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    Happy Garden

    3.9 (209 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Open 11:00 am - 8:15 pm

    Order Happy Garden Takeout or Delivery

    Happy Garden Photos

    HAPPY GARDEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Happy Garden

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    Reviews With Photos - Happy Garden

    Laurel Neighborhood of Oakland
    Steve D.

    4112 MacArthur Blvd Oakland, CA 94619 Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant is located in Oakland's Laurel District. I was here on a Saturday evening around 5pm. As I walked in the door, I noticed the dining room was blocked off. The lady said I have to call ahead if I wanted to eat there. After a brief discussion, I got a table up front. Okay, originally I was just going to have a nice bowl of Wor Won Ton Soup. But then I saw something interesting on the menu.....claypots. I ordered "Braised Rock Cod Filet With Tofu" claypot, Eggrolls, and small steamed rice. I ordered the eggrolls, so I had something to munch on while my claypot was cooling off. You see, the claypot is a "fire to table" dish. They cook the food in the claypot, and bring it to your table bubbling hot. I usually stir it up to even out the temperature. The claypot had nice pieces of breaded fish filet and large pieces of tofu all soaked in a rich gravy. Dried tofu sheets lined the bottom of the pot. I ate it with chopsticks and a bowl of rice. When you eat in a chinese restaurant, you eat chinese style. The lady who served me was very chatty. We talked about growing up in the bay area, and how the Chinatown has changed. I told her it was odd that they didn't offer a small dinner soup like other chinese restaurants. So she offered me "house soup" of dried bok choy and meat in a light broth. Total bill was less than $30 before tip. I will return and try the other claypots. Maybe I'll call ahead and reserve a table.

    Fried won ton soup
    Sammi L.

    Happy Garden is our go-to spot for Chinese in Oakland. We go so often that staff recognize and welcome us like family. We always enjoyed sitting inside before they moved to take-out. The women are so friendly there - we return for the service. The food is great for take-out and dine-in (before). We get our regular dishes like green beans, salt pepper pork, beef scramble, fish tofu clay pot - but we always enjoy trying new dishes. We always look forward to the next time we'll be greeted by staff like family and pick our favorite orders.

    General Chicken Deluxe Lunch Special

    Discovered this place about a month ago. If you're craving American Chinese, this place nailed it with their General Tso's and Fried Rice. I've also had the combination Fried Rice which was phenomenal. Service is fantastic with Sally, who was attentive through the whole lunch. Sweet lady really checks in throughout at just the right times. While this is no a fancy sitting place, it holds true to a solid Chinese restaurant you'd expect to make your standard watering hole. Absolutely happy with it.

    Norma L.

    I was going to order lunch from another place, but they were closed, and then remembered seeing this while at my Tailor who is two doors down and was on my mental list to try. I thought I'd have a quiet sit down to decompress, but they still don't have dine option. That's ok. The woman is super friendly and when I told her it was my first time said to take time no rush. I ordered something not usually on the menu. Combination Chow Fun w/o gravy. And since my stomach was talking, ordered hot and sour soup. It took all of 10 mins. Got back to office and dug in. Soup was so good. Usually its just got bamboo shoots, eggs, and I think they are earwood mushrooms. But this had that plus slivers of chicken, beef and a couple shrimp. The chow fun was not chewy and the meats were cooked perfect. The amount of food was enough for two sittings.

    Hung Tao Yee Fu wonton

    It's really hard to find a place that still does the old style Cantonese dishes like Yee Fu wonton. The one here is excellent and satisfies my craving for wonton that I remembered when I was growing up in Oakland

    Wonton Noodle Soup Fried Rice Sweet & Sour Pork
    Chris B.

    Solid classic Chinese offerings. Not a destination restaurant, but as the closest Chinese option to me it more than hits the spot when the craving strikes.

    Jan. 9th, an assortment of food & beverages
    John D.

    We live & eat in The Laurel... Happy Garden became our go to restaurant years ago when the one that we went to in Chinatown was sold & the new owners went for cheap ingredients and poor service. Happy Garden is a family owned business that has always done very good food & service. They even stayed open during the Pandemic and made sure that everyone could get a fresh meal from them! Many neighbors of various cultural backgrounds came to eat here and continue to do so now. Their pot stickers are fresh & tasty.. Their salt n pepper prawns are outstanding! During Chinese New Year's they stock lots of fresh crab & fish in the tanks. They do King Do ribs & have many rice, noodle & veggie dishes. Sallie, the co owner & hostess, will go out of her way to accommodate food ingredient issues-like vegetarian, vegan & allergies. Her husband, the chef, makes sure that they have a well stocked pantry.. And did I mention Peking Duck with all the trimmings? We highly recommend them and appreciate their dedication and community support!

    Beef chow fun
    Steve G.

    I'm always on the hunt for Hung Tao Yee Won Ton. If ya know, ya know... Happy Garden has it so had to try it. Also some Chinese favorites like beef chow fun, salt and pepper pork chops, fried chicken wings, and mushroom chicken. The HTYFWT was OK. Lacked some flavor and the won tons not as firm as I like. The beef chow fun, mushroom chicken and pork chops portions were all quite large. Chicken wings were very good as well. Prices are reasonable. A good, solid restaurant for Chinese comfort food. 4+*. We'll be back.

    BBQ pork fried rice

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    5 years ago

    best chinese food in oakland. took me a while to find a good place with quality food and not overly salty. great service too and fast.

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    7 years ago

    Lisa and Julie made this the best experience--and our Beijing Peking Ducking was unbelievable! We will be back and tell friends.

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    5 years ago

    I love how they make the Ku goal chicken just right portion and chicken love the food made fresh!

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    Page 3 of 6

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    Shan Dong

    Shan Dong

    4.2
    (4k reviews)
    4.1 mi
    $$

    This place can do no wrong in my eyes--or stomach. I've been coming here since 2018, and the…read morequality hasn't skipped a beat. I usually come with my family, and we order damn near everything on the menu. The aunties serving dishes actually laugh when they see how much food they're dropping off at the table. My favorites are the chili oil wontons, hot and dry noodles, bok choy, and General Tso's chicken. The wontons have just the right amount of heat, the noodles are thicccc and chewy, and every dish somehow manages to disappear before we can even think about leftovers. Honestly, you can't go wrong with anything you order. One of my favorite parts is watching them make the noodles by hand. Half the restaurant is dedicated to the noodle-making station, while the other half is for seating. It's not a huge dining room, but they do offer the Yelp Waitlist, so you can check the live wait before heading over. The vibe is very, get your food and head out so they can keep up with table space for incoming guests. Always a hit, never a miss.

    Very tasty!! Everything was delicious - definitely recommend the Shan Dong chicken and the Sesame…read morepaste noodles. Highly recommend upgrading to the hand made noodle The staff are all friendly and the food comes out very quickly. Portion sizes are also very generous. Restaurant is on the smaller side so there was a wait for a party of 4.

    Photos
    Dinning area
    Dinning area
    Shan Dong Chicken
    Shan Dong Chicken
    Wonton with Spicy Sauce

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    Wonton with Spicy Sauce
    Gum Kuo Restaurant

    Gum Kuo Restaurant

    3.9
    (1.2k reviews)
    4.2 mi
    $$

    Used to really enjoy this spot but hadn't been in years so recently gave it another try and I'm so…read moreglad I did! When we first walked in, no other diners were there which made me a little suspicious. We were promptly seated and offered hot tea though so we were locked in. I initially ordered to seafood claypot but was told it takes 45 minutes...so pivoted to chicken wonton soup (no noodles). My partner got kung pao chicken. while we waited for our food, a handful of people came in to pick up their to go orders, which made me feel better. Another party eventually dined in as well. Fyi the interior isn't much to write home about but comfortable. Then the food came. My soup was freaking delicious! Loads of chicken meat (just chopped up with the bones so be careful for shards), plenty of dumplings, and the broth was sooo good! I couldn't finish and took some left overs home; the next day, my soup coagulated (full of collagen)!! Partner enjoyed their kung Pao chicken but said they'd order something else next time. Best part - our meals + tax came out to less than $40! Gawd I love Chinatown!

    Gum Kuo Restaurant, Oakland's Chinatown…read more Service was fast and great. The pork & preserved duck eggs porridge (jook), shrimp rice rolls, and fried Chinese donuts are my go-to's. Everything came out fresh and hot, very delicious. I used to come here when I worked in the area, so it's very nostalgic. I highly recommend this place and would come back again!

    Photos
    Inside full crowd
    Inside full crowd
    Beef Chow Fun
    Beef Chow Fun
    Rice Noodle Wrap with Chinese Doughnut

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    Rice Noodle Wrap with Chinese Doughnut
    Yu Yu Za Zang

    Yu Yu Za Zang

    4.3
    (374 reviews)
    4.8 mi
    $$

    Pro Tip: Order Tang Su Yook with your Jajangmyeon, the two pair well together and will leave you…read morecraving more. With that said although Yu Yu is located in a pretty sketch area of Oakland/Berkeley, I would still recommend eating here just for its authenticity. They seem to have a parking lot in the back but we manage to find street parking in the front. You're better off looking for parking in the back than the front due to limited spaces. As for the food it was delicious. For the jajangmyeon you are given the noodles separately from the sauce; this allows you to pour in as much or as little as you want. I personally felt their flavors were mild enough that I poured in the whole thing. As for the tang su yook, it comes with a sweet and sour sauce that's bomb dot com. Even as stuffed as I was with the jajangmyeon, I managed to still find it in myself to finish the last bits of the tang su yook. Highly recommend. The restaurant itself seems to be newly renovated; don't let the rough exterior fool you. The inside was nice and clean but they only have room for four large tables that can fit a parties of 6, and the rest range from parties of 2-4. Last but not least service, they seem to run lean and understaffed but the gentlemen working did his best. Just be mindful if you come at a busy time you may have to wait. Overall looking forward to coming back here!

    Tangsuyuk (Sweet & Sour Pork) - The highlight of the meal. The pork was fried perfectly with a…read morelight, crispy batter that stayed crunchy without feeling greasy. Jjamppong - Rich, spicy seafood broth with a nice kick. It was loaded with seafood and vegetables, and the noodles had a great chewy texture. Jajangmyeon - Thick, savory black bean sauce that wasn't overly salty or sweet. Overall vibe feels homey and traditional, the server is polite and friendly.

    Photos
    Left side seating arrangement
    Left side seating arrangement
    8. Szechuan Prawns
    8. Szechuan Prawns
    Zazang Myun

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    Zazang Myun

    Happy Garden - chinese - Updated August 2026

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