Happy China

Best Chinese food I’ve had in Durham!
I’m from a super Asian portion of Southern California, so I would say that my standards are high when it comes to Asian cuisine. I always go here with a large group with friends and order family style. My favorite dishes are the eggplant, water boiled fish, and string beans.
Be warned that most of the dishes are fairly spicy, but white rice and water are unlimited to help you manage that heat.
The food comes out surprisingly fast, and portion sizes are fairly large. Definitely give Happy China a try if you’re craving authentic Chinese cuisine.

I’d say the food here is very hit or miss based on all my experiences so far. I’ve tried Americanized Chinese stables and Sichuan dishes alike. Some dishes have turned out good and others just disappointing and bland. I don’t know a lot about Sichuan cuisine (or why it’s spelled so many different ways), I am however hooked on it and I try to experience it as much as I can. So maybe I haven’t had the right dishes here, but I really just like other places in the area better (there will always be a special place in my heart for C&T Wok!).
Back when I first tried this place I was still ignorant about Sichuan cuisine and was only all about some General Tso’s chicken, Orange beef/​chicken, Sesame chicken and Lo Mein. I found this place to do some of those dishes very good and became very intrigued by their specials and Sichuan menu items. So I started diving in here, beginning with the Tri-​Pepper Chicken which I liked and thought had decent flavor, and was impressed that it actually had some serious heat to it, as almost all restaurants tout very spicy dishes that really aren’t that hot at all. Upon my most recent visit I didn’t see Tri-​Pepper Chicken on the menu, so I don’t know what’s up with that, but that was one of the only non Americanized dishes I liked here. I was disappointed with the Sichuan Double Cooked Pork here, and found it to be bland, and compared to other places I’ve tried it at, the one here is just way off the mark. I’ve tried a few others here and always seem to end up disappointed. I still used to say that dishes like Orange Chicken and General Tso’s Chicken were a step above here, but recently tried the General Tso’s chicken here and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. One thing I will say is the fried rice is amazing here. I’m not a huge fan of fried rice, but as just as John S. and Ranjay J. say, the fried rice here is kinda amazing and definitely a step above most others, and just a must try for sure.
All in all I have had good experiences here and disappointments alike. I like the service and atmosphere here, but I feel like this place is just ok and the quality of food seems to vary more than it should.

Came here for dinner with some friends. I read some Unilocal reviews and saw that this place was pretty authentic. We came on a Sunday night at around 6:30 pm and we were seated right away. Once you walk inside, you’ll notice that it is well decorated and definitely not a hole in the wall.
It was 3 of us so I ordered 3 dishes: Shredded Pork W Garlic Sauce, Dry Sauteed string bean, and Kung Pao Chicken. My first impression was that both the shredded pork and the string bean were sweeter than I expected. Shredded Pork was too sweet for my taste which makes me think they catered it to general American tastes so it’s not as authentic anymore. As for the string bean, I could taste individual grains of sugar coated on each string bean. Again, it wasn’t bad but just not that authentic. The Kung Pao Chicken tasted OK. Although the chicken itself was not spicy at all, unless you eat one of the chili peppers that came with it.
What’s different from the other Szechuan restaurants that I’ve been to is that here, they don’t provide a big bowl rice in the beginning. Basically, everyone can take rice from that community bowl for the table. At other places, they also always refill that big bowl.
Overall, this place is OK. But it’s definitely a more Americanized Szechuan Restaurant and won’t give you the full authentic experience.

Have been here for several times, like the Szechuan food there. It would be better if the price is a little bit lower.

The food was good but not great. I’m still looking for that on good place. Happy China isn’t it. Stay away from the Duck in garlic sauce. It’s chunks of fatty duck meat with bone and rib cage attached. It would have been better if they deboned the duck and shredded it. Also the sesame chicken was blah and too much sauce.
Once again, I’m on the hunt.

This place really did have good food but I think service is just as important. We came in on Christmas night, with the rest of Durham. The service was almost non-​existent. I did not see a single manager walking around to make sure everyone was doing okay. Our server visited our table once at the beginning and to drop off our check. Want silverware? Forget it. Thirsty? Bring your own water. We didn’t receive our appetizer before the meal and she completely forgot to bring out our soups (yet left them on the bill). My family was in town, so we were at least pleased that the food was good but would hesitate to return because the service was so off. I hope it was just an off night.

This is one of the few restaurants open on Sundays. I come here for their authentic Chinese food. My favorite are their dumplings and their vegetable soup. The soup gives you the most bang for your buck. Plenty of seating and open area. They have two different menus– one with authentic dishes and one for American Chinese food. Service was good but don’t expect the speed of American Chinese fast food places since this is a sit-​down restaurant.

I came here with a classmate looking for some really good and fresh food and was initially very pleased but my main dish let me down. There were a lot of people in the building for the dinner rush but the servers handled it all really well.
Our orders were taken promptly and when the appetizers came out it was all steaming and fresh!
My companion got the miso soup and Mongolian beef and really enjoyed his meal overall. The miso soup was really tasty and fresh and he said the Mongolian beef was equally delicious. For my appetizer I had the wonton soup which was perfect especially with the little crisps they serve it with.
I tried the chicken mei fun (broad rice noodles) and I didn’t particularly enjoy it. There was a lot of chicken with it and I feel as though I should have gotten the thin rice noodles but I doubt that would have changed the unpleasant taste of the base sauce. I’ve never tasted a lo mein/​mei fun with that kind of flavor so I wasn’t keen on it. Maybe I would have had better luck with my meal had I tried something different.

Although I could see some potential here, I just was not seeing or tasting the happiness… Too many aspects of the restaurant including the food ranged from average at best, to well below average. For example, the sliced carrot garnish was served black and discolored. That was totally unappetizing. Meanwhile, some pieces of chicken had too much fat or cartilage, and I had to spit them out. Not nice surprises… The fried rice was served very oily even though it had some good flavors, the fortune cookie tasted stale, and the vegetable dumplings were quite poor… It was very disappointing to hear from the staff that the dumplings are not made in house, but bought outside. Just another example of a restaurant taking too many shortcuts and not putting enough love and care in their food. I just expect much more from a restaurant…

This is the place to go when I can’t figure out what to eat. The setting is quite clean and spacious (compared to most chinese restaurant)). I always always order boiled fish, but try to avoid the noodle items (dan dan noodle and zha jiang mian)

Overall, decent Sichuan food with a slight more american twist than some of the other restaurants around town (Gourmet Kingdom, C&t Wok). Went there with a very large group where at least 13 dishes were ordered, which is quite odd that they seat us in a very rectangular table… which means I didn’t get to try half of the food there. Maybe because they didn’t have a round table? The service was okay, but not really that special given that my cup was half empty most of the time because I asked for water with no ice.
Onto the food (I didn’t get to pick the menu):
Home style tofu (Jia Chang Dou Fu) was too sweet for my taste, I bet american would like it, but to us it was not very authentic.
Fu Qi Fei Pian: the spice level was good. Nothing too numbing though.
Yu Xiang Rou Si: good portion, good flavor. Alot of veggie, probably my favorite.
Spicy boiled fish: liked the fish. Need to be more spicy and numbing.
Dry stirfried green bean: a little over done, and way to salty on the surface.
Stirfry Bokcoy: a bit too oily for my taste but I really did enjoyed it.
Black pepper calamari: too battered… looked like cauliflower… the worse dish out of the whole batch. No flavor except flour.
Aside: amazing rice though! Loved loved the rice.
Overall, an okay experience. Not the best, but definitely not bad either. Although I would not drive all the way out there from Chapel hill for it unless I am getting dragged there by friends.

As a group of 4, the table we got was a bit cramped. I wish they seated us in a booth or a larger table. My mom had to flag down a waiter so we could order. It seemed pretty busy so it was semi-​understandable. It was also way too cold inside. I was literally shivering in my seat and couldn’t wait to leave.
We ordered 4 dishes: ma po tofu, eggplant with brown sauce, sautéed green beans, and scallion beef. The eggplant with brown sauce was pretty good, but I’ve had better. The sautéed green beans were a little too charred for me. You could definitely see the black marks on the beans and taste it too. The scallion beef seemed like a mound of onions and a few measly pieces of beef. For the amount you’re paying, I expect a little bit more meat. The ma po tofu was way too spicy for my tastes. I definitely had to chug some water after having one small piece of tofu.
I also have to note that I’m from Dallas where there’s an abundance of Asian food so for the limited variety here, it was okay.

Consistently good food, quick and friendly service.
This place has the best Egg Drop soup that you will find in Durham.

My partner and I have been here several times and have had good and not-​so-​good experiences. I will start by saying we are always seated quickly, and the staff are always friendly and attentive. The food comes out fast and piping hot, and there are some really stand-​out dishes here.
The best dish by far is the fried rice. It comes with every order, and is literally the best fried rice I’ve ever had. I know it’s strange to rave about such a basic dish, but we have come to Happy China just for the fried rice. It really is that good. Other yummy dishes are the Spicy Sichuan Fish and Diced Chicken in Spicy Sauce. Both dishes are in my top 10 authentic Chinese Food dishes ever.
The not so good dishes are the Double Cooked Pork and the Cumin Lamb. The pork was fatty and chewy, and was lacking chili sauce. It was also very oily. The lamb was completely inedible. I’ve had cumin lamb many times, but nothing like this. Each piece of meat was literally dredged in pure cumin. It was so powerful, that I couldn’t taste anything else for the rest of the evening. We were both only able to eat a bite or two before giving up. The cumin coats your tongue and is extremely unpleasant. I think it may possibly be the worst dish I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant.
So yeah, the place is hit or miss, but the good dishes are worth a try. I still dream of that Fried Rice and Sichuan Fish, and will definitely be back.

Happy China is a great little Szechuan place, but you have to be careful about what you order, because some of the dishes are extremely authentic and may be a rude shock to the American palate.
That said, my partner and I only order from the authentic menu (they have a separate menu for standard American Chinese foo). First, the house fried rice that comes with any dish you order is just simply delicious! It’s very simple but full of flavour. Make sure you ask for fried rice instead of steamed white rice.
We also like some Szechuan favourites, like the spicy pepper fish hot pot, which is a fiery peppercorn-​laden red soup with fish fillet. The spicy diced stir-​fried chicken is also delicious.
We were confused by the double-​cooked pork here, because it was lacking chilli oil, and came out looking very pale. We also didn’t enjoy the cumin lamb, which had *wayyyy* too much cumin. Nevertheless, order the right dishes and you’ll walk away really satisfied!

Shredded Pork and Dried Tofu was tasty.
Wontons in Chili Oil were spicy.
Service was quick.

We finally decided to try Happy China this week after hearing about its authentic spicy Sichuan food for years. The interior is surprisingly nice for a Chinese restaurant with red and black accents, wooden blinds, and a unique slanted roof for the main seating area. The bathroom is clean and spacious. Our waiter somehow knew that I spoke Mandarin (is it that obvious??), so I was able to practice more of my Mandarin and order in half Chinese half English.
Our food arrived pretty quickly. My husband ordered the pepper steak lunch special, which is an awesome deal for lots of rice, green peppers, onions, and steak in a tangy sauce, with a egg drop soup or hot/​sour soup that comes with crispy won ton strips. His plate was a nice non-​spicy balance for the dish I ordered, Fish Fillet in Spicy Sichuan Sauce, translated directed as «water-​boiled fish». This is one of my favorite Sichuan dishes and though the name of the dish doesn’t sound very enticing, it comes packed with red hot chili peppers, numbing peppercorns, cabbage, and tender fish filets. Happy China’s version also comes with lots of cabbage. The waiter very kindly refilled my water cup at least 4 times because the fish was so spicy.
I ended up taking the leftovers home and eating it for several more meals because the portions are generous. All in all it was a reasonably priced lunch, especially their lunch specials! I’d love to return to try more items in the Sichuan Specials section of the menu, like Mapo Tofu.

Wanting to try some place new for Chinese take-​out I decided to give Happy China a try after reading the favorable Unilocal reviews.
I didn’t order anything super interesting. Just typical Chinese-​American classics which were sweet and sour pork, white rice, egg roll and egg drop soup. All were very satisfying, Even though what I ordered are staples in Chinese restaurants they aren’t always done well, and I can happily say all of my meal was absolutely delicious.
I will certainly return to Happy China in the future to try more of their dishes. They have an extensive menu including quite a few Sichuan dishes.

Hey folks, this place should deserve 4 – 5 stars but because of the bad service or should I say almost nonexistence service I am giving happy china only three stars. Sorry about the owner to have such a server.
Nevertheless, the food was good we ordered the Szechuan beef and the chicken with ginger. If you wanna have authentic Szechuan food (I guess its authentic because I never been to Szechuan.) You should go to this restaurant. It is not just the typical americanized Chinese food but much more. Be aware of the numbness because of the Szechuan peppers.
Food 4,5 stars
Service 1 star
Atmosphere 3,5 stars

Tasty and authentic, this is the place you go with native Chinese people or with adventure foodies. Don’t take your Aunt Mabel, at least not if you want to get a couple orders of their excellent beef tripe with chili oil to share. Which I always do, because it is delicious. I can also recommend their crispy intestine with sour cabbage, and the tongue and tendon is very nicely done. I wasn’t thrilled with the cook on their duck and found it to be a little dry, but everything else was done very nicely.
Folks who insist on Americanized Chinese (General Tso’s, lo mein, etc) which isn’t actually Chinese at all can get it here. I don’t know why you would want to, but you can. Parking can be tight especially on a busy weekend, and there can be a wait to be seated. Generally it can be considered worth the wait.