I'll say it again, I love, love, love Ha Long Bay. I usually stop in for lunch with coworkers, but tonight I stopped in with a friend for dinner. The wait for a table was a little long, but it was to be expected since the place is a pretty popular. I ordered my favorite, Thai iced tea (no cream) and pad see ew with chicken at a 5/4 on the "secret" spice scale (I call it the Asian spicy scale). I love the portion sizes!!! I worked on my dish for a good 10 minutes and it still looked like I didn't make a dent in it -- and still had leftovers to take home. For dessert my friend enjoyed the coconut rice with mango, and it was phenomenal as well.
Our waitress was so sweet, and made sure to check on us despite the fact that the restaurant was a full house. The louder noise level was to be expected since the place is a little cramped, but it wasn't bothersome.
Definitely the BEST place for authentic Thai/Viet/Lao cuisine.