So after a year hiatus due to the unfortunate experience we had, my wife and I started going back to Ha Long Bay. Usually willpower for me would say otherwise, but the food here is just too good.
Fortunately the service, while still agonizingly slow, has improved. The waitstaff is much more pleasant to deal with, they've hired some new faces and everyone seems polite.
So I'm upping them back to 4 stars, because simply put, they still have the best Asian cuisine in town and no one else really comes close. During my hiatus I had a chance to try Bandung and Lao Laan-Xang, both of which are pretty good in their own right, but nothing in Madison IMO tops the Ha Long. If you haven't been, hopefully you will make this an immediate life choice. You won't regret it.
Just do not plan to be anywhere right after. . .