Praise the Jesus! Praise Him! Bellingham finally has a solid Chinese restaurant. As much as I love the cacophony and fine victuals at the Bellis Fair food court, it's Dragon River all the way from now on. Ate here with the missus a few weeks back, and it was a delight. A. got the tofu with vegetables, and we shared some potstickers--which were some of the best I've ever had. The dough tasted really fresh, and the meat/vegetable filling had just the right mix of flavor and heat. I got the General Tso's chicken (yes, I have really lowbrow tastes when it comes to Chinese food). If you're also a fan of this dish, let it be known that the GSC here is tangy, delicious, and lightly battered; i.e., it's not the goopy mess that it often is at lesser eateries. A.'s tofu was also cooked to perfection, as were the accompanying vegetables. Everything was fresh and obviously cooked with care. Excellent food and attentive service from owner Sue. The other three or four parties having dinner near our table could all be heard expressing how good their food was. It all seemed very spontaneous and genuine. Just what you want to hear at a brand new restaurant right before your own food arrives. Highly recommended. We'll be back --- often, I'm sure. read more

The first time I visited this place was over a year ago. I sat down and could not decide for the life of me what to order. I asked the waitress/owner what she recommended and she suggested the Mongolian Beef and it was nothing short of phenomenal. It is spicy, full of flavor and well priced. It is my go-to order and it is consistently amazing. In my almost two years of visiting this place, I've found the owner to be direct & succinct but not overtly rude. Sometimes she seemed rushed if there were more than 5 tables filled, since she was the only one working the front, but that seemed expected. Perhaps I just have a high tolerance for what people consider "rude" and "intolerable". read more

Don't bother with salt and pepper shrimp it's just deep fried shrimp with salt and pepper thrown on top. Shrimp was over cooked. Also believe all the dragon lady comments! This women is straight rude! read more

Hands down the best Chinese food restaurant in town! The menu is large, with all the classics and unusual dishes. It has a huge variety of vegetarian dishes to choose from. The Di San Xian is my absolute favorite (eggplants and potatoes in a sweet sauce). My husband loves the General's chicken and the spicy pork potstickers. read more

Okay. First thing. The service can be brusque almost rough but the food is worth it. Its rare that a five star order actually kicks like five stars should. The dumplings are fresh made and so delicious. The food is flavorful and spiced and the portions are generous. I really love it here and wish that I could eat here once a week. read more

Went to Dragon River for lunch. We tried the Mongolian Beef and Cashew Chicken. Both were salty, but flavorful. The Mongolian Beef was not very spicy, but the meat was very tender. The cashew chicken was good and prepared nicely. Neither were the best I have had, but were a good option for a lunch. The Egg Drop soup was very salty. The Hot and sour soup was good but very spicy. All in all, it was a fine lunch. read more

I read all the nasty reviews about the "dragon lady", and had the complete opposite experience. I called in an order at 5:30 during dinner rush and she answered my questions and took my order quickly. I came in 20 minutes later for pickup and she was smiling and had me come in to the front desk. She was VERY nice. I'm not sure why there's all this hate?! The Hong You Chao Shou is SO GOOD. If you like heat, get it! read more

Hands down the most authentic and delicious Chinese food we've ever had. The place is ran on a lean staff, just a husband and wife duo, so don't expect super fast service if it's busy. It's well worth the wait. The hot and sour soup, spicy dumplings, and spicy chicken are some of our favorites. read more

Pros: BEST Egg Drop soup in town, hands down. It tastes delicious (actually my "go to" for when I'm sick), not too salty and has decent veggies in it. Cons: service - not impressed. The gal who waitresses needs to find herself a replacement because she's not good at the customer service thing. Also, while the soup is good, the rest of the food is meh at best. Not a lot of flavor and actually left my stomach feeling really heavy. I'll go back for the soup, to go. But nothing else. The soup is worth 5 stars by itself. read more

Some dishes are extremely good. Others are nothing to write home about, but I haven't had anything bad. Standout items for me have been the eggplant and the dry stir fried green beans. Both are spicy and layered with flavor. Bellingham is definitely not killing it on Chinese food options, but this is the only place I have been to that is worth eating. They probably wouldn't cut it in Seattle, but the food is night and day better than our other options in town. Oh... And I should add that some of the specialties are northern Chinese and very different style from default mandarin style places. read more

This is a husband/wife team. Never eaten in. Can't comment on the service. But for takeout, far and away the best Chinese in town. Just finished our fifth order. All fresh, consistent and perfectly cooked. read more

Get the Honey Glazed Pork. You will not regret it. The server is sweet and attentive. My kids shared the Orange Chicken which was a little on the spicy side but they devoured it anyway. Everything was great and I would highly recommend this place. read more

Let me start by saying that I was not stoked about coming here, it was a friends idea and he talked this place up and down. I admit completely Im a bit of a sucker for trendy / hip restaurants with unique interiors and cool menus, not the case here. From the street you cant really see anything other then the sign that reads "Dragon River", from glancing the menu you are still equally in the clouds as what you might be in for. I was expecting some not-so-great standard Chinese food that made you wonder while you ate it how bad it was for you. I was wrrrrrrrrrrong! I have been here enough times now that I have pretty much tried about everything the menu has to offer. As far as Chinese food goes, I am a huge fan. I don't know anything about traditional Chinese food or culture, but I know that there food is good. I highly recommend the egg plant dish, I don't recall the name but its the only egg plant dish Im pretty sure. My favorite way to dine at dragon river is in a group of 3 - 7 and everyone orders a plate and then shares everything. The lady who has been my server every time is nice, funny, and helpful when ordering. This is a great restaurant to have up your sleeve when you need to come up with somewhere to go last minute, don't wait to wait for a table, or want to have fun with your friends, fill your stomach and have a beer. Dragon River has the Chinese game on lock down! Price: I typically end up spending $20 - $25 and leaving with some left overs. read more

I love this place. Food is delicious and authentic. Not Chinese/American style although they have those familiar dishes too. Be adventurous and try their Northern Chinese dishes. Prices are reasonable too (rare in Bellingham). Expect the wait person/owner to be brusque and busy. read more

I had higher expectations. I got the lunch menu beef and broccoli, with fried rice, egg drop soup, and a spring roll. It looked good when I opened it. However, the first couple bites were quite disappointing. The beef was extremely chewy like it had a lot of fat on it and some pieces of broccoli were so salty. The fried rice wasn't fried at all. It was white rice with some peas and carrots and a little egg. The spring roll was very delicious though I wish they would've added some sweet and sour sauce. The sauce on the beef and broccoli is weird. I probably wouldn't be back. I will say when I went in to the restaurant to pick up my order it was full. read more

Dragon River - Chinese Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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Discovered this place randomly and decided to try it. Had the Sweet & Sour lunch special. It was AMAZING!! If you like Chinese food I would recommend giving this place a try. read more

This place is so disgusting I don't know how they stay in business. The owners/staff stands there and stares at you the whole time like you are going to dine & dash, and acts really irritated and annoyed when you inquire about specifics on items. The Egg Flower Soup was revolting, with raw chunks of onion floating in it. Food is over-spiced to compensate for being bottom shelf quality ingredients. Prices are reflective of how crappy the ingredients quality is. It is as if they have no training in how to run a restaurant at all? I love the building and location, just wish something edible was in here. DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Awful. Took one bite. Spit it out. Rotten tasting beef in the Mongolian Beef dish. This is a very spicy and marinated dish, beef must have been very spoiled for me to taste how bad it was. Threw the whole meal away. read more

After hearing a lot of people recommending this new restaurant, I talked my girlfriend in to giving it a try. I'm an omnivore, but she's vegan, which usually precludes Chinese food. I ordered the spicy beef chao mian, and she got the vegetarian fried rice. My noodles were on the mushy side, and there was no heat at all in my "spicy" beef. I could see the chili flakes, but couldn't taste them. Nothing unforgivable, but pretty bland. The fried rice, however, was plain nasty. Largely because the rice either wasn't fried, or was made, then immediately fried while still wet. It was soggy and oily, and completely white. The veggies were over-steamed, and seriously bland. Perhaps that's the authentic way of doing things, but for me has been unique to Dragon River. 2 stars are for the service, pricing and atmosphere. The place is clean, the price is reasonable, and the waitstaff are courteous. Maybe most of Bellingham has never had food in Chinatown, and maybe this is the best Whatcom county has to offer, but 4 and 5 stars are very high ratings for this restaurant. read more

Friendly service, and take out is available. Killer food. Would recommend the Mongolian beef and portions are definitely meant to share

The food is good, not outstanding, but good. The service, however, is atrocious. The place is chronically understaffed. Our family of four ate our entire meal with the three forks and two napkins that were on the table when we sat down. The owner lady/waitress/busser yelled at us twice, once when we tried to get more napkins and a fork and once because I violated some protocol when I went to pay. She actually frightened my children. read more

Asian cuisine, for me is usually a concession to my wife or friends. Not now. This palce is excellent. They get busy at times, so if you're in a hurry call ahead, or go somewhere else. Friendly, comfortably noisy and consistent. Bellingham's best Chinese food with out equal. read more

Saturday, July 16, 2016--Wow...I must officially rescind my previous FB comment defending Dragon River. I used to be able to look at the menu online but today couldn't. I was already around the corner so went on in to order lunch (available until 3:30pm) and also alert the owner to the website problem. I was starving, and was happy to see the place empty. I went to the counter to let them know there was a glitch in the online menu, and to order my lunch. The woman behind the counter was unconcerned about the website since they had a new menu. I asked for the current lunch menu, and she told me it was too late for lunch. When I showed that my phone said 3:22pm, she told me I could order but had to do it now. Remember, I now had an unfamiliar menu, and it was almost 3:30, so to save time, I asked for a suggestion. She informed me she could not offer a suggestion because she didn't know what I liked. Being faced with a time constraint and an unfamiliar menu, the only reasonable option was to not decide on anything and eat elsewhere. I confirmed that she was the owner and left. This makes me very sad because they do have the best Chinese in the county. But I'm not going to pay anyone to add difficulty to my life. I can get that for free anywhere. read more

Sorry, this is a long review, but please read. The waitress/owner never has been particularly nice to us, but my husband & I kept going back because the food doesn't suck & there's not a lot of good Chinese food to choose from in Bellingham. Well, we won't be taking our business there anymore & neither should you! My husband (who is Chinese & speaks Mandarin) has been there many times & always speaks in Chinese to the waitress & she always replies in English (which is rude in their culture). Last time we went, he ordered in English. When the waitress/owner went to the kitchen to give the cook our order, my husband heard her speaking in Mandarin saying "Look at that Chinese guy with that white girl. And they had a baby. (Our 15 month old daughter was with us) What a disgrace!" She went on to make other derogatory comments about white people in general. We were the only people in the restaurant. So it was quiet & she was obviously talking about us. My husband was livid. I told him to give her the benefit of the doubt & ask her about her comments. When she returned to our table with some water, my husband asked her if she was talking about us. She pretended she had no idea what he was talking about. My husband then repeated in Chinese, word for word what she said in the kitchen. She immediately looked shocked & embarrassed & just walked away! My husband asked her to come back & apologize for what she said about me & our daughter & she refused. We will never go back & I encourage you all not to give your money to that business! Thanks for reading! :) read more

It was our first time visiting the Dragon River. In fact I did not know dragon River existed until a friend told me about it. I sure am happy he did. Let's just say that Bellingham now has a Chinese restaurant I like, in fact it was fantastic. I ordered hot and sour soup which was perfect. My friend and I split an order of house fried rice which was delicious and full of meats and seafood! For my entrée I had spicy chicken. I was surprised to see that the chicken was made using a dry rub instead of a wet sauce but once I bit into it I realized I had found a hidden treasure. It was delicious. My friend had honey pork which was divine too. The woman who served our table was very friendly and helpful with the menu. We will both be coming back to enjoy more northeastern Chinese cuisine in Bellingham! read more

Worst, rudest service I think I have ever had. Was the only guest in the place at 6pm on a Saturday. After a take out customer was helped we were ignored by the host for several minutes. When I stood and asked her if they are open she said they were but she was busy. No thanks...moving on to Best Chopsticks where they don't treat you like a hassle. read more

My first visit to Dragon river was horrible and I will NOT be back. it took over 40 minutes for us to get our food (there were only a couple other tables), the food was highly over priced for the quality. I ordered Chicken broccoli it came with white rice for $8.99.The meat in the food had to be an incredibly low grade, It was complete mush. The broccoli chicken tasted mostly like ginger and the vegetables had no texture. They charged for the hot tea which is usually complimentary at Chinese food restaurants. I wanted to not finish our food and leave without paying, most of the reviews for this restaurant on yelp are entirely wrong. This is the worst Chinese Cuisine I have ever had! -However the service we received was just fine read more

Great honey glazed pork, decent egg rolls. Friendly service. Clean with a nice atmosphere. read more

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This is my favorite Chinese restaurant that I've had in bellingham thus far. I love the broccoli and beef, and their noodles are very good. I have been to a city in China once and in my opinion, the food here is really authentic. The food is not westernized and loaded with grease. The service is always friendly. read more

Good food but beware the "Dragon Lady"! Sometimes nice, sometimes she wants to eat your face off!

This place has horrible food, when I complained they didn't even take it back or apologize. The food is awful, Panda Express surpasses this place. One star for the nice waitress. read more

Service is alful,lady that serves you is very rude an very un friendly,food is fairly good,but server is alful

Why do people who hate working with the public work at a restaurant? Fair food and awful service. This is my second visit because I just knew that the first time must have been a fluke. It wasn't! I won't be back again. read more

Probably the worst chinese food I've ever had i've had better chinese food from safeway delis before i won't be going back.

Wow just when I thought Bellingham had no good Chinese to offer I gave this place a chance and I was delightfully surprised when both things we ordered for takeout were really flavorful, spicy (on request), and not too greasy. We ordered broccoli chicken asked to make it spicy and they definitely did which already earns a star in my book, we also ordered a general tso which was placed in a paper togo box unlike the broccoli chicken which I didn't get at first then I took my first bite and it still had that fried crunch that took it to the next level. I almost never save leftover Chinese but I did this time and possibly over microwaved it and it was still was as good as the day before therefore earning a solid 5 stars for Bellingham at least. Very excited to be back for lunch and try other things on the menu. read more

I spend a lot of time up in Vancouver, but this is my favorite Chinese place in the Northwest. The spicy chicken's subtle complexity makes it my dish of choice, although I haven't had a bad dish yet when going with other options. The only mediocre food I've had here is the wonton soup, which was a bit blander than other wonton soups I've had in my life. read more

Wonderful authentic northern Chinese dishes. Best in Bellingham. They can get a bit overwhelmed during the dinner rush, but it's worth it. I recommend the di san xian. read more

I can't say enough about the good food here. Truly love it and haven't had anything bad. The reason for the 3 stars is the service. We showed up for lunch today and stood without being acknowledged for several minutes. As she walked up to seat us she said with a frown what do we have here. It seem like she doesn't want business. Hardly speaks. Impatient..acts frustrated when you ask a question. Just not good service. If you can deal with her attitude, as she is the only one we have ever seen working at lunch, then the food is great! read more

I love this place. The Hong you chao shou is amazing. The stag is very welcoming and friendly. I always leave with a full stomach and a smile. read more

Terrible attitude, when they are busy, the woman seems like the manager there said that "we don't take anymore customers, you can come another day or whatever". There was not even an apologize! If you don't want a bad mood that day, don't go! read more