Hao Hao Leander - Chinese and Vietnamese Cuisines — Restaurant in Leander

Went to Hao Hao today for the first time with my partner and little sister. We ordered a lunch special (available til 3) with fried rice and general tsos chicken, comes with a hot and sour soup but we upgraded to an egg drop. For appetizers we ordered the ribs, calamari, steamed dumplings, and crab wontons. I also had a wonton soup. EVERYTHING was beyond good it completely shocked all 3 of us. The only thing we didn’t like was the fried rice, so we told our server Kyland and he immediately understood, spoke with the kitchen, and came back to give us a discount and apologized and reassured the kitchen was making a new batch. Other than that, the chicken was tasty and not spicy at all. Came out fresh and hot with two broccolis for the lunch portion.

This place has enough appetizers to make you feel like you’re ordering tapas or small plates and can definitely leave feeling full and satisfied just based on the apps. The calamari was by far the best I’ve ever had. Completely different than what you would typically see in an Italian restaurant. Here the flavor is smokier and topped with green onions (the perfect amount). The crab wontons were proportioned perfectly with the filling and crust. The sweet sauce paired well with it. The steamed dumplings were pork (only option for meat, but you can order pan fried instead) and had great flavor. That one came with a dumpling sauce that elevated the taste without overpowering. The ribs were amazing. Cooked perfectly and seasoning was so tasty. Soups came with dry crisps to top off and they came out before our other dishes which was perfect timing to us having soup, then apps, then our entree. I had a Thai tea and it wasn’t the best or the worst, but the food made up for it. Appetizers all came with 4 pieces each dish. Pictures were taken after we started eating, it was that good!

When you go, ask for Kyland! He was so attentive, communicative, friendly, and patient. Cleaned our table every time we finished a plate, made sure our glasses stayed full, and checked in on us the perfect amount of times. We will definitely be coming back with more of our family and we’re so excited that there’s a good Asian restaurant so close to us...

We frequented Hao Hao in Round Rock for many years, and loved the food and service there. Then we moved to Georgetown and have missed Hao Hao for the past 5 years. When we learned they were building a new restaurant just a mile from our new home, we were so excited! Today we had lunch there for the first time. It was pretty crowded, and they were processing a LOT of carry out orders, but we were seated within 1 minute. The decor is very nice. Very comfortable seats everywhere. Nice bar area (more for eating, not drinking). I worry there are not enough tables (only counted about 15 tables) but considering the take-out demand, it might be strategic. We sat down, and our waitress showed up about 1 minute later with a water and iced tea... but we hadn't even ordered. I looked at her wondering what was going on, and she said "Water and tea, right?". How did she know? She pointed at the bar, and there was our old waitress from Round Rock, smiling at us. 5 years later! She still remembered our drink order. I was dumbfounded. I had the Pho Thai, and it was great as always. Not too salty, beef very tender. Special care to chop the onions in diamond shapes... little details that I appreciate. My wife had the chicken fried rice, and wonton soup. Her soup was really amazing. I've tasted hundreds of wonton soups over the years, and this was one of the best ever. Again, the fancy chopped onions and celery, with giant wontons, and very light broth. Her fried rice was exactly how we remembered... light, fluffy, with the perfect blend of veggies. We are so glad to have Hao Hao near us. And even more happy the food hit the mark on the first try. The staff is still learning. Service wasn't perfect, but we were very happy overall. They didn't allow us to modify the menu items, but they explained the staff is still getting the hang of things and once they are in rhythm they will allow customizing dishes. Sounds reasonable. Expect bumps during the first few weeks... the same was the case with Casa Garcia's and Chili's next door. Gotta...

This was a bad experience, but I'll try to be fair.

Started off with the hostess steering us towards a very dirty table so we asked for a booth instead. Sat down and asked for a water without ice for my wife and a water with ice for me. A different person brought us 2 waters with ice.

They brought us utensils wrapped in paper napkins. My wife opened her napkin to find it dirty on the inside. Not good.

Ordered the Volcano Chicken. The one positive thing I can say is that it tasted pretty good. The rice was a little overcooked but no biggie.

However my wife ordered the Pho with tofu. They brought her the Pho with beef. Sent it back and they brought out the pho about 5min later. If you like enormous slabs of tofu in your pho then you may like it, but my wife doesn't want huge chunks like that. The tofu pieces were so large that they resembled sticks of butter. I'm surprised they didn't give her a steak knife to navigate the tofu in that pho. The noodles were tacky in texture. She hated it and left it mostly untouched. Not trying to be a jerk just giving my feedback.

Also, all of a sudden they started playing hip-hop with loud bass at a high volume. I felt like I was in a car with a loud subwoofer. Not conducive for a relaxing meal. On a positive note, when I asked them to lower the volume they did so quickly and without complaint.

Unfortunately by this time the damage was done and we decided to just cut our losses and leave.

The food is okay, my Volcano Chicken was good, the staff was polite but the service was bad. It was kinda dirty. That and the spotty service is why I will never return.

I do wish them luck. These problems are fixable,...