I used to live in town and now live in Seattle area. Dragon River has remained one of my favorite places whenever I revisit Bellingham, but I am not sure if it's because I live in Seattle area and have tons of options now, or if the flavor just doesn't hit the same anymore. I've been twice in the past year and while it's still really good, it just seems to lack the wow factor it once had. That said, I've never found anywhere else that makes the Honey glazed pork or eggplant with pork. From my recall of what the owner said, it's a special cooking technique her husband developed from their home village, though she said in recent years visitors to their village have been trying to replicate it in other areas around there. But as far as getting it in the US, there's a reason I've yet to have anything like it even in bigger cities, it's truly unique to them. So would I still recommend this spot? Yes, if I still lived in Bellingham, I'm sure it would still be a favorite spot of mine. I also recommend the hong you chao shou, though this last time I had it, it just was spicy but lacking umami. Hopefully just a fluke. Finally, I rated 4 stars, mainly because the service is always umm ok. The owner CAN be very friendly, but usually is not, especially if overwhelmed. But sometimes even when it's slow you feel like an inconvenience. Also don't expect to be given water unless you ask for it or to be checked on if you need a refill on tea or water. If you go enough, you will probably experience all the different moods! read more

Dragon River - Pork in Xiang-Yu Sauce. A little spicy! - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

IMHO, this is the best Chinese food in our county. Well prepared, nicely seasoned and flavored and not shy when it comes to portion size. The owner is lovely, accommodating and funny. They have many vegan options and are happy to work with other dietary needs. We eat here weekly, it's that good. read more

You get so much value here since the food is such high quality for very reasonable prices. It's the perfect combination for me and I order here every time I'm in Bellingham. The one downside is that for the great prices and great food, it's mostly for take out. They did just recently reopen their dining room, but since they haven't offered sit-down service for years as a result of the pandemic, their dining room still sits mostly empty. They don't have a website, nor do they offer online offering. Heck, they don't always answer their phone, either, and if you call with an out-of-state number they'll question your location to ensure you're in Bellingham. But it's all worth it for the food! Plus, when you pickup your food, they've always been very friendly. read more

Dragon River - Exterior photo - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Decent food and good service. Dining room very dated looks midway through a delayed or long rebuild with one side taped off -- I did takeout; seemingly everyone else does too as room was empty at 5:30 PM. Food was pricy relative to nearby Chinese options --also best a takeout place with poor interior. Very good taste and portions though. Bellingham has great Thai-- but sadly the Chinese scene is lacking. read more

They finally reopened the dining room, so I decided to give it a try. I really prefer eating fresh Chinese food immediately after it's cooked, not after it's been sitting in a styrofoam container for an hour. What a great decision! I am aware of the complaints about rude service, but what I experienced was quite different. Warmly received complete a big smile. Efficient ordering and very timely delivery of food. I had green beans and Sichuan beef. Both dishes were absolutely delicious and were very generous amounts. My visit was very pleasant and enjoyable. I will be a frequent visitor. read more

My family just moved here s few months ago and this was the first place we tried This place is so good friendly people their very good food and fresh soup is amazing along with everything else on the menu this is our new favorite Chinese place to go to :) read more

I love the convenience of this Chinese restaurant around the corner from where I live. The service is fast. The food is delicious and they never let me down. read more

We went there for lunch for my mom's birthday. 4 adults and 1 child. We were told they could only seat 4 of us. They would not combine tables and couldn't bring a chair for our 10 year old son. They had a restaurant full of empty tables and turned us away. 0/10 read more

Incredible food and service! First time at this restaurant and I will 100% be returning. Very highly recommend!

the food is SO delicious and the portions are extremely generous. the owner was so friendly and sweet to us. you can eat in for a nice cup of tea with your meal too. our first time here today and we immediately knew we'd be back! vegan options are highlighted on the menu too. read more

Dragon River - general tso's tofu - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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Just came for a quick bite and ordered the salt and pepper ribs. They were amazing! The ribs were "fall off the bone" soft on the inside and crispy with just enough pepper on the outside. Highly recommend! read more

I think this is the best Chinese food in Bellingham. I'm glad they have reopened for sit-down dining. It is a great spot for lunch with a great value lunch special menu, quick service and convenient downtown location for a quick walk over and back. The service is efficient, but not particularly friendly. Worth a try! read more

The food was delicious closest thing to authentic I've found here in Bellingham. Servis was so friendly looks to be lady and her husband, so sweet. Ambiance is very old world, cozy, vintage feeling. read more

Super salty. Will need a gallon of water to help swallow these food. Rude customer service. read more

Dragon River - KongBao chicken - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

So I'm updating this with a plus one star, not for ANY improvement in attitude. The food is seriously some of the most interesting northern Chinese I have had (the pork in yu xiang sauce is to die for) and honestly....there's not much competition. The food is really the best in town. I was a little disappointed in the Ma Po Tofu, expecting big chunks, but the flavor was good. And it's on me to remember to ask to make things Asian spicy. The owner is still....difficult. She was never the most hospitable, and don't expect niceties on the phone now that we're in lockdown. But then again, at least she's picking up the phone. We've gotten takeout twice during COVID and I have to say, she's doing quite well with the distancing, sanitizing, and so forth. It's still pretty slow to come out, since I think there's just one cook in the kitchen, which means some of our takeout was lukewarm, but nothing a little microwave time can't fix. I try to do takeout once or twice a week to support local business, and while this place is more expensive than what I'd like it to be (by about $1-2 per dish), considering we've done this 2x already, it's not a deal breaker. So lace up your battle armor, get on the phone, and order. But stay away from my pork with yu xiang sauce - I want it all for myself. read more

We ordered all the dishes that are their top sellers and it was delicious! They don't mess around with the spice though, keep that in mind! Green beans, honey glazed pork, and the spicy dumplings were our favorite and we had a ton of good leftovers. Service was quick and helpful. Take out only though! read more

Best Chinese food in Bellingham, extensive menu always consistent and delicious My go to on a busy week night. read more

This is a little place tucked away in the middle of downtown Bellingham. You'll have to look for it and it's work the search. When you enter in, it's not fancy, even a bit underdone. The waitress is at times running frantically around helping customers. She has even been a bit short with people when very overloaded. That is when the place has a good turnout. When it's slower night. She has time to turn on her charm and charm she has! Very welcoming and attentive. Really makes you feel comfortable. I've been searching for some time and finally found a place the makes a good Sichuan boiled beef. It has a balance of heat and spicy flavor that is very hard to find. I have yet to not finish the bowl. Yes, it is that good. The waitress was surprised I had finished the bowl. Hint: I love spicy Chinese food! This is my Go-to authentic Sichuan restaurant here in Northern Washington. Just give the place a chance when it's not too busy, you'll find out why I fell in love with this little "Hole-in-the-Wall" place. *!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!* Please let me know if you like the review and click "Useful" or even "Cool" Let me know what else you would like to see by clicking the "Compliment" button, any thoughts you have are always appreciated. Thank you for reading the review. See you on Yelp! read more

Dragon River - Sichuan boiled beef - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

One of the better spots in Bellingham for Americanized Chinese food. Other reviews mention the owner's attitude, but she seemed pleasant. Greeted me and my two girls as we entered. Friendly, but not over the top. Actually, somewhat Subdued! Ordered the honey glazed fish (good but hella sweet), hot & sour noodles (unique and delicious), ma po tofu (standard and delicious), and potstickers (again, standard and delicious). Decent price. She said 20-min, so we walked around Railroad Ave and surrounding blocks. Returned in 20 and our food was waiting for us. Will be back, mos def. read more

Great food. Friendly and unintentionally entertaining service. I am a long time fan and don't mind at all that it's only take out. LOVE IT

I love Dragon river! I got the pork with wood ear mushrooms (shao cai mu er pork) . I've eaten here a couple times and it's always been really good. I'm really happy eating takeout from Dragon River tonight. :) read more

$13 for the saddest fried rice of my life. It's basically boiled rice, eggs, and some veggies (with a few shrimp) maybe sautéed quickly in a teaspoon of oil? It was simultaneously unbearably salty and flavorless. Not at all crispy and fried-tasting like fried rice should be. Not a good first impression, sorry. read more

Dragon River - "Fried Rice" - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

My favorite Chinese restaurant in Bellingham. Food is always hot and extra delicious on a chilly and dark Bellingham night.

I love the food. I love the owners no nonsense attitude. Good portion size. Some delicious vegetarian options.

Well, since I have never been to China or been fortunate enough to have had authentic Chinese food I guess I can only compare Dragon River to the Americanese restaurants I frequent and I can honestly say I liked what I ordered. This place is very charming, I loved the atmosphere of the old building and all the wood. The huge wall hangings and the cozy alcove area. The table cloths were a rather unappetizing shade of olive green and in need of replacement but they were clean. In fact the whole place seemed clean and that's one of my priorities for dining out. The service was fast and attentive. The single waitress was rather quiet but not a bit rude. We ordered spring rolls for starters and they came out piping hot with sweet & sour sauce. They seemed pretty similar to rolls I can get elsewhere and I have to admit there is something comforting about that. I had the Honey Glazed Pork, a specialty of the house and I am happy to say that it was fantastic. Slices of pork cutlets in a crispy fried batter and smothered in a sweet honey sauce. Yum! Hubby had a spicy Szechuan Beef entree that had tons of tender beef and julienned vegetables in a hot garlic sauce, yum again! Both entrees came with steamed white rice, tea and fortune cookies. Prices are good and the portions are generous. We had leftovers to take home. We will be back to try some more of their specialties, the Sweet & Sour Ribs looked really good at table next to ours, js read more

Dragon River - Spring rolls and sweet&sour sauce. Simple and comforting. - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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The food is delicious and the quantities are generous. They don't have an actual website which is confounding. The one out there for Bellingham has a San Francisco address. Turns out someone took it upon themselves to create that. You have to order by phone or can drop in for take out. That's the only way to get correct pricing. We had the dry stir-fried string beans, the Gong Bau chicken (what we know as Kung Pao), and the HomeStyle tofu. All delicious. read more

The spicy beef chow mein and the shrimp fried rice are my go-to's. My favorite Chinese food in Bellingham. Great!

I've noticed this place either gets a 5 star review for "best Chinese food in Bellingham" or a 1 Star review because the waitress didn't sugar coat your experience.... I guess what it comes down to is, what is more important to you? Do you eat out to experience good food or are you more interested in how someone will wait on you? I have never had a bad experience here. The food is way better than any other Chinese food you'll find in Bellingham. The owner/waitress is always warm and welcoming. She will even give part of your tip back if she feels you tip too high! She is very sweet but she is also no nonsense! She's the best! Last night I was picking up an order and I witnessed what I knew would be another 1 Star reviewer... I had to put my hand over my mouth to hold in my chuckles as I signed my receipt because this customer was asking some pretty irritating questions about the menu and I could see the frustration and annoyance bubbling up... "Is Szechuan beef spicy?" ... "Yes. If it says Szechuan it is spicy..." and the guy just kept going with his dumb questions while she anxiously waited for him to shut up so she could seat some nice folks waiting by the door. Bottom line: This place is great! Service in my experience is excellent, but it is also what you make it! read more

Very good, particularly the honey pork/chicken, the beef noodles(very spicy with pot roast style beef), and the wonton soup:) Service was awesome Ambiance, N/A we got take out:) read more

Repeated rude, curt, behavior by the owner. She seems to not know one major thing about the food service industry: Customers are invaluable and should be treated with respect. We are doing her restaurant a favor by patronizing it, and not the other way around. Fortunately for the restaurant, the food is good, just a bit better than needed to suffer the rudeness. read more

I think my wife and I have been to every Chinese restaurant in Bellingham, and this is the best. The only other Chinese restaurants in the greater Bellingham area I can recommend are the Ocean Bay restaurant in Blaine and Panasia at the Silver Reef Casino in Ferndale. This is not your typical Chinese restaurant. They feature food from the Heilongjian (northeast) province of China, although they do have a section of the menu titled "Other Options", where you can order the usual Chinese stuff like General Tsao's Chicken, Mu Shu Pork, Sweet and Sour Pork, etc. We didn't even consider those options on our first several visits. We've been here many times. Here is a summary of what we had and how we rate it. Excellent egg drop soup, salt and pepper shrimp, eggplant in yu xiang sauce, spicy chicken, pork in spicy yu xing sauce, fish in a thick spicy soup, walnut shrimp, ma po tofu, house chao mian (they spell some dishes differently than other Chinese restaurants), beef in thick spicy soup, home style tofu, Szechuan chicken, beef with ginger and onions. Very Good spicy beef, wonton soup, Mongolian beef (tender beef, but could have been more spicy), pot stickers, yu xing fried eggplant, house fried rice, lin yu pian (cod with Napa cabbage and three ears Chinese mushrooms), stir fried tofu and jalapenos, Bai Cai Mu Er with pork, eggplant with ground pork- could have been excellent except that the eggplant skin was tough and hard to eat. Good bao zi, hong you chao shou, chicken in chili oil. Average spring rolls, crab and cheese wontons (uninteresting sauce), hot and sour soup (very different from the usual style, probably a regional variation), tomato and beef, fried shrimp appetizer (very good shrimp, uninteresting sauce). Below Average mu su pork (too much cabbage, not enough pork, very bland), BBQ pork appetizer (ultra dry and no better than what you could buy at Fred Meyer), sauerkraut stir fry (Yes, this is an authentic dish in Northeast China. One of the proprietors was served it often by her mother as a child. She didn't like it. Neither did we.). I like Dragon River's emphasis on regional Chinese cooking. There is something for everyone here. They have dishes that range from bland to very spicy, the serving sizes are generous and the prices are reasonable. Because it's regional cooking, you'll find dishes that you won't find at any other Bellingham Chinese restaurant, and some of the dishes, like the aforementioned hot and sour soup, are very different than what we think of as "authentic", but I bet they are authentic for that region. There are lots of complaints about the service. We always dine there early (5 PM) and have never had a problem. This is basically a two person operation: husband in the kitchen, wife serving the food, although I'm sure they have other help at peak times. Don't come here with more than four people, and do come early. Finally, we've not been there for lunch, but the lunch menu is very small and uninteresting. Give it a try for dinner. You'll like it! read more

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Best Chinese food in Bellingham, and it's not even close. The only 2 downsides are no dine-in option, and that she needs to get her website updated, I don't think the address on it even shows it's in Bellingham. But besides that, the food is always fresh, never swimming in oil, even leftovers the next day don't have a bunch of coagulated oil in the bottom. The Orange Chicken and General Tso's Chicken are my favorites! I honestly have a hard time believing the 1 star reviews on here, our office is a block away and we order food from here at least twice a week, and it's always on point! read more

My husband and I have eaten here for years now and have never once had a bad meal. We have also never experienced the bad service others have complained about. The owner/waitress does get flustered when its busy, but we cut her a LOT of slack since it is obviously a family-run business and it's usually just the two of them (her and the chef) running the show. We have always been respectful and easy-going to her and she reacts in kind. It's nice that she always remembers us and flashes us a smile when we come in. But more importantly, this is eeeeaaasily the best Chinese food in town! Easily. Try the spicy stir-fried green beans, the egglant & pork, or the General Tso's chicken. All are stellar. Don't let the "scary lady" keep you from experiencing this place! read more

Dragon river is great for Chinese take out, will definitely be getting the general tsos, ma po tofu, and spring rolls again. Warm and so much food. read more

Loved the food here, great flavors and fresh tasting food. The general tso tofu was delicious along with the spicy green beans- will be back here soon! Highly recommend for chinese food in bellingham read more

Dragon River is delicious. I typically go for the dry-stir fried green beans and YuXiang eggplants. Great portions for sharing family style! I know this place is hotly debated but if you go in expecting somewhat brief and direct service you'll be just fine! Its a restaurant with maybe 3 employees, so the only waitress doesn't have a lot of time for chatting. It's the only place in town I go for Chinese food, and I've never had an issue with the quality of our meal or the service. I did take one star off, because the to go containers are styrofoam and they use plastic bags which is unfortunate. Also a note: most of the tables seat 4 maximum. Best not to come here with a large group. They also do not take American Express! read more

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Tried this chinese restaurant after a long work day in Bellingham, since I had heard it had authentic Sichuan food. I ordered the Liu Yu Pian: cod, chinese cabbage, and some interesting chinese mushrooms in a thick clear broth. I think it had to be the best chinese food I've had in this lifetime! Even the tea (an oolong, I think?) was excellent. The waitress was polite and attentive; the restaurant was quiet inside with only two other tables occupied, and the food was served very quickly. I highly recommend it if you're interested in trying *authentic* chinese food. read more

Dragon River - Honey Glazed Pork - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

I stumbled upon Dragon River by accident today. I must have walked past it for years without realizing it was here. Hint to owners....try different signs. Met with a friendly greeting, a quick table, and a fresh pot of hot green tea. Nice. Asked for suggestions and was told that everything was good. Said I was thinking about the general tso chicken and she said "people can judge a Chinese restaurant by their general tso, if its great, everything will be great. You will love our general tso, good choice". That sounded promising. My Egg Drop soup arrived quickly. I must say it was one of the best I've tasted and the diced water chestnuts gave it a wonder flavor with some texture The General Tso's was as good as promised. I wasn't thrilled with their version of fried rice but it worked well with the meal. Adding this to my short list of Chinese restaurants I like! read more

Dragon River - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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This restaurant is absolutely worth coming to despite the reviews complaining about service. First off, if you were aware of Chinese culture, especially northern China you would understand the stoic, quiet nature of their native people. The food is authentic and to die for. My friend and I split the Ma Pow Tofu & the Eggplant, Potatoes & Tofu. One of the best Chinese restaurants I've had in America. Stop in. read more

I had lunch from here with my daughter today. both of our meals were quite disgusting. The egg drop soup was a thick clear liquid with a nasty flavor. My daughter had Cashew Chicken, it was slimy and had a nasty taste as well. I had the Broccoli Beef. It was horrible. It had a nasty taste and texture. It seems like they are serving old food. Both of our meals went in the trash. We will NEVER return here. read more