a dong restaurant

we went for lunch with coworkers, and we were impressed with the food. we had the beef salad, and the chicken pho. the prices are low for the portions and the spices. the atmosphere is a bit odd, but we were also seated alone in what seemed to be the overflow seating.

good food. i find most of the food here fantastic. i could imagine it wouldn't be for everyone. most of the food is very mild. the seasonings are well done and very delicate and intricate. the lemon sauce that comes with many of their menu items is fantastic and i like any of the items with coconut sauce as well. many of the items come with the premise that you will add sauces to the basic well cooked dishes they are providing. you will notice the sriracha, hoisin, soy, oyster etc sauces available. when mixed in with the foods you can easily spice to your preference. i have had a couple items that are not a texture that my american palate appreciates but that is a pretty common difference between american and asian preference. the main items to hit are #89 (fried cream cheese with either shrimp or chicken yum) #87 fresh spring rolls with lemon sauce dipping , pho, ( i like #2 rare beef), bun # 28 is good, stir fried beef and lemongrass or #29 is stir fried chicken and lemon grass. i also tried and really liked # 110 bo bi tet fried marinated beef slices in butter served with rice... ate this with spicy sriracha and the beef was fantastic quality.

best ever. i love a dong, my husband loves a dong, my three children and two granchildred love a dong. we are a
mixed group of vegetarian, meet lover, chicken and fish...all can find something to eat, and devour. we
are well traveled, infact, my son lived in thailand and finds adong very authentic to some of the thai foods
he ate there. everyone should try it at least once. the owner can help many find something to their liking if you don't go with someone that has been there before. thanks to adong for many years of fabulous food for our whole growing family!

i like it. i went there once for a lunch, and yes even though it took awhile for the bill to come, the serve was still excellent. i would recommend anybody to try this restaurant out, they won't be upset, or won't have hardly anything bad to say about it.

not enough taste but cheap!. this vietnamese restaurant was easy to find and is located in a historic part of des moines the sherman hills neighborhood, but the food was not historic. the service was great and the people were helpful about what the food was. the restaurant was clean and light but very plain with very little decoration. we had pho which is was broth with noodles and meat in it. the broth was bland with very little taste and the meat, which was beef was tough. i really like the spring rolls but they were a little greasy and soggy on the outside. we had mango bubble tea which was the best part of the meal even though i thought it was too sweet. the vegetables were very fresh especially the cabbage and had just the right amount of crunch to them. the whole meal was very inexpensive and would be very reasonable if you are on a budget. i had never tried vietnamese food before and even though it was taste lacking i would try it again and order different things.

my cousin reccomended that i try this place and i came in not knowing anything about the restaurant. it is so unassuming and almost felt like a fast food joint when i walked in. then my hot & sour soup came! i was immediately in love! the food here is fantastic! during my meal the owner cane up to see how my meal was and (unlike most times when owners or managers do this) he was very friendly and sincere.

a dong's was the first time i had pho, and it was very good. the restaurant itself is basic, but the food was good, and the service excellent, great prices too.

mmmmm... pho. the best pho i've ever had was in san antonio, tx... a dong is a close second and might be just as good if i knew not to order pho with grisly meat. a dong is on the edge of downtown and has decent parking and ok decor. nothing spectacular but it's in keeping with these sort of mom and pop asian restaurants.

i came during the lunch rush at 1230 and was able to be quickly seated and after i'd placed my order had my pho within 5-10 minutes. it was served in the huge bowl you'd expect and came with a healthy helping of fresh lime, basil, and bean sprouts. the meat was good, i'd ordered the mixed beef and enjoyed the tender pieces my only complaint was the grisly pieces which you can order a bowl without. i just wanted to try something new and learned. other than that i would've liked to have the pho be a little bit more saltier/sour without having to add soy. if you're in town i'd definitely recommend stopping in.

i want to like it. i really want to like a dong. the staff is friendly, the restaurant is always spotless and it's very traditional fair.

however, i wish the food had a little more flavor. i don't want to have to put hot sauce on everything to give it taste.

however, if you want a reasonably priced meal at a nice neighborhood restaurant, try it out.

bland. the blandest vietnamese i've ever tasted. fried rice had no flavor, chicken was like rubber, service was inattentive. not worth even reasonable prices.

addicted. i absolutely love this place - i stayed in des moines for about 8 weeks and ate here once, sometimes twice if i could convince hubby, a week.... we live about 2 hours away and all i do is dream of going back. seriously, when i was preggers i craved a dong's on a daily basis.

alright,so the spring rolls are a bit on the greasy side, but the rest of the meals are so light and fresh it all balances out.
the service - they are friendly and warm up to you, you just have to be friendly first. what won the older man over was i couldn't decided what to order so i played the "surprise me" game. he chose the chicken curry with lemon grass - yumm!
i haven't found an item on the menu that i wouldn't eat again... the number 12 - the bbq duck - is my go to though. it is so wonderfully delicious. all the crunchy veggies and herbs amongst the tender somehow non greasy duck is just mouthwatering goodness.

meh.... first off, the decor was kind of sloppy, and then the wraps on the egg rolls were way too greasy. also, their pad thai had barely any vegetables on it, and when they did, you could tell that they were not fresh and the peanut sauce on the pad thai was at best sub-par. i will likely never go there again.

blech. i should've known the minute i walked inside; the restaurant was filled with non-asain people, a sign that this place was inauthentic. and it was. everything was bland, from the pho broth to the spring rolls to the pork chops. will never go there again.

disappointed. i finally made it to a dong, only to be disappointed. i spent 10 days in hanoi, vietnam this past spring and absolutely loved the food. the word of an authentic vietnamese restaurant in des moines got me rather excited. we got shrimp spring rolls and one of the mixed seafood fire-pots served on rice noodles. the spring rolls were pretty bland and flavorless, missing cilantro and chile peppers that they often use in hanoi. the meat in the firepot was not fresh. i'm almost positive the crabmeat was artificial, the vegetables were previously frozen, and i don't even know what one element of the dish was (and i am a pretty seasoned eater). i wanted to like this establishment, i was excited for it...but i honestly was let down by it. 2 out of 5 forks from me.

fresh!. this is fantastic vietnamese food, prepared with a wonderful array of fresh herbs and delicious sauces. if you want a fresh meal that still has some body (and enough protein), go with the vermicelli with pork and egg roll. it's the best thing on the menu.

the pho is very good. you could probably nitpick and find better elsewhere around town, but the pho at a dong is certainly nothing to complain about.

the chairs get a little uncomfortable by the end of the meal, but with menu prices so cheap, you can't expect much more. service is generally good. i've eaten there a dozen times and had mediocre service just once. sometimes it takes too long for them to bring the bill, and i'm never quite sure if i'm supposed to just go to the counter before they bring the bill?

overall, this is one of my favorite places in the metro.