Hoang Yen

4.5 (It’d be a 5 if they had better spring rolls)
If you’re a Unilocaler in Vancouver it’s a must visit.
Their crab noodles and their fish noodles is something special. There’s nothing like it in Vancouver. If you love soup noodles, then you’ll absolutely love this place.
Don’t order any appies or their phở. They’re not bad, but not on the same level as their crab noodles.
Free street parking on Victoria.
Quick note: They’re closed from the second week of Feb to Mid March (can’t remember the exact dates).

The reviews here are correct. Service was great. The sprouts and mint were plentiful. The phở broth was delicious. The place was quite busy! I recommend this restaurant to others.

If you can find a better bun cha ca (fish cake noodle soup) in this city, please pass that info my way. The dill+veggies+fish balls = amazing. If you’re on the other side of the city it’s worth a commute to try. Bunch of other good food on the menu but the fish cake soup and variations of it are their specialty.
Gets busy in here, and they might sit you with other parties at one table. Pretty small restaurant. Cash only. Service and décor are what you might expect at a place like this, but the soup is incredible and elevates this place above the average Vietnamese restaurant.

Was recommended by my friend to try their Bun Rieu (crab soup) and the reasonable price. I tried it and it was SOOOOO GOOODD. You can really taste the crab flavour. Not spicy at all, you may add some chillies and condiments if you like. I’ve also ordered their Spring Roll, which was pretty small, not the usual size they serve in regular Phở restaurants. Place was small, but I came around 1pm and it was not too busy. Will come back here for sure.

love the fish soup here! I’ve moved away from Vancouver and have been dying to eat this again

Absolutely delicious. everything is very edible. fresh ingredients different varieties of soups. all good.one of the better phở noodle shops.

This is one of my favourite phở places in Vancouver. Their soup is really flavourful. Service is good. I love how they give u oranges at the end. Feels a lot more refreshing. I just don’t like how small this place is when it’s packed.

Came here not knowing I was about to taste the most spectacular Vietnamese crab soup of my life until one of my friends ordered the fish soup by the name of Bun Cha Ca Dac Biet. Oh my goodness, I’m back n the state and still dream about the fresh dill and fragrantly infused soup served up at Hoang Yen in BC. Sooooooo gooood!!! Can’t wait to visit BC and have this again some day.

I’ve heard a few people talked about this place, so I convinced my whole family to come and try it. The place was dirty, service was ok, and their special fish cake noodle soup was so salty I couldn’t taste anything else. Big fail.

For 9.50, the portion size for the lemongrass chicken and spring roll on vermicelli was alright, albeit a tad on the pricier side. The chicken was nicely grilled with tasty crispy bits though the spring roll was a bit of a let down. Although not greasy, it tasted like the majority of the inside was bread filler… Maybe Phở is the way to go in the future since EVERYBODY else in the place was ordering it, plus there was a line up out the door.
In any case, their long time presence in the area must speak to the quality of their offerings, if not for a loyal customer base! P. S. The orange slices and fortune cookies at the end of your meal are a nice touch

I’ve been coming to Hoang Yen since it first opened, and the quality has stayed consistent. Waits can be long during lunch and dinner; expect at least 20 min. The best time to visit is between 3 – 4:30pm. Bun cha ca (#24) and bun rieu (#23) are both super delicious! Prices have changed though as a small specialty soup used to be around $ 7.50, it is now $ 8.50 and a large is $ 9.50. Their specialty soups are great but personally I don’t think it is worth the price. Rice is really nothing special.

Really good bun cha noodle soup here!!! Came early for lunch today and I’m so thankful we came early because it became super busy by 1130.
Ordered their speciality noodle soup… BUN CHA CA DAC BIET. The soup base is very good and fresh. Not too fishy as you may expect for fish soup. Their fish cake is very good too! Definitely recommend!
We also ordered fried fish fish to share and we all loved how fresh it was. They used fresh oil to fry the fish pieces so you can tell in my pics.
I will for sure come back!!!

We waited 35min to get a table and let me just say, it was worth the wait! Just off 35^th and Victoria, you could blink and miss this place if it wasn’t for the constant lineup of people anxiously waiting for a table, we probably would have just walked right by! The springrolls and rice dishes are nothing out of the ordinary but the noodle soups here are AMAZING! Between the group of us we had the fish cake noodle soup, the crab noodle soup and the rare beef phở and they were all very different but ALL very good. The soup was clean and clear with the right balance of flavours and the noodles are a thicker vermicelli cooked with a bit of bite left served alongside a mountain of fresh bea sprouts, lime, chili, mint and basil! This will be our go-​to place next time we are craving a warm bowl of Vietnamese noodles, even if we have to wait another half an hour

Tried the bun rieu. It was passable. i’m still looking for that killer bun rieu. Like the ones I had in Alhambra, (Los Angeles). The crab cake was… well. crab paste. And a little weak in flavor. Two small pieces of tomato and 2 little shrimp with fish cake.

Another restaurant I’ve been wanting to try but could not wait the long wait for a table. Today we arrived at 1130 and only waited a couple of minutes to be seated.
We had #24 and #25… bun cha ca & bun cha muc. Portions were big and it was fantastic. The only complaint we had about our third dish was the picture on the menu wasn’t served as shown. (Black cod vermicelli.) This is probably a dish we wouldn’t order again.
Service was good considering how busy they got.

What a refreshing change! Follow me and know I’m a Phoddict. We’re on a mission seeking the best banh mi and phở in the lower mainland and eating our way into heart disease from all the red meat… but maybe if we break it up with the bun cha ca here every now and again will stave it off a bit. I had the one with the fried fish (okay. maybe not) and truly enjoyed the light broth, slightly dilly, and slightly thicker noodles. I’m not sure if I can get THIS anywhere else either, but if I can? Let me know. I’d love to go on a mission and try all the bun cha’s!
Two notes:
1. cash only
2. super busy. prepare to wait.

It would merit a 4 star if not for the service. The food is equal to the other Vietnamese places in my Hastings Sunrise area. I came here because an IG post said it was worth a visit. I had the crab phở and it smelled and tasted more dried-​shrimp than crab. The two prawns were good and tasted fresh. I like and used all the herbs placed on the bean sprouts. I don’t use bean sprouts. Nice touch with the big fat wedge of cooked tomato. My sister had the lemongrass grilled chicken on noodles and my nephew had his regular beef ball phở.
These dishes can be ordered with sides at a reduced price. We had to ask three times for the iced coffee and my three bean coconut. Iced coffee was messy as pouring from a coffee cup makes it run down the side. The three bean coconut dessert was half the size I expected and served in a small take out plastic bubble tea cup. So it was no deal at all unless you want a small size. But it was good. I guess if you order it separately you get the regular size in a glass parfait glass? The spring roll was okay. I thought it tasted «stinky.»
We had to ask twice for the bill. The service was good just not attentive. We came at 2pm on a Sunday and there was such a loud clatter of dishes banging around in the back. I mean it was very loud! This deafening noise went on for a few minutes I guess because it was a shift changeover or something? While we were eating the waitresses were reaching across our faces to replace napkins and handed me the chopsticks to put in the cutlery container. I’m use to this but it seem more intrusive than usual as they just plunged across our table. Couldn’t they wait until we left?
And reading the other reviews, we did not get any oranges or anything else that others got.
The only good thing is I didn’t get an MSG hit or ultra thirsty after a Vietnamese meal. But if I were in this area again I’d go across the street to Chau Veggie. Their phở, although vegetarian, is sooooooo good and made with so much care.

The Vietnamese Fish Soup with Noodles is damn good!
Hoang Yen is a typical Vietnamese noodle shop. There’s no air conditioning, English is not mandatory, service is not too bad and cash only.
I’ve only tried their Vietnamese Fish Soup with Noodles so far and I’m hooked. It’s made really well with tons of flavor. The dill pretty much covers the whole top layer of the bowl. Tangy deliciousness.
Edit: Thanks to another Unilocaler, this soup is called Bu cha ca dac biet

This is the 3^rd phở restaurant to try it out on/​along Victoria Drive this month! Hoang Yen menu items selection a bit more than other places.
We ordered standard rare beef and beef balls noodles in soup which was good and tasty + fish cakes were a bit greasy still delicious + spring rolls was ok.
Overall, taste better than others
The staffs doesn’t speak much English and probably need to tell them number for the order you want to order to avoid confusion.

You know a place is straight up legit when there’s a nice lit sign that sticks out over the sidewalk.
Parking is available on the side streets.
This area has some of the best Vietnamese in town, as there are several establishments in a tiny cluster — competition must be tight.
The inside is surprisingly clean — almost too clean. Nice bright interior, and shiny tiles all over the walls and floor. The atmosphere was quite cheerful, for lack of a better word.
Staff were friendly, and service was quick.
The chili peppers came in a dish, all chopped up. There were a lot. See pic.
The lemon grass chicken and pork chop were both very well done — not too greasy. Nice BBQ flavour. The salad was average in terms of ingredient selection, but was nice and crispy. And of course, you have a bowl of that beautiful MSG soup.
Food here was quite decent. Will be back for sure.