Royal Dragon Restaurant

Their thai boat for me wasn't good they tasted like package noodles. What was great and probably the best in MN to me is their raw larb. They use real pepper, not dry pepper, not chili flakes, real authentic cayenne pepper. 1 out of 5 places I've been to will use real pepper and not just that, they put mint leaves and lemon grass also. A lot of places just throw in cilantro and green onion, maybe red onion TOO. Their lao papaya is good, full of flavor and spice if you ask for it. I would say 4.5/5 overall as my main interest was their thai boat which wasn't for me. Service was great too.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

The staff there are so welcoming and kind! The food is also amazing! No matter what you get on the menu it will probably be good, trust! You could never go wrong with this restaurant! Please try this out! Coming from a picky eater, this place will not let you down!!

Kid-friendliness: The staff are sweet no matter what!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Papaya was very saucy definitely needed more papaya but was not short on being delicious. Pho was a very rich and meaty broth would like to try the boat noodle next time. Pad thai was on the sweet side.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

I love the drunken noodles and pho noodles. We also got chicken wings. My servers girls are best. They check in on us to make sure everything was good. I love the little deserts they made for my little girls, so grateful for them. I love their green tea drinks.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pho Special, Pho Combo

Food was amazing. Employees were very kind.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Today I had the opportunity to try out a new Hmong owned restaurant in Maplewood. The food is absolutely delicious. Papaya salad was mouthwatering delicious. The Pad Thai was just perfect and seafood curry had humongous shrimps! The house dessert was amazingly delicious! But that's not the most important part about this place. What I found most intriguing is the atmosphere, the service and the owner. They are some of the friendliest people I have come across. They don't just treat you with kindness like a customer, but as a family. If you haven't tried it yet, definitely make a stop there.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Tried this place for the first time today.

I ordered the small beef pho, chicken pad Thai, spring roll, and cheese puffs. Spring rolls and chicken pad Thai were my favorite items. I loved that the Pad Thai was saucy. Pho was a little bland for me but it did have a lot of meat which is always a plus for me.

NOTE: that if you want the beef rib you need to order the Large beef pho. The small one doesn’t include the beef rib (:

Overall service was really good. My server did a great job checking in on me and my dad and getting our water refilled. The owner was also super nice and sweet. She stopped by my table after food was served to check on everything.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

From what I got from our server, I’m assuming they just took over ownership for about a month or so. Our server (forgive me, never got her name. She was a young lady), was awesome. She continuously checked in on us making sure we were provided everything we needed even after we paid and just chilled and chit chat. My buddy got the large bowl of pho with the Rib along with spring rolls . I got the small bowl and the raw laab. The pho was good. The laab to me is really well made. I loved it. Couldn’t finish it all there brought it home and ate it at home; the laab that is. Over all it’s a nicely family decorated restaurant. Atmosphere is awesome. Service, great! I’d go back and try out other entrees again next time. Btw obviously the large bowl will come with a beef rib and the small one doesn’t in case anyone may gripe about it. Just fyi. ? also I believe it’s called Chang Thai now

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

The Chang Pho and Boat Noodle were flavorful and well-seasoned, and I appreciated not needing to add any additional seasoning. Moreover, the portions of meat were generous, and I especially liked the homemade meatballs. The spring roll was conveniently cut in bite sized, making them easy to eat without making a mess and not having to take a huge bite and the fillings start coming out. Additionally, the pot stickers were moist and juicy. The customer service was excellent, and I admired the attention to hygiene, such as the servers wearing hair nets, which is not always common in restaurants. I would definitely go again and try their other foods listed on their menu!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Green Curry, Pho Combo, Homemade Meatballs, Papaya Salad

Delicious food and

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Papaya Salad

Tried for 1st time. Boat pho was amazing!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

3/17/24:If the pad kra pao came with a fried egg then it would've completed this dish and made it even better. The raw laab and pho was okay. We received our food pretty fast within 10-15 minutes. Generous portions of food.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Pad Kra Pao

The foods tasked okay, but the price little too expensive just like the S-Pho cost $14.95 and the meat are not beef just a pork included the meatballs. My suggestion if possible they should change pork to beef instead that way it will task much better and worth the money.

It's my first time there and I think their boat noodle isn't all that. Its all pork. The pork was super soft which I like it but I would prefer beef in my boat noodle. I don't see any other meat beside pork and pork grinds. Same meat in the Chang pho too. We didn't finish our food and left.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Royal Dragon Signature Stir Fry, Sesame Chicken, Pho Special, Pho Combo

Visited 02/16/2024 at 2:30pm3/5: Under new Hmong ownership since 02/09/2024 with current soft opening. Staff is still getting a rhythm to get acclimated so don't expect top-notch service yet. The food is decent but highly-priced. Nice place to visit for the first time to support our local community; Great place to visit if they have a Boat Noodle special like this time but not yet on my all-time top list to visit consistently. I'll visit again once they've got time to settle. Chili heat levels for dishes are 1 to 5 (mild to hot)1. Chang Boat Noodle $19.95 (Today's special $10): Quite decent. More savory than sweet (I love that) but needs more of an aromatic punch of spices. The broth is seasoned well otherwise and is rich & thick. Generously meat-heavy. Would have preferred more herbs, bok choy or another green vegetable, chili peppers & kapik, and blood cubes. Priced high for its portion size.2. Beef Pad Krapow $14.95 + $2 for protein choice: Not your usual Pad Krapow. Expect it to be a typical stir fry. Very light in the basil base. No fried egg. Beef and vegetable slices are chunky. The flavor is good like for any stir fry but it's not "Pad krapow". They do use real chili peppers to spice your desired heat level but it's not spicy. Dish was ordered to be a level 5 but the actual heat level was a 2. The portion was lunch-sized, not entree (shareable).3. Papaya Salad $12.95: The first several bites were very good. The flavor was Hmong (right between Thai & Lao) with a distinct tamarind background. Papaya shreds were perfect (not too thick or too thin). Heat chili level at ordered at a 4 but tasted like a 1. After several bites, it was predominantly sour (limey & tamarind-rich). Priced high for its portion.4. Raw Beef Laab $16.95: Ordered to go. Decent appearance at first glance and a quick taste. At home, the actual taste was salty but bland. Not enough rice powder nor herbs. Bitterness was perfect as requested. The beef was very minced. After several bites, the rest was chucked in the trash. Sad. Priced high for its portion. Wouldn't order this dish raw again.Green tea was good but very sweet. Iced Thai coffee was very sweet and light on cream.

Parking: Enter via west- bound traffic on Beam Avenue

Wheelchair accessibility: Manual door with no steps

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3