Nestled in bustling Kaimuki, Happy days is the kind of dim sum you settle for. Service is quick, but the taste of the food is mediocre. I loved all their hot pan fried mobile stations. The dim sum on those tasted great. I ordered a fish dish with scallops and Choy sum. The color looked away, but when you bit into the fish your face soured. Please check to see if the fish served is spoiled or not. Parking is ample and you can pay for it in the lot. No validations. read more

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The food is great there! Service is fast and friendly. They didn't have the carts ready so they brought our food to the table. Highly recommend this place. I'll definitely be back again! Our favorite was the char siu look fun, char siu bao, eggplant, deep fried shrimp, and shu mai. read more

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I haven't posted a review for Happy Days since my family and I have visited a few times already. We were introduced to Happy Days in May 2019 when my nephew graduated from UH to celebrate his achievement. We were a family of 30 along with other families celebrating their college graduates. So it was busy. Our family of 30 consisted of 25 people visiting from the mainland. But we were all pleased with everything that was brought to our table. AND we loved the dim sum carts. We also ordered the family package. Prices for both the packages and dim sum cart are reasonably priced. For my sister's birthday this past September, she wanted dim sum and we both immediately thought of Happy Days. By this time, each family member had to show our vaccination card and ID. Super quick for a family of 7. And we were so happy to see the dim sum carts as we thought Covid would change that as some other places no longer have the carts. Because of Covid, the parking lot seems less congested and parking is inexpensive. During my last visit this past Saturday, 1-hour parking was only $.75. And customer service, staff are friendly and consistent these past 2 years. The long lines to pay for take out and dine-in speaks for itself. The food, staff and prices = Win Some Dim Sum! read more

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I really enjoyed eating at this restaurant! There is a lot of Taiwanese dishes to choose from like the pork. Although the food was tasty, I thought the dishes were too meaty that was drenched in sauce. I prefer Chinese food that has more spice to it read more

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good is great n so ate the prices. When visiting Hawaii we always go there to eat. My family always go there to gather

OMG seriously?!?? Just as I got over my previous experience of eating GLASS now there's a bug in the food . These people need to be investigated! All they did was take the offending dish off the bill. read more

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This place had me singing, "Ohhh Happy Daaaaay, Ohhhh happy daaaaay!" at the end of our meal. Seriously was craving dim sum when my friend said to try out Happy Days. What? Happy Days? Never even heard of it! So I yelped it and my hubby and I drove over the following morning to check it out. Some places aren't opened on Sundays so I was happy to see this place is open 7 days/week. You have to pay for parking here as they don't validate but it was only $1.50. We sat down right away on a Sunday morning around 1030AM. It was still packed in here and there was a LONG line of people trying to do take out. Either picking it up or ordering. There were 2 ladies walking around with different dim sum carts but the one I wanted with the steamed dim sums kept missing us! All the eye contact and my desperate waves weren't catching her attention. I was seriously getting annoyed as I waited about 15 minutes. Luckily in between those 15 minutes, the other cart lady came by with a cart that had a flat top to cook. We ordered some chives dim sum and they were delicious. The shrimp har gow is my favorite and we enjoyed every single piece. When the lady with the steamed dim sums finally came around, I ordered so much just because I didn't want to miss that opportunity later. I even ordered some to go for my parents and we had enough left over for a total of $100 to feed us that night and the following day. I will definitely come back here again. Make sure you go early because I would hate to wait around so long for the dim sum lady to come around. We didn't order any other meals because I didn't want to get full off of noodles or rice. Just the dim sum is what I came here for and that's what I'll get stuffed on. read more

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After Lam's Garden in Kahala closed for new development in the area, we have frequent Happy Day even more! Our family go to for Dim Sum and other dishes, is now Happy Day. We are never disappointed with the food and service we receive. It is a hustle and bustle atmosphere with the dim sum carts moving around, but it's all so yummy! Parking is decent when you come at the right time and what can I say, growing up in Kaimuki, it's as chill as you can get. read more

Decided to celebrate 2023 Chinese New Year here as we were craving Dim Sum. Party of 6. Very confusing when you first walk in from parking lot. No one to greet or seat you. Two of us arrived first and we walked around and flagged down a staff and asked for a table. We were seated and given tea then forgotten. The rest of the party arrived fifteen minutes later and we all still waited. No menus, no water, no service. Lots of yelling from staff to each other and to customers. I flagged a worker down and asked for water and said we wanted to order dim sum and she yelled NO DIM SUM YOU ORDER REGULAR MENU. Ummm.... Okay. I said okay we need to review regular menu again. We ordered Gaugee, honey walnut shrimp, duck/char Siu, fried rice, ma po tofu, beef chow fun and chicken with black bean. We were told it would be 30 minutes for our food. No problem especially since there were dragon dancers that were starting. One hour and 30 minutes later..... yes that is correct our food took forever. Mind you we sat down at 5 pm. We got our first dish. We devoured it and then one by one about 15 minutes between dishes did food start rolling out. I had to keep asking about certain food for example the Gaugee took two hours and 30 min before we got it. I think it was forgotten. Sigh.... Throughout our time no one checked in on us or offered refills. I understand they were busy especially being Chinese New Year but staff just walked by us. We saw tables after hours of waiting and no food just get up and leave. Staff continued to yell and each other and customers. The food was okay. Honestly Panda Express taste better but doesnt offer as many dishes. The only thing that was hands down delicious was the Char Siu. That I highly recommend ordering. We got the bill after asking and it isn't advertised but I guess if you have a party of 6 even though we were 4 adults and 2 children you will be charged tip and not be told. Which explains why staff didnt really care because no matter what they were going to be tipped. All tables were average tables of 6 or more. Parking lot in back is paid at kiosk. They do not validate however for the hours we were there parking was only $3. Warning: Floors are sticky in some areas that literally hold you slippers and slippery in others that could cause a fall. Be careful. No Dim Sum, food bleh and staff rude. Honestly I wouldn't recommend or come back. They are a BYOB read more

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It's a hit or miss with service ( which is why I'm giving them 4 stars instead if 5) but the food is excellent and if you order take out during the hours of 8am- I think 10am you get a small discount. Place seats a lot of people and there's a private room for large parties. Sunday's are extremely busy so if you plan on ordering take out or if you want to dine in, expect to wait. I called in right when they opened before picking up and the food was ready in about 20 or so minutes. My favorites are spare ribs, shrimp look fun, and tripe. I highly recommend trying this place! It's my go-to dim sum restaurant. read more

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It's a bit dingy. Could use a little tlc. And If you're not familiar with the Chinese persona, you'd say they need better bed side manners. But in essence, Happy Days is a quintessential dim sum restaurant: Unadulterated Chinese cuisine. At a decent price; no frills. They have dim sum in the mornings, cash discount if taking out (15 or 10% Cant recall). They have a good variety of dim sum and are one of the few places with jellyfish and look funn early in the day! Mmmm At night, they have the typical standard fare served family style and those are good too, like Mongolian beef, cake noodles, etc. Now, I'm hungry read more

Happy Days - Har gao, mochi rice, deep fried taro, char siu bao, chicken feet, pork hash goodness mmmm - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Located in Kaimuki, Happy Days is a long-standing Chinese dim sum & food restaurant. It's a great restaurant for small or large parties, and for the most part, reservations aren't needed. However, when we went for lunch around 12 on a Saturday, it was very busy with a long waitlist! So you might want to consider calling and making a reservation. Since it was so busy, we just ordered a few items for takeout instead. We got char siu bao / buns / manapua, both the baked and the steamed version. If you do decide to dine in, during lunch hours, they do traditional dim sum on the rolling carts, and you can also order off their full menu. There is a small cash discount. Please be patient with the waitstaff as English is often not their first language. The restaurant isn't very clean. The floor was shockingly slippery (and I was wearing sneakers). There is a large paid parking lot. We paid about $1.50 for our visit. There are also many other local establishments in the complex. read more

We went to Happy Day for a simple dinner. We ordered to "noodle in soup" aka saimin. Their saimin is so so soooo WORTH IT!! I mean, it costs $8.95 and it's HUGE and they're very generous with the choi sum and noodles. We also ordered a 1/2 roast duck and it was really good! Costs $18.95 See my pics because it was really good!! read more

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goodbye gray sky, hello blue..... A friend and I stopped by Happy Days for an early dinner last month. Thankfully, the Yelp app info was current, and we were able to determine the restaurant was open for take out and dine in. PARKING: Plentiful in the neighboring parking lots. There are 2 lots in close the proximity to Happy Days, the nearest lot requires pulling a ticket. Make sure to pay for your ticket at a the self-service kiosk before returning to your car; OR, you can opt to pay (in person contact) at the booth closest to 12th Avenue Grill. COVID PRECAUTIONS: 1. Social distancing between tables. 2. Staff are wearing masks FOOD: After perusing the menu, we decided on sharing the steak with black pepper sauce, minute chicken with cake noodle, and the shrimp with walnuts. I'd have to say all the food was delicious and prepared well, no concerns at all. I'd describe the food as your traditional Chinese cuisine you'd find at your favorite neighborhood restaurant. The steak was served on a sizzling platter, fresh from the grill literally. The shrimp was served first and nearly half the portion disappeared before our remaining orders appeared from the kitchen. Lastly, the cake noodle and minute chicken was quite satisfying. Recommended. SERVICE: Very friendly and efficient. Our server was a jovial older gentlemen, who was quite courteous and polite. He checked on us periodically throughout our meal, as well as helping/servicing neighboring tables. BOTTOM LINE: Efficient service. Plentiful parking. Delicious Chinese comfort food. read more

Attended a luncheon with retirees. Good place with lots of spacious tables. Since we all had the plate lunch special, no waste and no one was stuck with the leftovers. Service: decent for a weekday lunch. Fast efficient. Food: ordered the dim sum lunch special. Highly recommend as it had a good variety with noodles and chicken salad and a few variety of dim sum. Ambiance: Typical Chinese Restaurant. Will return and highly recommend for group luncheon for retirees at $15 a plate. read more

Happy Days is a local favorite and a wonderful no frills dim sum spot located in the heart of Kaimuki. This place is always busy with a lunch crowd and has become an establishment over the years. If you're looking for a simple and delicious meal with traditional Chinese dishes this is the spot for you. I recommend the siu mai (pork hash), shrimp har gau, and roasted duck. The prices are reasonable and there's ample parking located in the lot behind the restaurant. Keep it Kaimuki and fulfill your next dim sum craving at Happy Days! read more

Happy Days - Roasted Duck (Half Order) - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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So it's not the best dim sum you will ever have but if you're craving it and near the area it'll suffice. They have just about everything you'd expect when you go eat dim sum and they also have a decent sized menu for other dishes. The food comes quick and while you might need to flag down one of the ladies to your table, they are generally quick to head over. The place can get busy on the weekends so plan accordingly! read more

Happy Days - Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Sit down dim-sum....oh how i've missed you! I loved going to this tiny spot downtown for dim-sum, but like many other small businesses, it was a victim of the pandemic. Remembered visiting Happy Days long ago, and thought "let's give it a go". We have moved into the next tier, so there was a pretty full house, although tables were still situated with 6 ft distance. First cart rolled up, grabbed some pork hash and a shrimp dumpling, next cart, taro roll and this uber yummy char siu pastry. Ordered crispy gau gee mein, and went to work! Great flavors, very decent pricing, and a second plate of the char siu pastries to go. Next time I think i'll ask them to make the noodles separate from the gau gee and sauce, to keep it crispy. Adding Happy Days to the rotation! read more

Came here on a week day, and no reservations were needed for a party of 4 for lunch. We were seated, and within minutes, the dim sum carts came to our table. One cart had a few items that could be cooked on a grill, and another wagon was your traditional steamed dim sum. Overall dim sum, is dim sum, tasty, but I felt some of the outer skin on the shrimp har gau and half moon was a bit thick to my liking. My very favorite was the shrimp with spinach dumpling that was grilled. I would go back just to eat that. **Comparing...If you've been to Sing Cheong Bakery, their shrimp dumplings and half moons, far exceeds the ones served here. **Also be prepared to pay for parking. read more

Dim sum is always good, hot and fresh. Compared to other places this dim sum is a steal for the price. Always recommend!

Service and noise level! Food is expensive and not as good as 20 years ago! The service is horrible, too much loud yelling and plate noises! The quality of food is not the same! I will have to find another Chinese restaurant. It used to be my favorite spot after the University location closed! I only go there as a guest from invitation! I end up leaving with more knots in my stomach! Not a good experience! read more

Dim Sum for dinner on a Monday night. We had the minute chicken noodles to accompany our dim sum selection of seafood wrap, stuffed eggplant, scallop dumplings, shrimp chive dumplings, and pork hash. The restaurant was not very crowded so we were seated and served quickly. My favorite was the minute chicken noodles and stuffed eggplant. It was very tasty! As for the dim sum I enjoyed our selections but I have also enjoyed dim sum at other places as well. I'm a dim sum fan for sure. Ambiance was like many Chinese restaurants. This one was colorful with red lanterns hanging from the ceiling and lots of landscape scenic artwork on the walls. This restaurant is fairly large too so perfect for a large gathering. Location is in Kaimuki on Waialae Avenue. There is street parking and also a paid parking lot. If you are in the area there are lots of little shops and restaurants to check out. So enjoy! read more

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I enjoyed the full experience of dim sum with carts to choose from. The food was delish.

When we first entered it was empty but we went in the afternoon around 3pm. Soon later people started to flood in. I personally heard that this place was good for their dim sum but I didn't know they only serve dim sum til a certain time (I think it is till 1130am). I was a little disappointed but I should of done my research before. The food is good though the best things I liked was the mapo tofu and the pork chops. read more

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Cleanliness: 4/10 It's cleaner than some other dim sum restaurants in Chinatown but they definitely could use some help. Selection: 7/10 They have the basics selection that you would expect from any dim sum restaurant but do lack specialty items that you would find at higher grade places. Taste/Quality: 9/10 What they do, they do right. It's always consistent however I'd still give it a 9 versus a 10 since it's not one of THE BEST places on island. Price: unsure how to rate this haha... It's midrange price for dine in dim sum however a couple times we went the total they charged was not accurate. There was one time, I along with three other sets of customers were all charged the exact same total regardless of what we ordered. I stood in line to pay as I saw the cashier fidget around with a calculator for a couple of seconds before telling each customer their total was $47.82. and long behold... Guess what my total was... $47.82 also Adter laughing to myself, I wanted to contest it but the ticket is written in Chinese (those sneaky tactics haha) and I was in a rush to leave since my toddler was already antsy and needed a nap. Our total would've been around that price so I just paid it and left less tip since I wasn't sure if we were being overcharged. Location/Parking: 8/10 It's easy to find but depending on the time of day, the parking lot can be packed. Parking fee is about .75-$1. No validation. If you're picking up, try checking for parking right out for it which is meter parking. read more

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Came here for the Moon cake tasting, tea pairing and dim hosted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. It was quite an experience and got to meet and chat with some very nice people. The food was great and the company as well. Got to try a few different kinds of moon cake and some dim sum. It looked like the place restaurant was closed down for the event. read more

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The new normal, eating out during COVID19. We made the mistake of craving dim sum over the weekend, forgetting it was mothers day. We also did not call in our order a head of time. When we arrived to the restaurant the layout was kinda confusing because they had signs for 2 lines "order here" and "pay here". However the order line was actually the pay here line. And the order line seemed to be where everyone was waiting for their food after ordering and paying. I feel like we didn't really order that much dim sum, however our order took about 45 minutes to be ready. Which is forever when you are already hungry. We ordered $28 worth of Dim Sum. We got shumai, shrimp dumpling, mochi rice, char siu bao, deep fried taro and egg tarts. All the dim sum tasted great, I just didn't appreciate the long wait. Next time I will definitely call in a head of time. A huge MAHALO to Happy Day for operating during this pandemic. read more

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Find a dim sum place has been challenging especially coming for the San Gabriel valley area. I was disappointed that the sui mais didn't taste fresh and have any flavor like I am accustomed to. The lo mai gai was muddy rice that was not because it was sticky rice but mushy for some reason it didn't come off the leaves easily. The ha gow was not tasty either the bamboo shoot and ginger taste it was bland. The lo bok go was the best thing I had. It was pan fried and served hit so maybe that's why I liked it. The hom sui gok was as fine but it was alittle mochi chewy but not a good taste I. The dough and the filling needed more salt or something. We got 12 different things and it was not satisfying at all. They used to have a local discount and there was none. The only thing I liked her was that they pushed the carts and you get that nostalgia feeling before pandemic. I was excited but for me it is all about the flavors and not lack it here. read more

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One of our fave dim sum places. They give discounts for take out! Extra discount if u pay cash for take out. Faves are har gao (shrimp dumplings), shrimp and chive dumpling, shrimp and spinach dumpling, char siu so (meat pastry I lovingly call meatstry), fried shrimp wonton, fried taro, lai wan bao (custard bun with crispy topping), dan ta (custard tart), seafood bean curd roll, fried seaweed roll, look fun (tried it for the first time pan fried and it was soo good with the sweet soy and hoisin sauces), mochi rice in lotus leaf (never used to like it but now I do), shumai and char siu bao are traditional but not on top of my list, friends liked spareribs. read more

Happy Days - Dim sum - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Friends and I decided to grab some dimsum for lunch. Happy days have generally been wonderful with great tasting food and fast service. As the dimsum carts kept passing by, they kept trying to push the items we weren't interested in. what we wanted was not available and had to wait, which was fine. With all the wait help surrounding the restaurant, I had to keep getting up to ask for things such as water, condiments, napkins. We sat at the farthest end of the restaurant from the cashier and as I asked any one of the wait help for things, they all just pointed to the cashier location. I had to literally walk across the whole expanse of the restaurant to add on my order versus just telling my waiter that I want to order a noodle dish. I'm not against walking, but I had to do this at least 5 times because we weren't getting basic items we requested. Each time we requested something, I got someone just pointing their finger towards the cashier station. On the flip side, the food was delicious. Service portion needs to be addressed. read more

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Best Chinese food on the island, maybe the state. Dim sum is ono! Long beans, char sui, everything broke da mowt! Device is always the best

When I think of Chinese cuisine, well the kind that I look back on most fondly, there's a lot of clanging and banging. Lots of scraping sounds and delicious smells wafting through the air, teasing my growling stomach and making it want to devour the closest thing in sight, and lots of it. Though I don't know if the fried rice here is wok tossed, all of the preceding descriptions are true with happy day. A fantastic dim sum joint that I've only come to know I'm my more recent years, they've been holding it down on Waialae for quite some time. Not trying to make fun but I'm genuinely not sure if the waitresses here know any English past the names of some of the dishes and soft drinks. And even then, if you order Kayuk versus saying roast pork, you invite the onslaught understanding that you're either bi-lingual, a fattie who at least knows enough to order in Chinese off the menu or you're just trying to show off, in which case it just backfired. But Happy Days is one of those prototypical dim sum places that pushes the carts around like a traveling circus of food that stops at your table and allows you to pick out of steam baskets, a rolling curio or off the mobile fry cart! And I know those steam baskets look fantastic, as does the glass cabinet of deep fried dishes. But DO NOT SLEEP on the fry flat grill cart! That grill fried Look Fun with plum sauce will change your life! Some of my other favorites consist of the siu mai (pork hash), the Nori wrapped and deep fried shrimp roll, the deep fried prawns with Japanese mayo (or could be Chinese Mayo, all I know is it ain't Best Foods or American so...), the deep fried pork Jin Dui and my absolute favorite, the black bean spare ribs (sitting in its own juices, with small chopped up red peppers. Don't worry, I think the liquids neutralize the bite of the pepper and it just adds a nice pop of flavor before just melting on your tongue. So good!)! But by all means... find the combination that works right for you and have at it! Oh, and here's a challenge: try enjoying a dim sum meal here without having to get a drink that has some kind of sweet flavor to counteract the robust goodness of the entire Chinese menu. If you're able to pull that off, you are a much stronger person than I. You have a level of restraint that I could never possess. Also... we probably can't be friends. Because anyone that wouldn't want to complete a taste pallet like that takes life too seriously and can't enjoy the frivolity and spices of life it takes to just succumb to the forces of culinary delight that's been winning battles over peoples diets from the Ming dynasty. read more

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Quick and easy seating, even on a busy Sunday afternoon! It took a very long time for my family and I to receive any service. We tried asking servers, cart servers, honestly everyone and we could barely get an order placed after 35 minutes of sitting there. Ordering dim sum from the carts is usually quite easy but it was for whatever reason quite difficult this past visit. Once we finally received our food orders and dim sum, we were very happy. All the food was warm and rice fresh. The roast pork, spare ribs, and duck were cooked and marinated well! I wanted to pass on the sweet and sour chicken but my family ordered it anyways. Not the best, not the worst. Dim sum was so yummy! The char siu bao was along with the shrimp dumplings, and other manapuas that we ordered. Overall the food was great but the service could definitely have been better. Again they were busy but it definitely felt like we were completely avoided. read more

This was on a holiday. I never expected what happened to happen. I placed a phone order and expected to get my order in an hour. I got there and had to wait in line with everyone else who just walked in. Waited for over an hour and a half and paid for my order. They even ran out of something and instead of asking me if I wanted a refund, they made me me wait even longer! I learned my lesson. Never go here on a holiday! I don't think I'll be back for a very long time. Bad system. read more

Since Chinese New Year and was in Kaimuki and felt like eating Jai, decided to,give this place another chance. We were there really early, and perhaps 4 of the 50 tables had people, so we ordered 4 dishes.... waited, and waited, and waited. The Jai and noodles took 20 min...and we waited more, and after 35 minutes, we asked about our 2 other dishes to another server, and after over 45 min, the roast duck arrived. Then we noticed our original server apparently eating his dinner(?) and no one covering us! Geez. Kinda disappointed on the waiting time, so we canceled the 4th dish. Duck was good, jai was good, noodles "meh" ....so after all this, we might take a break from this place unless we see service speed up a bit. 1 star for service, 3.5 stars for food....so regretfully 2 overall. read more

Happy Days - Jai...was not bad! - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Celebrated a birthday treat of Dim Sum this morning. We selected the dumplings: shrimp w/chives, shrimp w/spinach, pork hash (unusual slight sourness), stuffed eggplant w/black bean sauce (a bit charred) - although one of my usual orders, pan fried turnip cake, and coconut jian dui-fried sesame ball they refer to as Chinese malasada. The majority was fairly good. I'd say mainly the service is lacking when trying to get someone's attention; otherwise, Happy Days is normally my go to for regular menu orders, so I'd rate the majority of my past orders with a 4 star. I've been a patron for over 20 years and and also visit the sister restaurant in Kaihi, Nice Day on occasion when I'm in the area. read more

Happy Days - Seafood Roll, Pork Hash, Shrimp & Spinach Dumpling, Shrimp & Chive Dumpling - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Craving dim sum? This is the place to go! Must try: Charsiu or chicken bao steamed, pork hash, shrimp with spinach, half moon, spareribs & chicken feet. Customer Service: not the friendliest Chinese restaurant but staff are very attentive and quick. read more

Never ever order on Christmas or a holiday. I ordered for dinner at 4:00, pickup at 5. Waltzed in at 5, and there is a line of 40 people! I asked if my order was ready, told to go the end of the line, did so - took 30 minutes to get to the front - paid, then they finally started my order!! Left at 6:25 with my food already cold since they cooked different things at different times. Hint for future orders: go there, order, pay, and then return in 30 minutes. People who did that got their food before I did. Anyone who called, had to wait and wait. Although, they weren't answering the phone either. One woman told me she called twelve times before they finally picked up the phone for her to order one dish. She also waited over an hour in line, and they didn't start her food till she paid. read more

5 stars long over due. I eat here every month with my Chinese club for dinner. I eat here every Chinese New Year with my family. I've attached photos over many visits to this restaurant. My go-to for Chinese food in Honolulu! read more

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The food is excellent. I took my friend who is visiting from out of state - she loved it!!! She is much more adventurous with food than me! She got excited over the chicken feet. I felt it would be easier to go to dim sum there, than Chinatown. Parking is plentiful and very cheap! read more