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Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Oakland Chinatown
103 reviews
Neighborhood: Mission
"This restaurant served up a wonderful dinner for me and the ladies on Friday night. Not crowded at all and the timing on the food was…" read more »
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When I'm in SF, Sai's rocks my world, but this place is AWESOME and it's close to home. Super fast, friendly and the bowls really are as big as your head - the other reviewers were not kidding. I will definitely be back!
Noodle soup comes in only one size at Rang Dong: ginormous.
I have never been in a cleaner or friendlier Vietnamese restaurant where you can get a bowl of noodles bigger than your head for 7 bucks. The rice dishes are similarly hunger-destroying and delicious. Probably one of the best values in Oakland Chinatown for sit-down Asian food.
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I don't speak Vietnamese, but I find the name of this restaurant very intriguing. Loosely translated, I believe it means "Have you telephoned your private part?"
Anyway, this place is located in Chinatown, not too far from my friend's place. We walked over to Rang Dong around 6 pm yesterday for some pho. As soon as we approached the place, I remembered that I had eaten there bePHOre, and I liked it.
The place was very clean and nicely decorated (by inexpensive Asian restaurant standards). It's a family owned and run place, and the staff is super nice. The waiters are friendly and helpful. Of course, I may have gotten preferential treatment here because my friend is somewhat of a regular.
I ordered pho "American style," by which I mean no tendon and no tripe. Every time i hear the word "tendon," I tend to think about sports injuries, not delicious meals. I can't eat that! The pho was pretty good, but not excellent. I wish we got some more meat, too. Although when you can get a ginormous bowl of tasty noodles, meat and broth PHOr less than $7, you shouldn't complain.
We also got some pork rolls as an appetizer, which I think was a mistake. They were pretty good, but the sauce they came with didn't complement the rolls very well. Fortunately, they had plenty of hot sauce on the table, and hot sauce, as we all know, goes well with everything. Besides, at $5.95 it wasn't a very good value.
I'll definitely be back, but I might skip the appetizer next time.
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we go here sometimes, just because we like the name.
When you say it out loud, it sounds like Rank D...
too funny
this restaurant is tastefully decorated. there are pictures/murals of vietnam and vietnamese woman all along the walls. they have many varieties of vietnamese cuisine. this review is for the pho only.
pros:
-pho tai gan(6.55) comes in one size, looks like a med. broth is brownish and sweet tasting with a strong star anise prescene. noodle is delicate and veggies fresh.
-fast service. pho came out within 7 minutes.
cons:
-about 5 pieces of very thin cooked tai and 7 med chucks of gan,
-meat portions seem small compared to what's available on international.
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I love this place because it's fast, and the pho comes in a really large bowl. What I really like about the pho is the broth, not so much the cuts of meat. I typically like rare steak, but it's a little bit too chewy/soft for my liking.
Lately I've been getting the tomato soup, which might smell funny, but is actually DELICIOUS. It's authentic Vietnamese soup that you typically can't find in other Pho restaurants. I also like the vermicelli. Basically everything I've gotten here has been good!
The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because the prices are a little bit more expensive than typical China town prices and the cuts of meat are either too chewy or too dry... otherwise, the broth for the pho and the other dishes make up for it.
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This is a very nice neighborhood Vietnamese Restaurant run by a very nice family. The service is warm, welcoming, and attentive, and the food is tasty. It is one of our family favorites for a quick, casual, informal, and delicious dinner. The vegetarian salad rolls, the clay pot, the Pho, the bird's nest...it's all good!
Good lord, this bowl of Pho is bigger than my head!
Needless to say, I didn't finish it, but every bite I had was deelish. I still can't really handle tripe, so I had the #11 without it. The noodles were nicely chewy, the broth salty, just how I like it. My bro had a #19 and made short order of it. My mum had the clay pot chicken, which she only had raves about.
Service was super quick and friendly. They kinda slacked on refilling our water glasses, though.
I want to go back and try more menu items, but it'll be difficult for me to not order the Pho!
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I can't imagine what happened to the people who complain about the service here. I have been going here regularly since they opened -- and often with my son, who's just turned three! -- and they have never been anything but welcoming and attentive. They'll visit the table three or four times during our meal, more if my boy is with me, just to make sure things are as they should be. And they always are! The food is very, very good -- not orgasmic, or I'd give it five stars, but what do you expect for an every(wo)man's restaurant ... this ain't Chez Panisse! The place is also cleaner than almost anything else in Chinatown, bathrooms included. Totally reliable, in my experience.
Good food, nice people, clean can ... long live Rang Dong!
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Pt II, a few months later....
OK, I upped my vote to five stars. On thinking about it, for what it is -- a moderately priced, family-style Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown -- it's just about as good as it could be. Four stars connotes something not being right on the money, and that's just not the case. For fine dining, I'll hit Baywolf first, but for a quick lunch on my way to the herb shop, you just can't beat Rang Dong. Five stars!
"Rang dong, the witch is dead"...go ahead, sing it to the tune of the ol' Wizard of Oz favorite, and you'll see why we can't stop saying that whole line every time we discuss where to go to dinner. It goes something like this, "Hey, love, where should we eat dinner?" and the response is, "How about Rang Dong the witch is dead?" It's so automatic, we don't even laugh anymore when we say it. Go ahead, try it. It just works. Throw your head rhythmically side to side while you say it, for extra good times (and to keep the beat, of course).
Anyway...the review. I can't believe after years of going here for veggie pho, I just tried the vegetable/tofu bun for the first time this week. Why, why have I been denying myself?!? It was RIGHT THERE this whole time. It's so special! On top of the usual rice noodles, cabbage, and pickled carrot salad, they saute tofu and vegetables in a really savory combo of spices. I've never seen this on veggie bun before. I'll definitely go back for it.
The pho is always dependable and fairly priced. Rang Dong...thewitchisdead!...also includes more vegetables than other restaurants in their bowl of pho. For instance, they add zucchini to the usual mix of carrots, mushrooms (domestic and shiitake), carrot, tofu, cabbage, broccoli, etc.
It's a little chilly while I'm eating, but I wouldn't trade it for the big windows that line the front wall. It is what it is. Throw a sweater on and focus on the soup.
Right up there with the best truly seedy joints that also happen to have great food. What Rang Dong lacks in comfort, cleanliness, or service is more than made up for by the great Pho and other authentic dishes that are rich, flavorful, and downright cheap.
We ventured to Rang Dong for lunch recently, and having seen the place in bright daylight, I'd suggest going there for dinner after darkness has fallen. Nevertheless, the Pho is excellent, particularly with the rare steak. We also tried the vermicelli with grilled prawns which was awesome. The kitchen must be an assembly line of Pho, for it arrived within about 30 seconds of ordering, while the vermicelli took another ten minutes.
A great choice for the food lover with no pretensions.
My hubby and I love this place. The place is pretty big, the tables are clean and the prices are good. My hubby will usually order the #1 Pho and I go back and forth between #12 and a vermicelli bowl. I took away 1 star because the vermicelli noodles are hot and not cold like they usually are at other places.
This place is probably a little pricier than some other vietnamese noodle shops in oakland chinatown. I think everything is around $7-8 per person but you take into account the cleanliness factor and that's priceless!
Went there tonight with some friends...
Pho this and Pho that, that is why we went....of course I was not really feeling the Pho tonight.....so I had Mongolian beef, which was excellent...really excellent....only disappointment was the Thai Ice Tea, but hey, can't win everything,,,
I will be going back, and promise to write about the Pho......what i saw looked great..
Best to go with a group of friends, so you can get an order of Family Pho and share......
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I wasn't expecting much when we came here for dinner last night, but "WOW, yummy!!" is what I kept saying throughout the meal!
They claim they are an "authentic Vietnamese restaurant", and while I haven't been to Vietnam to verify (yet, hehe), they did have more menu options than just the standard pho and vermicelli and rice dish fares.
In an effort to be more adventurous, we skipped the pho and ordered the following:
1. Vermicelli with grilled pork, shredded pork, and egg rolls. This was darn good; the fish sauce was just right (not too sugary or too sour), there was a good balance of veggies and noodles, the pork was yummily marinaded and grilled, and even the egg rolls were pretty good (I'm not an egg roll fan)
2. Hot and Sour shrimp soup (supposedly Thai inspired). I am a soup lover. This was amazing. I think I drank half of it. The broth was yummy, and it went well with the chunky stuff in it - a strange kind of squash that looked fibrous but was actually completely edible and a little crunchy, bean sprouts, shrimp. Yum yum. I think this was my favorite for the night.
3. Stir fried lemongrass shrimp. Yuuuuumm. In addition to the tasty big pieces of shrimp, there were carrots, celery, and other assorted veggies. The sauce is addicting. Paired with white rice, and oh man, I just didn't want to stop eating.
4. Claypot red snapper. This was the weakest link of the dinner because I could tell that the fish wasn't fresh enough, but the flavorings that they used covered it up enough. The portions were pretty generous though for a fish dish. It would have been superb had the fish been fresher.
Usually when I go to a new restaurant and order several dishes, I expect at least one of the dishes to be a total flop. This wasn't the case, and I seriously wanted to just keep eating. Must. Exercise. Self. Control.
So why only 4 stars? When we finished the hot and soup shrimp soup, I found a hair in the bowl. Hahaha, well, the soup was boiled long enough to kill everything and the restaurant IS in Chinatown, so this shouldn't be too big of a surprise...
I will definitely be coming back here to try more things on the menu! =D
There are some definite pros and cons about going to Rang Dong. I come here for the pho only (my comfort food), so I dunno about the other stuff here. The deep fried egg rolls are pretty good too.
Pros:
1. The pho comes out FAST. As in, you order, and literally 2 minutes later your food is the table. Don't know how the hell they do it so fast, but when you're hungry, this is key.
2. The soup is very tasty. Mmmmm....
3. Lots of noodles!!! The portions are quite big...
4. Service is very good. Waiter is very nice, and the host is very friendly.
Cons:
1. I bit on the pricey side for pho... especially when compared to comparable pho places in SF (ie. on Irving Street). It's about 7 bucks for a bowl.... PPQ in SF is like 5 or 6 bucks.
2. They reallyyyy scrimp on the beef balls. My rare steak/beef ball pho came with 1 beef ball, cut in half. I was like, thats it?? I asked the waiter if I was supposed to get more, and he said no. So now I get the rare steak/tendon pho when I go here...
Despite the negatives, I still like Rang Dong a lot b/c its convenient (2 mins from my work) and the soup is good. Yummmmm....
This place is great as long as you're not expecting too much. Wine list?? haha, no. This is not some trendy fusion place in the city.
I've only ordered the rare steak pho, and its consistently excellent every time. To drink, get either a vietnamese iced tea or a beer.
I find the service very friendly. I feel welcome every time. The atmosphere is cozy enough for a date but still good for a larger group of people.
mmmm theres nothing like a steaming hot bowl of pho on a cold day...
My seafood pho had bits of meat (pork, I'm assuming) everywhere so I wished the menu had clearly indicated so. The soup was tasty, so I kept drinking it... This was a big mistake, because the next morning I woke up entirely bloated. Their rice dishes are okay, and they have a decent vegetarian menu. The servers were extra nice and friendly. Although they slightly screwed up with one of our orders and offered to remake it immediately, we decided not to bother because they were so nice.
In sum, we now know that we have to go back to Pho 84.
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Rang Dong was SO nasty when it first opened up. None of us would go there. But then a couple months ago we had a lunch meeting there and I ordered the Sweet and Sour Catfish Soup (Thai style) and it was actually very well done. The soup was actually sour with a bit of spicy to it and the fish was super soft and tender. I went back again to have their pho (which was just so wrong before), but it turned out to be pretty decent. It's no South Bay pho, but for the area, it's not bad. Today I got the Vermicelli with Grilled Pork, Shredded Pork and Egg Rolls and they gave me like 2-3 lbs of food. Everyone in the office was drooling over my take out. $9 for a big lunch and Salted Plum Soda? Not bad.
I'm glad Rang Dong has amped up its food. Especially for those of us who work in the area, it's always good to have restaurant options.
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good pho, good vermicelli. cool in the summer, Fing freezing in the winter. i think they want you to appreciate how hot the broth is...
I have been to Rang Dong about 4 times and have had only good service. I've also, always gotten the same thing: tofu vermicelli salad and tofu veggie soup. both are very tasty! i've never had the pho but will try it out next time to see if i agree w/ everyone else's feedback.
100% average Vietnamese food at 100% average prices. Being that there are far better Vietnamese food options nearby, I suggest skipping over Rang Dong.
If I knew how to make pho at home, I would have no need for Rang Dong. Alas, I know nothing about pho so I let Rang make it for me since they're close to where I go to school.
The broth is decent (and a lot of it!) and the noodles fill up the bottom of the bowl nicely. The meat however, is not that great. It's rubbery, chewy and sometimes bland...but its still edible. You know something doesn't taste that great when you have to put loads of chili and hoisin sauce just to make it good.
The first time I went there, it was really good. The second, third, fourth time, it was decent. By the fifth time, I just became bored with it. The spring rolls are over-priced at $5 for six tiny pieces (you can walk down to Cam Houng and get three fat rolls for $3).
The good thing about Rang is the atmoshphere. It's quite serene with the asian "easy listening" music in the background and the lighting is quite soothing. Once you enter all you wanna do is shut up and eat.
The service is also decent. The prices arent THAT bad. Not the best of anything in town at Rang, but the place does offer a decent place to sit down to a huge bowl of pho (between $5-7) when you're feeling under the weather.
I have been to this place a number of times and have always had good service and enjoyed the food. i love the vermicelli tofu salad and the tofu rolls are good too. being a veggie, they have a good amount of options and are always very accomodating. the prices are great too!
To all of you who were looking to go to Vi's only to find out that Vi's has gone the way of the Dinosaur, do not think you should give this place a try just because of your fond memories of Vi's.
This place is NO Vi's.
First the service: Piss Poor.
The Food: Horrid to acceptable but overall bad.
Atmosphere: good.
What happened: first I asked for the wine list after reading on their menu that they had one, only to be told that they did NOT have one. The woman helping said that I should tell her what kind of wine I wanted and she would bring me the bottle to look at. I said that I wanted a Zinfandel. She then brought out an airplane bottle of Sutter Home WHITE Zinfandel, I said "I would like red wine, do you have a full size bottle?" She then brought out two mediocre red selections. I opted for the Mondavi Syrah that I was about to pay way too much for. At this point my hopes for the food had sunk.......the appetizer was atrocious, shedded pork rolls that were bland with noodles the EXACT texture of rubber bands, the peanut sauce was also bland and had a gross, grainy texture. My entree was acceptable, but as is often the case the meat was very low quality.
Bottom line: Vi's is gone & this place is horrible & over priced. AVOID AT ALL COST.
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