You are here: Home >> Round Rock/Pflugerville >> Dining >> Hao-Hao Vietnamese-Chinese Restaurant - Round Rock

Hao-Hao Vietnamese-Chinese Restaurant - Round Rock

Attention: open in a new window.

Written by Ann Calvert Sunday, 07 October 2007

Consistent quality keeps Hao-Hao a local favorite

Our late lunch at Hao-Hao Vietnamese-Chinese Restaurant found most of the tables still packed with diners. One table had eight professionals dressed in scrubs from nearby St. David’s Hospital. Some sort of committee met at another table while families and couples filled the rest. It was clear that people were comfortable and content in this neighborhood establishment.

Owner Y Quach said before Sept. 11 they also had a special noon buffet set up for the Round Rock High School students who walked across the street from the campus each day to eat at Hao-Hao. One of the results of that tragedy, though, was the district eliminating off-campus lunchtime except for seniors. Several of the seniors still come daily he said, even without the benefit of the “school-only” buffet.

Since many of the diners placed their orders without looking at menus, loyal diners must return often. They know they can expect food to be consistently fresh, and delicious.

I am not normally a buffet person, preferring instead to order from the menu. After perusing, however, and discovering how frequently it was monitored by the attentive staff (about every three minutes), I decided to enjoy the extensive selections offered on the buffet. ($5.74)

The broccoli, snow peas and other such veggies were healthy, fresh and stirred to perfection; the cashews were crunchy; the chicken dishes used savory white meat; the noodles were ‘al dente’; the Crab Rangoon was crisp; and the Hot and Sour Soup was one of the best I have tasted. Everything was hot and juicy.

From the Vietnamese menu, the Lemongrass Chicken ($7.75) is sautéed with tender chunks of white meat atop a tangy mound of fried rice delicately seasoned with lemongrass sauce. The waitress made sure we understood that lemongrass was a spicy sauce before she let us order it.

Phó Soup, a traditional Northern Vietnamese dish, is topped with onion, cilantro and served with a side dish of basil, bean sprout, lemon and jalapeno. ($5.25 - $5.99).

Our menu favorite, though, is the Peppery Shrimp ($10.24), a breaded jumbo shrimp tossed over a blazing flame with fresh garlic, chopped ginger and scallion heads and two kinds of ground peppers.

If you are more in the mood for take out, this place has it organized and orderly. When you pick it up, be prepared to see friends and neighbors getting their orders, too. Even though the meals are waiting for your arrival, enjoy the brief visit before heading home with your feast.

How Hao-Hao began

The Quach family opened the first Hao-Hao in 1986 in Dobie Mall on the UT Austin campus, which is still owned and operated by Y’s brother.
Another location is in South Austin.
The Round Rock Hao-Hao opened in May 1997. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary any customer can receive 10 percent off their meal. through Oct. 15.
Y’s father, Hao, the restaurant’s namesake, developed all of the recipes.