Happy Garden

Noooooo!!! Say it ain’t so?! I’ve been coming here off and on for 20 – 25 years. It’s now a weed store. Sigh. I will never have another wing like the ones I had at Happy Garden. Every time I would go in they would remember me and my kids when they were little.

I’m sorry but this is an all American Chinese food restaurant. Their sauce was literally made with ketchup and the food was so bland, I didn’t even bother eating the three main course dishes I purchased. My roommate wouldn’t even touch the stuff once I told him how awful it was. Don’t waste your money.

They are now permanently closed. Shu, the owner sold the place in June. When you call they direct you to go to china wok down on 122^nd and airport way. They are relatives of Shu. We went and they told us she retired after she sold the building. The food at the China Wok is good– kinda similar but not Happy Gardens. Sad to see them gone.

Officially Closed. There goes another great locally owned food business in PDX. Many great years of food here. Will definitely miss the Mandarin Chicken Wings.

My husband, father-​in-​law, and I were very disappointed in our order. It was very bland and the szechuan chicken wasn’t even remotely spicy (and I’m a baby when it comes to spice.) The fried shrimp was good, and I did like the roast pork fried rice (although I had to add soy sauce which I have never done with fried rice).
It’s also fair to point out (and this may not be the restaurant’s doing) the menu that is linked in Unilocal is completely inaccurate (prices are much higher and listings are incorrect)
However, when I called my order in the woman was very kind and helpful. I had originally ordered general tso’s which they didn’t have, so she described the szechuan to me in detail and encouraged me to try it. After I placed my order, she asked me if I knew where they were located and was very specific about their location as well. The restaurant seemed relatively clean and well kept from what I could see. Great customer service. Unfortunately, not so great food.

First time me & my hubby came here because we didn’t want to drive all the way out to troutdale for Chinese food. Walked in it was really really really quiet. Pretty decent to me. Clean air no funky smell or nothing lol anyways got greeted by a elderly lady grey hair, she is very mono tone but one of the nicest & best waitresses we had. I got the dinner combo. Schezun chicken with sweet& sour pork. Hubby got it with almond chicken. Also got hot eggflower soup, hubby hates tofu but ate every last drop of his soup! Next came crab puffs, … not the best I had but again it was fresh & alright but the real entrée came it was on a big plate, rice in between the meats and nice & hot. It was so good I didn’t even get a pic. The portions was very big. Im a big eater but man i couldn’t fit any more food in my mouth.

This place has really gone downhill in my opinion. All of the food I ordered was bland. I had to put two spoons of soy sauce into the hot and sour soup to make it eatable. I got the dinner special for two and wanted fried rice instead of white rice. I asked the server and she declined to substitute even with me willing to pay an upgrade for it. The Mongolian beef was underwhelming as well no flavor at all. The only good thing in the meal was the fried shrimp and eggroll appetizers. When I was done with the meal she asked why I did not eat any of the food. I told her that it did not taste good thinking maybe I might get some money back for food that I did hardly touched. She just smiled and took it away. I will have to find another Chinese restaurant to visit in the future.

UPDATE: As always I was a bit late to the party. This place is now CLOSED. Drats!
It always amazes me that Portland has so few standout Chinese restaurants that are inexpensive. Well this place is definitely one of them.
Don’t let the hole-​in-​the-​wall look fool you. Yeah the bathrooms are outside and you’ll need to get the key from the counter to use them; however, there is definitely some excellent Chinese food here. Chow Mein noodles are homemade and not the fried variety so often provided by other Portland Chinese restaurants. The egg drop and hot and sour soups are made-​to-​order and quite delicious.
Definitely worth a trip to 122^nd.

This my ultimate favorite spot to eat!!! The volcano rice, shrimp & eggfoo Yung is the BEST IN TOWN!!! Don’t knock it by the exterior you’ll loose out!

Cashew nut chicken, mandarin chicken wings, garlic pork. Yum! This is our go too Chinese place on the east side, and honestly it’s my favorite in the city. Not everything is amazing, but that’s more because of personal preference. No fuss, no muss.

Staff was very attentive, anticipated my needs and also did a wonderful job describing things before I ordered them. The egg drop soup here is completely different than regular places and she clearly outlined that before I ordered. It was absolutely delicious but Im glad she warned me.
I also had egg rolls, and bbq pork. The pork was a little dry but it was fresh which is more than I can say for a lot of Chinese places.

I have only had take-​out so can’t speak to the service or atmosphere, but the food we had was tasty. They have homemade noodles which were fabulous. They also make their own fortune cookies. I will definitely be visiting in the future to try more.

Thought we would give it a try since it was one dollar sign and four stars. It’s a few miles off our Beaten pass. Outside looks like an old hotel front. We walked in and we were the only ones. Usually a bad sign. Lady was very nice and friendly I’ll give her 5 stars for that. Sweet and sour soup was a two star and my number one which consisted of sweet and sour chicken, rice and chow main was a two to three stars. Lacks flavor and salty, same with schechwan chicken. I’m rating three stars mostly for service but food is a two. Prices were min. 10.00 plate. So I’m not sure it should be a one star on prices. Good hunting!

This was surprisingly good. After driving past this establishment for years I never thought to drop in because the outside looks sort of dumpy. After reading other reviews I wanted to give it a try. Despite the outward appearance the inside is very clean. We had wonderful service and the food was pretty good also. I didn’t really like their egg rolls but was really happy to see they had sizzling rice soup. The soup was amazing and I can’t wait to go back for more.

Awesome $ 6 lunches! I was pleasantly surprised, because the outside of the building, the cracked windows, and the shredded booths had me nervous and immediately doubting my decision to enter. I’ve docked a star due to the rundown state of the restaurant.
Despite my misgivings, the food was great. The mandarin chicken wings are a MUST-​HAVE! I cannot stress that enough. If you get one thing, get this one. It has a crispy outside that is expertly flavored. The Szechuan beef and the egg flower soup were also really good. Friendly service as well.

Happy garden was okay. I ordered a dinner special that came with a choice of soup (egg drop or hot and sour), an egg roll or… spring roll (? Wonton?) and Szechuan chicken («like general tso», she said) with fried rice and sweet and sour pork.
Things I liked: the soup (hot and sour, small bits of tofu, good flavor), the service (they were attentive to refills and check readiness), the Szechuan chicken (hardly any veggies, which is a plus for me) and the fried rice. Huge restaurant, relaxed atmosphere.
Things I didn’t like: the bathroom is outside. The sweet and sour pork was too veggie heavy and the food didn’t taste good cold the next morning (as all day old Chinese should… c’mon, Old Whores Diet!). It was congealed and gross. It might have reheated better but I didn’t keep it around to find out.
$ 10 or so for a dinner whose leftovers were inedible was a bit steep for me.
I’m not sure I’ll be back. I really love Canton Grill. This was just convenient to where I was.

If you haven’t had Happy Garden food then your in for a surprise. They have the best mandarin chicken in town! That is what they are famous for, but their other dishes are all good as well. The chef special chow mien is good (get it spicy). I also like the Mongolian beef too.
Price is very fair, not expensive. Plenty of parking. You can get lunch specials for $ 5.95 and get any dish they offer pretty much (just smaller portion with rice /​soup /​& egg roll).
Just a nice simple restaurant with great people who run it.

YOU CAN HAVE BOTH CHINESE AND KOREAN
China and Korea have been sharing a common border for thousands of years. It’s expected to have a significant role in how food is prepared. At Happy Garden, if Korean is what you want, you need to say so. The ingredients are slightly altered plus or minus. If you don’t say anything, it’s Northern Chinese all the way.
This evening we ordered Black Bean Sauce Hand Pulled Noodles, Mandarin Chicken (Wings) and Sweet & Sour Fried Pork (Tang Su Yuk). I hadn’t tasted this sort of style of Koren Chicken in over ten years. It’s lightly floured and deep fried then coated with a molasses like garlic substance. Sticky, messy and very yummy.
Service is great, food is wonderfully authentic and the prices you can’t beat. Oh yes, you can even try your luck on the video Keno.

Wow, really?! Uhh… I guess I can’t comment on the «Chinese» food as I came here for the Korean style black bean noodles (jja jang myun), k-​style sweet sour pork (tang soo yuk), and the k-​style braised chicken (gang poon gi). All three of these dishes are staples for Korean cuisine and this place came from a recommendation, so I had to check it out.
First off, let me point out that the service was actually pretty good and the workers were quite friendly. Prices were very reasonable so I was excited to get my grub on!
Now for the actual food: the kimchee was absolutely horrendous! I’m Korean so I know what all types of kimchee is supposed to taste like and quite frankly, theirs was horrible! It didn’t taste fermented, it was almost rotten! The jja jang myun was made with frozen noodles and the sauce lacked flavor. The gang poon gi was really soggy and too salty. And the tang soo yuk? LOL They gave us the red Panda Express style sweet sour pork and not the Korean version you’d expect when ordering all Korean dishes.
I really wanted to like this place because it would be another option to Waba and Chinese Delicacy, but I just can’t give it my thumbs up. Sorry.

So yeah, I’ll open with this– Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. This place looks like it used to be a Denny’s or a VIPs in the 70s and yeah, the bathrooms are on the outside of the building.
Who cares?
I’ve eaten here over a dozen times now. If I want good Chinese in Portland, its worth the trip out to 122^nd.
Regular items I get:
Szechuan chicken is basically their version of General Tso’s.
Pot Stickers– really good.
Crab Puffs, mmm
I really like noodle dishes here, too.
Not on the menu, but they have great kimchi they will bring you a small dish gratis.
Everything has always been great here. Its cheap and you get a lot. Staff is friendly.
They used to have specials. I hope they bring those back.
*Closed on Mondays. I keep forgetting that. Mental note to self.