Half of menu was not available. This meant, anything fried, rice dishes, chicken dishes, pork chops, eggs, spring rolls, and in general anything non-Pho. This was disappointing, but I appreciated the renovation efforts and ordered a pork and beef udon soup.
For parties of 5 or more, expect to wait to have a table rearranged, which on this occasion, the grumpy waitress seemed reluctant to do.
The biggest problem was that there was an overwhelming smell of bleach or ammonia which really interfered with my enjoyment of my meal. I hate to say this, but perhaps the restaurant should have closed down completely to perform the renovation. -
Review from Trudi C.
10/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Nice little place. The service wasn't super amazing - waited a while getting our menus, as did others, to the point that some people left. I'm told by my fellow workers this isn't normal, and the usual lady wasn't in that day, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The place was full and with people waiting though, so that was a good sign at least! I had the small Pho with rare beef. I'm still not entirely sold on Pho. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but it's just noodles, some veggies, and meat, for not always the cheapest price. I watch everyone loading it with sauces and flavour, and wonder if there's a dish that comes pre-loaded with flavour :P
So this place was ok. It filled me up, did the job. without being terrible or over pricey. -
Review from Vincent N.
Vancouver, BC
I came here during the Thanksgiving Long Weekend. This was the on the Monday, unfortunately they told me that their grilled dishes weren't being offered, so Pho it was.
Considering how many Pho places there are in Little Vietnam (I don't care if the city hasn't made it official yet, it's pretty much Little Vietnam) this place made pho that was pretty standard. There was nothing outstanding about the place it's pretty standard and average. Kind of like eating at Pho Hoa for me. The place is kept relatively clean. The soup base was decent but the broth did lack depth in flavour.
The service was okay, nothing spectacular but I didn't have any particularly bad experience.
If you sit facing the door, you'll see their TV. So if you get bored eating in a restaurant like I do, then just watch some mindless television.
Like some of the reviews said there isn't a a lot of good Viet food in the place, so if I'm feeling for something warm then I would definitely come back.
Also as a side note. I find it quite interesting that the first four reviews from this place were also people that did a Yelp Check In. Seems like there are more and more mobile users of Yelp in Van. Good to see that! -
Review from Naficeh T.
Coquitlam, BC
11/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've been to this place a bunch of times over the past couple months. Unfortunately their kitchen has been under renovation during these times so I haven't been able to try some of their grilled dishes. (Last time I asked they said that the renos should be done by mid November) But the kitchen being down isn't really a huge hindrance to me considering I usually come here for the Pho anyways.
The Pho here is pretty good. I've probably had better at some point but this place fills me up just fine.
The service is nice and usually quick. And they tend to leave you alone while you eat. Some people might think this is a bad thing but I really appreciate when waitresses aren't breathing down my neck as I eat. I prefer some space.
Probably the biggest problem I have with this place is the weird 'too-clean' smell. I don't really know how to describe it. I want to say that it might be because of the renovations but I'm not sure...
