Ho Ting Restaurant

Ordered take-out over the weekend and first of all it was pricey! I ordered two main dishes, fried rice, 2 spring rolls, and wantons= $42! Not what I expected. Food: Spring rolls were really vegetable egg rolls. I called them up on this one since I have had both before and know the difference. They said they just have egg rolls and call them spring rolls on the menu to differentiate between meat and non-meat egg rolls. Also, there was no offer of a refund or any courtesy on this. Hmmm:( The wantons were good but small. The sesame chicken was not sesame chicken! No spices other than a taste of garlic. The fried rice was also bland. If you like bland food then come here!!!! I wouldn't go back! I will travel over to Bloomington or St. Paul where there are some better Chinese food locations. more

I enjoy eating at Ho Ting and try to get there at least once a month. The egg rolls are really good. But I would tend to agree with the earlier review about the slowness to refill the rather small buffet. It can be very frustrating to be there on a limited lunch schedule and be sitting there for 10 minutes waiting for them to bring out more food. Then when they do, 10 people jump up to get some (because we've all been waiting for it) and it's empty again. Definitely something the staff needs to work on. more

The food was very good and you can tell they have a real Chinese cook and that the items are prepared on site. We recommend the home made dumplings and the seafood tofu soup. more

They do have good food. The lunch buffet is tiny. However, it used to be worth it. I've watched them get cheaper and cheaper. \r \r The employees seem to enjoy making the customers wait for food. Most of the dishes are down to the few last scraps. They'll bring one thing out at a time, and the buffet is NEVER full. \r \r Don't these people realize saving a few bucks on food, and trying to avoid a little waste at the end of the lunch rush will just drive the customers away for good? \r \r I used to enjoy going there even though the buffet was small. These days, it's small, and mostly empty. I refuse to go anymore because I'm tired of feeling like a dog fighting with the other dogs for the few scraps of food they throw at us. Dumb-asses. Pros: good food Cons: they enjoy making you wait more

I am a Chinese American resident of Eagan for 12 years, now living in St. Paul. Whenever my refrigerator gets low on inventory, and I don't feel like cooking, my husband and I head toward HoTing to eat in or to take out. It is a very clean and meticulously run family restaurant. Chef Lau is a hard working and good hearted person who delivers his best everyday. His sons David and Michael are very polite, efficient, and hospitable. The food is always delicious and nutritious. Chef Lau uses the freshest and highest quality ingredients he can find. He always delivers good value for the price. We have eaten everything on the menu, but we never leave there without having some Dry Fried String Beans. So good, so authentic, and so very nutritious. I trust HoTing to cook my home cooked meals whenever I couldn't. Pros: Service, Food, Take Out, Clean & Meticulous Cons: Small Space more

This restaurant is off the hook!!!\r They sell the some of best Chinese food That I have ever eaten and I eat a lot of Chinese food!!!!!\r It is fresh seasoned and not too sweet. The vegetables are crisp and the meat is tender and literally melts in your mouth . I tried the Mongolian beef and it was some of the best that I have ever had with a good balance of onions, garlic and carrots to the meat. The egg rolls were crispy inside and out. The calamari was also excellent it was flavored with garlic and crispy. \r I would highly recommend this to anyone who love Chinese food as I do. Pros: Great food . Great Service. Cons: could use a little more parking. but it is in a strip mall. more

I've lived in Eagan for 10 years now, but just tried this restaurant for the first time 2 years ago. Ever since then, I have been hooked -- my family visits there at least once a month! They have the BEST potstickers (Gao Zi, they call them) and cream cheese wontons in the world -- much better than Leanne Chin's! I have never tried their soup the previous reviewer had, so don't know what that is like, but I have tried very many other dishes there over the 2-year time frame and I don't think a ""1"" rating is a fair rating for trying out 2 items of food on a vast menu. If you want YUMMY, try their Sesame Shrimp. The Sa-cha Beef on a Stick appetizer is also a favorite! Every time I go to pick up items for take-out, there are additional people waiting for take-out. I don't think this means that everybody in Eagan doesn't like this place -- I think that means just the opposite! This is a VERY good asian restaurant! more

We have lived in the Eagan area for 18 years and twice have tried Ho-Ting. I am shocked to read so many locals saying such great things because we honestly threw away half of ours the last time we tried it. We got some hot & sour soup & sesame chicken to go. I know, not the most exciting but that is pretty hard to mess up and the last thing I had there was such a disaster. The soup was clearly from a distributor similar to what you will find in mall chinese and the sesame was formed and full of tough white and dark meat, nasty. I am used to going to Anna Chung's or House of Wing where they make things fresh. I am truly perplexed because I have never met a person in Eagan that doesn't think Ho-Ting is terrible.\r \r To the previous reviewer:\r My point of being on this site is to not try to convince people that everything they should eat needs to be ""authentic"" (an ironic statement for a suburbanite to make) No, I do not search for culture to fill my suburban void but rather accept things for what they are and defend some neighborhood restaurants that are being criticized by people under the charge that they lack authenticity. They are all authentic americanized regional cuisine and you would know that if you have ever travelled through China or eaten in China Town in New York. I appreciate Ho-Ting's variation in your standard strip mall offerings but the point is that they do not execute it well! I have had prawns, dim sum and most recently sesame (the most popular of all americanized chinese foods so perhaps useful to people reading these reviews) and they were all bad. I appreciate places that can execute things well such as Doolittles 3 wood smoker with a master chef that hand selects the wood or Anna Chung's Peking chicken that is as tasty as food comes. The irony of a person trying to be an authority on authenticity when they include the Cruise Cafe, Sambol & Magic Thai! Hahaha. Rainbow Chinese, Black Sea, Tandoor and Sawatdee. You're welcome. Pros: Location Cons: Food more

I was thrilled to discover this place in the 'burbs' as part of a seemingly endless quest to find some place that doesn't have a higher budget for advertising than it does for the food itself. Ho-Ting offers consistently high-quality food at reasonable prices - enough to place it above all of the other run-of-the-mill Asian restaurants around. But it doesn't stop there. They go far beyond the basics that you find everywhere (which are done well, mind you), and offer several unique dishes. From Sa-Cha to the black-bean based Si-Chiu sauce, they are wonderful and a must try. That doesn't mean the Tangerine or Sesame chicken that everybody is raving about aren't wonderful - but to truly take advantage of this place you need to be a little adventurous. Besides, this gives you an excuse to come back again and again. After a good 20 visits (all for takeout), we haven't had a single negative experience. That says a lot these days.\r \r As to the sole negative review here, I am equally perplexed. I question what and where their Asian food background comes from given the referenced restaurants (Anna Chung? ... please) and choice of entrees. The 18 years in Eagan and reactions limited to other like-minded folks paints a little of the picture. This is the same person that rated white-washed menus high (Doolittles), and rates the award-winning Mediterranean Cruise Cafe average. Go and try it for yourself.\r \r Go here. Eat well. Be happy. Pros: Great food, great service, wonderful variety Cons: None, unless you are looking for a fancy night out more

Very nice Dim Sum. Slightly expensive, and a little too long a wait, but worth it.\r The baked and steamed buns taste homemade. more

I just had the buffet lunch, and it was fantastic! What I liked most is how light and flavorful the dishes were. It is a small restaurant and a small buffet, so there's not a lot of variety (about a dozen dishes in total, including appetizers), but the taste is great. The cream cheese wontons were particularly delicate and crisp, which is rare for a buffet. I think Ho-Ting is going to become one of my regular lunch destinations. Pros: great tasting dishes Cons: buffet choices limited more

These guys know how to do a smallo buffet. There cream cheese wontons are to die for. The egg rolls are da bomb! more

This is the best Asian restaurant I've EVER been to in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area! Their cream cheese wontons and Gao-Zi (like potstickers) are 10X better than LeeAnn Chin's!! I've tried different items on their menu each time, and ALL have been excellent! My college kids always request a trip to Ho Ting when they come home from college. For a Scandinavian, I absolutely LOVE this place! Try it, please! more

This is one of the best chinese restaurants I have been to in Minnesota. This restaurant not only offers wonderful authentic dishes but has great prices as well. I highly recommend the Ho-ting lo-mein. Another great dish is the sesame chicken. Its about time we got a chinese restaurant in Minnesota that has great dishes and affordable prices. Pros: Affordable prices, Excellent food, friendly staff Cons: Ambience more

Possibly the best Sesame Chicken I have tasted, and their Crystal Shrimp was wonderfully done. I am glad that finally there is a quality Chinese Restaurant in the Eagan Area. They are so much better than the previous restaurant at that location. Pros: Food, Service Cons: , No Kids Menu more