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Clean, rich beef broth infused with coriander and cinnamon.....
Properly stocked condiments, including hoisin, sri racha, and chilies.....
A bouquet of bean sprouts, jalapenos, basil, cilantro, and lime wedges.....
Tender eye of round, gleaming noodles, and grilled meatballs.....
Simply put, Hai Duong serves the best pho in Virginia.
I've updated this review because this place is "da bomb."
We come here all the time. The food is affordable and they even have specials. Last time I went on weekend they had a Viet goat curry which a light curry seasoned in lemongrass served two lightly toasted baguettes. Curry with baguettes you say... ? Yes it's good.
My go-to Vietnamese dishes here are pho tai nam, the grilled pork chop over crushed rice, and the vermicelli with eggroll and grilled pork.
I see a lot of Vietnamese people come in and out of here all the time so you know the food is authentic. I always walk by people eating interesting stuff that I've never seen before; like the other day some people were eating a "Vietnamese crepe."
Some of the staff is a little bit "english-challenged" but who cares the food is awesome and it comes out in a blink of an eye.
They recently renovated the place so it's not a whole in the wall anymore; it's actually nice but not fancy date, anniversary nice.
Bottomline: If you like good, solid affordable food then this is a great place.
I ate the pho. You can also order additional meat for two bucks. Good broth and it was just right.… Read more »
I like this restaurant because it has a lot of choices and almost everything is good. My fiance (god I hate the word) almost always wants pho when I'll want a rice dish. So Hai Duong is a good compromise because it has both and is tasty enough to satisfy both our needs. The restaurant is clean and does accept credit cards, with a minimum of $10 or $15 I can't remember.
My favorite dishes are the rice plate w/ pork chop, quiche and egg (Com Tam Bi Suon Cha Trung Up La), or the vermicelli noodle with grilled pork and spring roll (Bun Thit Ngoung Cha Gio). One night I was feeling ill and really wanted some Congee with duck (Chao Dit) and it hit the spot perfectly. The pho is decent but not as good as a pho specialty restaurant. Also, the shaking beef (Bo Luc Lac) is so-so only because it lacks the pillow of watercress that I'm used to when my mom makes it.
It is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant with lots of different dishes to offer. It's also affordable. It is in Eden Center so parking is very crazy on the weekends.
Yelpers must have helped this place rake in some extra money, because they have expanded it, added a fancy chandelier, and a new paint job. Much nicer experience, and might I say, much better service (although they are the same people as July). I don't know if they are just happier because it's popular, but staff was chatty with us and did not seem their normal grumpy selves. Most of all I'm pleased the food hasn't changed. I still love the pho and crispy rolls.
I've visited lots of pho places in the DC area, and this is in the top 3 after Nam Viet and Four… Read more »
If Hai Duong was situated near my home, then I would have frequent the place, but I have high hopes for Vietnamese places in Eden center. Hai Duong lacked the sophistication and attention to detail as seen in Present, but it was also not a mom and pop shop that specializes in one dish and elevates it to an art form. The portion here was small, the flavor was passable, and the price was cheap. The pork chop, egg quiche, and rice plate was delectable. The pho was on the salty and oily side, and the cha gio was tiny. There isn't a whole lot going on in Hai Duong that makes it stand out, but still good enough to satisfy any Vietnamese food cravings.
"Brass tacks"
- Great atmosphere and very quick service
- For the food, both quantity and quality, excellent price $19 each including tax
- Going to go back ASAP
A friend and I saved our Saturday morning hunger up for this place, hoping it would be all we could ever want. We pulled into Eden Center at Noonish and walked around a bit, building up our appetites and checking out the other shops.
The restaurant's host was very welcoming and sat us down straight away. The menu is extensive, but they have a house specialty section which can be helpful in finding the "good-stuff". We decided upon 3 dishes :
1) #31, Sizzling Fish Fillet in Northern Style. We were warned from the waiter that most "Americans" don't care for the strong sauce that the dish is served with, but we got it anyway.
2) #11, Crush-rice with pork loin, egg, and egg quiche.
3) #32. Noodles, shrimp, pork, crispy spring roll, scallions and peanuts.
#31 came out on a sizzling platter skewed fish grilling with a pile of fresh dill. Delicious cut, amazing when put with the peanuts, onions, noodles, and grayish sauce.
#11 was rice based, and the pork chop that came with it was both sweet and salty. The fried egg was cooked perfectly and the yolk added some texture to the rice. Yum.
# 32 had a delicious spring roll and the pork was perfectly cooked.
Everything came with a pickled carrots and radishes, tasty sweet-red chilli sauce, a pile of vermicelli noodles, and all the mint/greens that you could want.
The best part of the day was when my friend turned to me and said, "I think we have an admirer". I swung around and saw an older (presumably Vietnamese) gentleman smiling at us, nodding his head in approval. Then an older lady, sitting across from him, gave us the thumbs-up.
Our dining choices were approved!!
as much as I love yelp and all the wonderful reviews on here, no one can beat Tyler Cowan's DC area ethnic dining guide. he highly recommended this place, so we went, and, as always, he was right. The fish northern style is really, really great. especially with a budweiser, in a glass, with ice. the guys there are great too - they hang out, tell you about the menu, describe stuff to you, and make awesome food. solid all around
I'm no pho connoisseur, as I seldom have the luxury of a car, but whoa this place has absolutely delicious broth--clear, rich, beefy, and coriander-scented, the ultimate pick-me-up after a healthy morning run and a long drive around the hills and dales of northern Virginia trying to find Eden Center.
I ordered the Hai Duong special pho for the hefty price of $7.45, which comes in only the large (enormous!) size and includes brisket, eye-round steak, beef balls, soft tendon, and bible tripe, served with a generous serving of bean sprouts, mint, lime, and a mysterious herb which I've never seen before. The little shop is extremely generous with the meat, which keeps roiling up from the murky recesses of the bowl every time you give it a quick swish with your chopsticks. The small size is about $6.50, with $2.00 for additional meats, and they have a variety of meat combinations to fit every preference. The special one is the only one that includes the beef balls though, which are delicious here--they are grilled before they are put into the broth and they don't have that disconcerting overprocessed texture that they have at other pho places.
In addition to the standard sriracha, the condiment dolly has a pot of glorious, lethal sour chili, a proper and delicious kick in the teeth when you give your meat a healthy dunk into the mixture.
The garden rolls ($2.95..I think) were prettily presented and beautifully rolled but very much lacked in fillings with a greater rice noodle to prawn and pork ratio than I would prefer, although it was lovely and cooling, with some nuoc mam and creamy peanut sauce.
Eden Center has a lot of choices, but Hai Duong definitely stands up!
Good Pho and price. Service is a bit lacking but the food makes up for it.
Their vietnamese crepes seem very popular.
Congrats to Rob O. for getting people to love this place! I've kinda been keeping it a secret since I go here once a week for lunch, but the secret is out! I don't get the pho. It's usually one of three choices for me here:
*Bun Cha Ha Noi-on their specials menu, it's vermicelli and greens with delicious pork marinated, grilled and served with the juices, and a meat patty you can finish in two bites...slurp.
*Banh Xeo-see the first to review for description of this crepe. The fancy greens are something you just can't find anywhere else. I eat it in sections in the bowl provided, and pour a spoonful of sauce over it right before I shovel it into my mouth. Just ask for tofu if you want it vegetarian.
*Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio-the grilled pork and imperial roll verm bowl served with fish sauce. Haven't had it in a while but I like the rolls at Huong Viet better(crispy thick outer shell).
Today I had Goi Cuon and Bi Cuon, two rolls each. Goi Cuon is the rice paper roll (you say spring, I say summer) with shrimp and pork. The dipping sauce is salty and mostly hoisin. Bi Cuon is shredded pork roll and it doesn't come with ample lettuce. This is accompanied with fish sauce (nuoc mam) as well. You'd probably like it but I can make better rolls myself. Toot!
I have been there probably 50 times in my life and I can't recall a bad experience. If you have a wheelchair, enter from the back of the shopping center-there is a ramp. Handicapped or not, be careful of the drivers in the parking lot!
I think this place is one of the best for pho in the va area. the broth is perfect. they use the correct bones to cook the broth and the right amount of time to draw out the oil. when i am in town, i probably go there 4 times a week.. its like an addiction
I lived in the DC-area for over 7 years, and have been to several Pho restaurants (starting with Pho 75 in Rosslyn). I have now lived in Austin, TX for a year and spent this past summer in Seattle, WA. Hai Duong is by far the best Pho shop I've ever been to.
I can't speak to the rest of the menu. I always order 1) crispy spring rolls 2) Pho Tai 3) coffee. The spring rolls are good and come with a delicious assortment of lettuce, cucumber and fish sauce. The coffee is standard, but more plentiful than other places I've been to.
The Pho is simply sublime. An aromatic assortment of flavors, great noodles and PERFECTLY cooked (slightly red when brought out) and tender beef. They provide ample and fresh toppings (basil, sprouts, etc). Add a couple shots of Siracha and you're in heaven.
I come home to DC about twice a year. I NEVER fail to visit Hai Duong when I'm in town.
This place is great! My personal favorite here is the Bun Cha Ha Noi, which is vermacelli noodles with grilled pork in a northern style sauce that you roll with fresh vegetables and dip in fish sauce. Pretty much everything I have had here is good, I would however stay away from the pho there. I stick with the Pho only places if I want Pho.
When you eat here, make sure you order the Rainbow drink dessert (Che Ba Mau) it is the yummiest in Eden Center imo. It has beans. tapioca balls, green jelly, peanuts, even durian if you like topped with peanuts and drowned in cocunut milk served with ice. SOOOOOO GOOD! Even when I don't eat here, I stop in for it. Well worth the $4 =)
Oh and make sure to bring cash...anytime you go to Eden Center.
Not bad, not bad.
We went here to eat pho since the weather cooled off and enjoyed ourselves. Plenty of people to watch, to include a crowd of rather unwashed looking Obama supporters carry signs and stickers all over themselves (must have been a rally nearby - but I didn't know the rallies got dirty).
We also got spring rolls - the best part was that the food was relatively inexpensive compared to other places and was rather good. Plenty of meat to go around too - The Wife couldn't finish hers so I ate it for her like the dutiful husband that I am.
After a revelatory pho experience at Huong Viet, somebody tipped me off that this might be THE place for pho in NoVa. Well it was serviceable, but nothing special. The noodles kinda fell apart and didn't have much body to them; the broth was on the oily side.
I admit, the meatballs were great, but they worked a number on my tummy not long after this mediocre pho encounter.
Thanks to everyones' recommendations, I found the Pho here to be very good. The broth was good and not full of MSG like other places. The Bun Bo Hue was okay, but the broth was a little too sweet for my personal taste.
The service though was very good and the seating area is also good (for Eden Center).
Pretty good Pho. It filled me up a lot quicker than others, not sure why. I only went once. I don't remember anything spectacular just good ole Pho with medium of the road quality broth and meats. I'll have to go back to see if they can stay consistent or get better.
Amazing Pho. A bit hard to find at first (it's inside the Eden Center East mall, I think), but worth the hunt in the bitter cold. The place was surprisingly spacious for the tiny indoor strip mall, and we were seated right away. I ordered a small pho and it was still huge. The flavor was excellent--slightly different than what I'm used to at Viet House in Alexandria, and very different from what I've had in New York, but isn't that what makes each Pho establishment unique?--the beef was perfectly cooked, and the only thing I missed was the little bowls for sauce they sometimes have at other restaurants.
We made the trek out from Alexandria to Eden Center just to go for the more authentic experience, and we weren't disappointed. I'm just glad that Viet House is also very good, otherwise we'd have to put up with the awful traffic (a 12 minute trip took 45 minutes) and the confusing jumble that is the Seven Corners (of hell) just to get a good bowl of Pho. If I were in the area, though, I'd definitely go back.
(Cash only!)
Great pho at a reasonable price ($6-$8). Orders taken and food brought very quickly, but after that you're basically ignored.
Also tried spring rolls, which were good (fairly standard).
Ambience is nil, but hey: you're just here for the pho, right?
viet food virginity... *POP*
well sike, ive tried pho before but i felt that was categorized as "americanized viet food" but hey w.e :P
my friend ordered for me and i got this cubed beef with rice and veggies. the beef was very well seasoned (sorta like indian spices) but a bit too chewy for me and i dunno why but i love the rice. even tho its just white rice i like how it wasnt sticky or anything and it kept its shape. now i dont know if we just came in at the wrong time but it took us a freaking hour to find a parking space then once we went in the rest. it was HOT like humid hot. oh my god the day i regret wearing long sleeves holy gageebers i was burning. and the place was def packed! ill go again if eden is ever not packed and i can find a spot within a couple mins rather than an HOUR!!
I remember when this place used to be in the back of that little mall and only had four tables. Back then I fell IN LOVE with their egg rolls and often ate so many orders, that the cook herself came out to see who loved those egg rolls so much. Due to their popularity at their old location, they were able to move into a bigger location, and even now they still sometimes have lines waiting outside.
We're regulars at this place and love it. The egg rolls are the BEST compared to anywhere else I've ever been. Although, I've only eaten their Com Tam Thit Nuong (Crushed Rice with Grilled Pork) , Bun Chai Gio (Noodles with Eggrolls), Bun Thit Nuong (Noodles with grilled pork), Hu Tieu (Noodles, either eaten dry or with soup), Chim Cut Ro-Ti (roasted quail, my personal favorite :D), and their Bun Bo Hue (noodles with soup and pork legs), I would recommend ALL of them :).
Several years ago I stumbled upon an article in a magazine that described the Vietnamese soup dish, Pho', as the "hamburger and fries" of Vietnam. Since then, evertime I get the chance to try a new Vietnamese restaurant's pho', I take advantage of it. My visit to Hai Duong was no different.
Hai Duong is located in the Eden Center Shopping plaza in the Seven Corners area of Falls Church. The plaza is described as an "anchor of the Vietnamese community" and when you look around you'll understand what they mean. There are thirty or more Vietnames/Asian restaurants in the plaza and Hai Duong is included among them.
When you enter Hai Duong, it appears to be your standard strip-mall, low frills restaurant. It has some nice decor to warm the place up, but certainly nothing fancy. They have a large menu, great quality food, extremely fast service, and inexpensive prices. Oh, and one big perk is that they have plenty of parking in the plaza...at least they did the night I went.
All in all, I would highly recommend Hai Duong (It's a great place for a date).
When my family goes out for our weekly Sunday luncheon/brunch...whatever the hell you want to call it, we typically go here. Parking at Eden Center during the weekend is always a trip. I'd let you in on my secret but then again, I'd rather mock you as you circle the lot endlessly.
Being the twinkie that I am (yellow on the outside, white on the inside), I always go with the bun thit nuong which is essentially rice noodles, fresh vegetables, and grilled marinated pork. Throw on some cha gio (egg rolls), drench the whole thing in nuoc mam (fish sauce) and you got yourself a meal. My dad will typically get a com (rice) dish with grilled meat on top. My gf and mom will typically get bun mam (rice noodles in a fish broth) and my brother and his gf usually get bun bo hue. You can't go wrong with anything on the chef special menu. I wouldn't recommend getting the pho because this isn't a pho place.
Service is extremely efficient and cold. Typical Asian service. Bring cash.
I'm a big fan of this place. The Bun Bo Hue is top notch. Very flavorful with slices of beef shank, ox tail, pork feet (my fav!), and big chunks of congealed blood. I like mine spicy so even though it already comes out a little spicy I put more sriracha in it, and of course, lots of basil.
I really like the pho here too and I think it's even better than Pho 75. Lately my pho at Pho75 have been coming with less meat. At Hai Duong, they really give you ALOT of meat. It's soooo good.
My star rating is higher than I feel the resturant deserves, but I gave it because I am not an aficinado of Vietnamese food. Maybe I missed something. After reading the reviews here and knowing I would be in the area yesterday, I decided to find the restaurant. I have been to other Vietnamese restaurants a few times, decades ago, so it was like something new. I arrived around noon and asked the waiter for a suggestion for a light lunch. He suggested #21 which was a chicken dish with white rice and soup. To get to the point, the chicken was good, but tasted very salty to me, unless it was some spice that is salty. To make matters worse, I put soy sauce on the rice to make it taste and instead I had salty rice. After my leisurely lunch by a window on the indoor corridor of the gallerie, I bid farewell. $9.75 for the bill and I left $2.00 tip since the service was good. Maybe I will return and ask for something not so salty. I have been thirsty ever since noon and it is after midnight now. The Eden Center is new to me and worth a visit. The large parking lot in its center was completely full when I left at about 1 PM on a weekday, so parking might be a problem, but people seem to come and go, so you wait. At noon, I had no problem. Some of the smaller resturants were completely full and people were waiting outside. Most everyone is Vietnamese as this is one of Washington's Vietnamese settlements and people have been here for as long as I can remember. Since the war, that is.
humble, and kinda hole in the wallish location in the heart of Eden Center shopping plaza. Mmm... i'm a regular here....but only for certain dishes. I like the non-pho dishes here. Some of my regulars and favorites include:
-seafood noodle with soup on the side (broth is kick ass and completes the dish)
-crispy, large crepe "banh xeo"
-banh hoi (on occasion, not the best i've had...)
Their rice dishes are ok..not the best i've had, but still good. I revert back to their noodle dishes. Hmm...this list is rather short. I keep telling myself I'll order something different, but I always end up getting the same damn thing. A regular knows precisely what she wants, so she continues to get her usual!!
Totally agree with James R. (which makes sense), since we went together. Delicious, unusual, inexpensive -- my favorite kind of restaurant. I also recommend the house duck salad (#7). The Fish Northern Style is #31.
This place isn't all that great. I went today after my first attempt was a failure - went on a sun evening and although the sign says it closes at x p.m., and it was x p.m. minus 45 minutes or so, they refused to serve us. when i argued about the sign, they still said no and then after a silent moment said we can come in if we wanted. ugh.. no thank you?
so tonight i went. the pho was avg at best. there was a bunch of grease floating in the bowl. the flavor was lacking. then i also got this dish with rich, grilled pork, shredded pork, a fried egg and some other ltitle pieces of quiche or something. was interesting, but was not too pleasing.
should have stuck to my usual spot huong viet but at least i satisfied my curiosity!
Delicious noodle bowls for good prices. How can you say no to that? My friend and I have started coming here relatively frequently and the same man is always there. He's very helpful, will show us the right way to eat things, and make good recommendations.
Stroll through the strip mall too for some other interesting finds.
Hai Duong is my go-to place for pho these days. The broth is super-tasty, and not too overrun with cilantro or salt. Aside from the garden rolls and crispy rolls (which are both good) I haven't tried any of their other food, but this place is always packed with customers who seem to be enjoying their meals!
I love pho. I could eat pho every day. My favorite is the #2 pho here. I also love the crispy spring rolls and the lemonade. If I compare this pho to Pho 75 (which is my go-to pho place) I'd say this wins on the meat front, but the broth is better at Pho 75 (it needed more salt here). One thing I love is that there is chili garlic sauce on the table. First time I've seen that at a pho place in the DC area. The ambiance is better than Pho 75, too. It's smaller and cozier. Very quick service and clean. Best pho in Eden Center.
runs a very very close second to Huong Viet. More of a typical VN experience here. Also slightly different cooking style. Example the ga xao xa ot here is spicy, (more ot, less xa)
Consistently good
While this restaurant serves an assortment of your typical Vietnamese fare, Hai Duong is best known for their Vietnamese crepes, Bahn Xeo (pronounced--BAHN SAY-OW) (that is a white man's suggestion on pronunciation so keep that mind). Anyway, this is a light, crispy Vietnamese style pancake folded over and stuffed with crispy bean sprouts, pork, and shrimp (you can also order it vegetarian style with tofu) that comes with lots of greens and a bowl of nuoc mam (dipping fish sauce). It is outstanding! And cheap!
So, my five stars are for the Bahn Xeo!
Oh--And the almost always have a good Vietnamese variety show playing on the TV to add to the atmosphere.
3.5 stars
got #1 - summer rolls. good, but ive had better
got #12 - crushed rice, egg keish, pork. pretty good. nothing mind blowing
it was also very warm in the restaurant, and the atmosphere is just ok. no windows.
wait staff was nice, but was very slow to bring us our drinks. i think he was very busy.
Yummy and cheap.
The spring rolls (crispy of course) are delicious and fresh, with perfectly crunchy thin wrapper and flavorful filling.
The vermicelli (Bun Hai Duong) was amazing, with perfectly charred shrimp and tender grilled pork and a heap of fresh aromatic herbs and sprouts. The fish sauce was light and sweet, could eat it with a spoon. A+ on the pho as well, for all the right reasons.
The service is friendly and while the atmosphere is very cafeteria-like, it is still a really fun place to visit. I've only been in DC for 2 months and I've eaten there 3 times.
Love the sign in the bathroom asking you to dispose of your TP in the trash, not the toilet. Ummm, huh?
And they do have beer, but only bud.
Best pho. Ever. Not in the mood for pho? Try #32. Noodles, shrimp, pork, crispy spring roll, scallions and peanuts. Delish. Make sure to get an order of crispy spring rolls, which are garnished with mint, cucumber and pickled carrots. Afterward, visit the bakery around the corner for a bubble drink. Yum!
Brightly lit establishment in a strip mall with other places like this. My sister & I were visiting my niece and she took us here for dinner. I was a little apprehensive, but what the heck. If I owned the place I would hire someone to paint a nice scene on the walls, or hang some pictures or something! Seriously when you use 500 watt bulbs to light the place up, have something to look at. So, ambiance -0-. But where else can you get Bible tripe, fish balls and pigs heart? My dinner was very tasty, the soup broth is good and whatever I ordered was good also. We were charged for a drink we did not order and that took quite a bit of talking to convince the cashier/owner that we only received ONE coconut drink. He finally relented and took it off our bill. My sis never loses and argument! If I lived in this area I would definitely return. Good Food. Thanks for the recommendation Suzanne! Good choice :-)
Satisfying pho with a harmony of flavors. Ambiance isn't much to speak of but the pho makes up for it. Bahn xeo here isn't bad either. Certainly the place to come to on a rainy day when you need a soothing bowl of pho
Hands down my favorite spot for pho! Tucked into the shopping center's interior, Hai Duong is cash-only and pretty basic on the interior. Service is speedy--most servers speak a little bit of english. My beau always orders the Bun Bo Hue. I'm a big fan of the Dac Biet or the Tai Bo Vien. Their Banh Xeo is average--on par with the kind they serve at Four Sisters. If you're into rice dishes with lots of meat, they also serve a great Com Tam entree.
Best pho in the area, by far. We make trips out to Falls Church just to have an excuse to come here. Cash only, and they've got pho ga (chicken), which I am sure is probably sort of sacrilegious to some of the other pho places (as they don't seem to serve it-- we checked!), but it is my favorite.
Falls Church, VA
Category: Vietnamese
Falls Church, VA
Category: Vietnamese
Falls Church, VA
Category: Vietnamese
Falls Church, VA
Category: Delis
Falls Church, VA
Category: Vietnamese
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