Went for lunch last week. Probably will never go back. The table smelled like it had been wiped with a towel that had been left in a dirty old mop bucket for about 3 weeks. There were a few things that were OK but most of the food looked like it was leftover from the day before, maybe longer. Sorry, didn't like it at all. read more

Change is a constant but not necessarily a positive. So it goes with the new ownership at Happy China it's not a positive. I admire the new proprietors' desire to bring their own "style" to the Lunch Buffet. Sadly, they have missed the mark. For me the disappointment is represented by the addition of vegetables to the fried rice. Silly perhaps, but I simply don't want peas in fried rice. Additionally, a generally sparse presentation of each item gives one the feel of being served leftovers as opposed to the abundance of a buffet. Finally, this noon-time buffet favorite has obviously lost its way and its clientele as well. A buffet that once hosted diners at at least 80% capacity for lunch has declined to well less than 50%. Whether they like peas in their fried rice or not the patrons are voting with their feet to take their lunch-time business elsewhere. read more

The reviews were right.. Food was dry, not very hot, and wasn't good at all. Felt like food had been sitting out for a while. $30 for 2 buffet and a drink. Take out at china king would've been so much better! read more

Saturday 4/30 lunch. I met two friends here at their request for lunch. I arrived about 10 minutes before they did and when I walked in I immediately noticed a fishy smell and that it was extremely warm in the restaurant. I ordered a hot tea and water. The water was fairly warm and the tea was fairly cold. They were about the same temperature. Odd. When my friends arrived and we ate at the buffet I sampled things I thought should be safe. The hot n sour soup was cold and flavorless. The crab Rangoon was overly crisp and didn't have much filling. The egg roll was eatable but not really enjoyable. Later I went back and tried a couple of the chicken dishes. Each one had very thick breading and a very thick shiny sauce loaded with sugar and corn starch. The sauces had a shellac like consistency. I wouldn't have gone near what they called sushi on the buffet for any reason. I hadn't been here since high school (mid 1990s). It looks exactly the same but not sure anyone has been in to clean since then. Never again. read more

Excellent lunch buffet. Great selection, great flavor. Reasonable price. Really enjoyed. Will definitely be back. Best I've had since I've been in Missouri. And I've traveled all over the state. read more

This is the best Chinese Buffett in the saint louis area. Hands down! Even my dads goes here and he hates buffets! Try them out for lunch because its cheaper with the same food selection! read more

Dear Old Friends should be remembered with fond rememberances and warm feelings. We used to go with my late Mom and Dad and young kids when the restaurant opened at least 25 years ago. Happy China was one of the first chinese buffetts I can remember. The food was always well seasoned hot and wonderful. The past is well the past. The old girl has not aged well and her food indicates that Happy China should be sent to the rest home. Cold entrees, overpriced, no service, limited selection, and other than gooey starchy salty food, not much else to say! read more

Very tired place. It hasn't been updated in years. The food is very heavy. Lots of grease. The carpets are old and dirty. The booths are sad. Good stuff: Pot stickers, house beef. read more

It was disgusting! The food was old and COLD. The restaurant smelled musty and dirty, there was dirty dishes piled high on the cart with bugs flying around it. I was very disappointed and definitely will not be back. read more

Probably one of my favorite restaurants, especially Chinese. Have been there many times including today at NOON. Food tasted great as usual, however by 1:30 I was in restroom many times. The other person I dined with was having the same issues at exactly the same time. Bye bye Happy China! read more

A few weeks ago my favorite Chinese Buffet closed and I had to replace it. Someone mentioned Happy China so we gave it a try. All I can say is that I like it as much or more than my old buffet. The food is fresh and good, replaced promptly and set out in a very eye pleasing presentation. The environment is excellent, and the people are sweet and caring. I must say, I love this place. read more

You gotta be kidding me. I'll skip right to the point. This place is DIRTY. Someone should call the board of health. There is "junk" all over the dining area and food areas. The carpet is heavily soiled. It smells inside. It's musty and wet. The food is piled together in the over crowded buffet table. The food is OLD, dried out, and cold. The food is very low quality. This place is just gross! Yet for some reason the locals love it. Everyone inside was happy and having a great time. The owners were nice and the service was friendly. Just clean this place up and freshen up your food for Pete's sake and you'll have a real winner! But as of now, AVOID THIS PLACE!! read more

If it tells you anything, I just got done calling the health department. For reals. The food on the buffet was not quality. It is by no means the appropriate temperature. I was offered "special rice" by one of the waiters. This consisted of some fried-rice concoction that had been sitting on the wall ledge (greater than 20 feet away from any heat source) for at least 20 minutes and was placed back there after I said no thanks. The food was dried out as well. Also, what's up with the being charged extra for food you don't eat off the buffet because it's gross? It's a buffet, charge what you think it's worth people! read more

Excellent buffet, the best I've seen in St Louis.

One word describes what Happy China... a one time favorite of mine has become in the past year. NASTY. I would not recommend this restaurant to my worse enemy. Food is not fresh and restroom is very bad. I can't believe the place has gone downhill so much. read more

Are you people crazy? I've been going to this place over the last five years and the buffet part has gone way downhill. It used to be as described in some of these reviews and it used to win awards. but now it's all goopy old brown sauces and overpriced. It used to have wonderfully rude older Chinese women waiting the tables, but now it's not that way. Sorry, just not very good right now. You're better off going to Emperor's Palace in Chesterfield if you want a good Chinese buffet. read more

Came in first time for lunch today and NOT impressed at all. High price and buffet was dry and old food turned over. Won't be going back!

We just ate there and the food was outstanding & areas were clean! Before slanderers accuse someone's family livelihood of bad things, you should at least communicate your dissatisfaction with the owners. We found all the workers there to be as polite and responsive as it gets! I hope you naysayers go back in and re-check things. We bought a gift certificate for loved ones, too. read more

HOrrible. Ok, some of the food was OK, but mostly horrible Chinese Buffet experience. See my review on Ryce Buffet which on a weekend, kicks this place's butt. Price wasn't enough great. I think 5 years ago this place was decent but has really, really been on a downhill decline. read more

I loves every food in here. It makes me comfortable eating here. The waiters are very nice and I feel happy when I was There.

I freakin' love this place, it's practically a landmark in St. Louis! It's my favorite Chinese restaurant. When I travel, I can't find a place I like more than them. It's great too because the owners Lee and Jenny are always so nice and friendly to me. I don't think I can pick a favorite dish because I like them all but I love the green beans, crab rangoons, mongolian beef, and szechwan chicken!! I've been going to Happy China since I was little and it really satisfies my craving for comfort foods. Plus, I'm in school so I can get more variety and eat as much as I want for less than I would if I went somewhere else. I love it! read more

They have changed hands but is still in the family I understand. Redesigned. I miss the big pans at the end with chicken and beef. They do have more types of sushi. read more

My husband and I visited this restaurant on a Wednesday night at around 8 ish. We were greeted by a friendly server who asked us if we wanted to sit in smoking or non smoking...the smoking section is right next to the buffet which as a non smoker I find quite offensive...as I dont want nicotene and the smoke byproducts in my food. Nor do i want to be subjected to the smoke when I go up to the buffet. As far as the food on the buffet---thought most of the food was overdone or it looked like it had been sitting for hours...the meat items were tough like jerky...The staff was attentive to taking away plates, refilling drinks and such. Very disappointed and we wont be back read more

My husband and I had the buffet lunch today. Happy China used to be one of our favorite places. But not any more. The selection is not as great as it used to be. The lo mein was flavorless and hardly room temperature. In fact, most of the food was lukewarm and not very flavorful. The service was lacking, with our dirty plates being left on the table for most of our visit. I could understand that, maybe, if the restaurant was full but there were only about 10 tables with customers. Before we finished our lunch, food was taken out of the warmer (?) pans and put on plates under the lamps on the buffet table. How will this keep food at the proper temperature (it wasn't already!). This was our last visit. We will not be back. read more

Love this restaurant!! The food was so good and they have pretty much sea food on the buffet.They have a lot choice on meats.I love the house special beef, it was the best house beef that I had ate. I went to many Chinese restaurant they have pretty much the same food and taste but this restaurant have different food and different taste. Defiantly come here again. read more

A happy place to go for anyone who loves to eat Chinese food! Not quite authentic Chinese food but more Americanized. Yummy crab rangoons which aren't found in many cities outside St. Louis... read more

Yummy..... Chiness style and Korean Style plus Sushi rolls....

I love happy china and Mr lee everything is Delicious !! My favorite is the long bone chicken!

This is one of my favorite buffets in town. The staff are nice and the decor is reminiscent of a classic Chinese theme! The food is also good! True that during the slow times some food tends to have less turnover but most of the time the food is fresh and the selection is quite good. For the price you're looking at here it's a good pick. read more

My wife and I expected more based on other reviews. The restaurant is a typical shopping center Chinese buffet. The staff are very nice. Our visit was on January 14, 2010. read more

I had been a regular customer for 20 years but haven't gone in a few years. I had a lunch meeting this week, so I picked my favorite restaurant. When I looked up their business hours, I was shocked to read so many reviews about management change. When I got there everything I read was true. The food was cold at 11:00 am when they open, the ribs that used to fall off the bone were too tough to eat. The selection is way different and not in a good way, every meat dish I ate was cold, tough and a different cut with fat or grit. I'm just so sad... read more

This place is the definition of don't judge a book by it's cover. I don't know what the people with these one and two star reviews were smoking during their meals but I though this was one of the best Chinese buffets I've ever been to, and I know my buffets. A variety of soups, I had two bowls of hot and sour. Lots of pepper in there, very tasty. Then I must have tried everything they had to offer. In addition to all the standards, (kung pao chicken, crab rangoon) they had GREAT fried jumbo shrimp, tasty mussels, a variety of different chicken and beef platters, etc. The baby bok choy was very good. They even had fried chicken livers and gizzards! I'd steer clear of the kim chee, it was pretty bland. They also had sushi but I skipped it. Didn't look the best. Other than that, I loved everything they had. I think I had three helpings. The couple that owned the place were very friendly and made sure that everything was fully stocked at the buffet. And at the end of the meal when I went up to pay, my total with tax for the buffet and a soda was $15.10. I gave her a 20 and she gave me a 5 in change. I appreciate those little things. Next time I will bring more people with me! read more

More like Horrible China not Happy China. They forgot forks on our pick up order. Wasted $30 in food because where we were going their was no silverware. This is standard with pick up orders from every place I've ever bought from, plastic forks are included. I will never eat here again and would recommend everyone avoid this place. I can see why they have so many negative reviews. Oh and when I called, they asked why I didn't have forks at my house. Wtf rude!! No apology or anything, they just don't care about customers. read more

If you look at all the older reviews they said a lot of great things about this place but the past 5 years have really been a turn around for this place. Dirty dishs and glasses. Very Rude service mainly from the money hungry lady that works the cash register, I believe the wife. Servers expecting a tip no matter how the service was. The prices are thru the roof. Over 25.00 for 2 to just have the buffet. Me say, me not very happy with Happy China. Me say go away not come back. Me finally say, no,no, me not coming back. read more

I've had both of their buffet and menu food. Their buffet is only average. I'd only go for the buffet when time is a constraint. However, they do have great menu options. They have this awesome stir fried glass noodle with mixed veggie and seafood that I order every time I am there. So, go for the menu, not the buffet! read more

I've gone here 4 times and every time the food is overcooked and tastes like you are eating cardboard. There has to be a better option for Chinese buffet. read more

Visited Happy China last week while we were in St. Louis. We did not eat the buffet but the food looked good and better than most of the Chinese buffets I have seen in Arizona and Arkansas. The cha jang noodles were fantastic, better than what I had during my travels in Asia. The dish was not salty and the shrimp added a whole new dimension to the item. Very good. read more

Two words can sum this place up: Inedible & disgusting. Every piece of meat was so overcooked, it was almost impossible to eat - in fact, the shrimp was impossible to eat because it was so hard. Our seats were dirty, the fried rice smelled like smoke (I don't even want to know how that's possible), egg drop soup had film over the top, most dishes were't labelled so no idea what it even was and the workers couldn't answer these questions either, burnt pot stickers, mushy broccoli, burnt egg rolls... there was absolutely nothing good about this place. We left hungry & will never return. AND we paid $25 for 2 people to have this experience! AVOID THIS PLACE. read more

Just so-so. This was our first visit since the owners changed. I miss Mr. Pau walking around serving his freshly made special fried rice. The food did not taste the same; the recipes have been altered. The crab rangoon had a bit of a sour taste to it, but other dishes were okay - just different. They have rearranged the buffet area, and appear to have taken some of the tables and crammed them into the left-hand side of the restaurant. The waitress never came back to refill my water. When they dropped off the check, it had all the people at the table on one ticket, though we wanted to pay separately, It was adequate, but I no longer find it something special that we would go out of our way to do. read more

I had been going to Happy China since they opened, but the quality started to go down a few years ago, and there were many other Chinese restaurants around So when some friends suggested we go there for dinner frankly I was reluctant, especially after all the negative reviews What a pleasant surprise !! We were a group of 9. Most had the buffet ,a couple of us ordered from the menu The food was very good, fresh and tasty, Service was prompt and friendly They were most accommodating, even provided an un- spicy vegetarian dinner for a non-meat eater My hot braised tofu was delicious, and a huge portion They are under new management and the new young owner was sweet and helpful The restaurant was clean and fresh I would not hesitate to recommend Happy China to anyone,. I am planning to go back soon, (and try the buffet this time) read more