With a dining adventure taking place at the restaurant next door, Ha Long Bay caught my eye because they serve Pho and the place was packed so it went on my list of places to visit.

when I made my visit the place was dead, I grabbed a window seat and cruised over the menu to see what the options were.  They have a nice assortment of sandwiches, vermicelli noodle and rice bowls.  The service was friendly and I was served a cup of jasmine tea upon sitting down at my table.

I ordered my Pho and the usual suspects were brought to the table.  The thing I love the most is the that basil, its spicy aroma gets me every time.  The bean sprouts were alright and the jalapeno slice was a nice touch.  The lime half on the other hand was an epic fail, when I went to squeeze it in my soup not one drop of juice came out.

For my Pho I went with the Rare Beef and Beef Ball large size.  I really liked my bowl of Pho, the pepper sprinkled on top added some spice.  The broth wasn’t laden with MSG and it had a beautiful depth of flavor.  The beef could have been rarer for my liking but it tasted fine and was sliced nice and thin.  The beef balls were on the tough/firm side but had a nice anise hint to them.  Noodle wise things were OK and they were cooked enough without being over done.  Price wise my bowl of soup came in at around $8 so it’s decently priced.

Ha Long Bay is a nice little spot in the downtown core to get a solid bowl of Pho at a reasonable price, it’s popular with people who work in the area and it looked like a lot of repeat customers frequent the place so there doing something right!