Stopped in on Saturday afternoon for takeout and found the staff extremely friendly and helpful. My order was the dinner selection of orange chicken with fried rice and chicken teriyaki (2). Plus a small order of chicken chow mien, and one egg roll (enough for two meals it turned out) The orange chicken was delicious, some of the best I've ever had. The pork fried rice was very good but the portion seemed sized for a lunch special and not dinner (only one section in the tray was full). The chicken teriyaki was huge and also delicious. The chicken chow mien was loaded with chicken and vegetables and the broth tasty. Very decent sized portion. The egg roll was okay Overall very good value for the money. While there is seating they are really best for take out. Note that they even have free tea and hot water. read more

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At last, one good Chinese restaurant in ME that knows how to make good Chinese haha. Love the service, take out only vibes, fried rice and lo mein. Honestly the schezuan was too Americanized, didn't have much heat to it. Will definitely go back! read more

Happy Garden - Chinese Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

We should have known this is mostly a takeout place when we noticed maybe only 2-3 tables in the dining area, and not so clean including the seats. We decided to dine in anyway but the food we ordered was below par, greasy crab rangoons that looked more like fried gyozos, the spicy string beans were ok, but somehow the brown sauce was too sweet and lacked any spice. The fortune cookie tasted like cardboard... Overall not much of an ambiance or pride of ownership either, unlike any other Chinese restaurant we've dined in, including NYC, Boston, Manchester (NH), Birmingham (UK), Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dubai. During the last few decades, most Chinese restaurants have promoted their not using MSG due to health concerns, and we were perplexed to spot a barrel of it, repurposed as a trash can for the patrons. Cost on the other hand was on par with any other New England restaurant. There is plenty of potential for this prime location, wish it somehow gets better. read more

Happy Garden - Monosodium Glutamate - MSG - Chinese Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

Further for me to drive here, but food is delicious! The crab rangoon are the best. Sometimes the chicken teriyaki can be overdone, but usually good. This is really a restaurant for take out, not to sit down and enjoy your meal there. I recommend it. read more

I have never had a bad meal from Happy Garden. I have had their Singapore Mei Fun (my favourite), Ho Yu Gai Poo, Hon Sue Gai, General Tso's Chicken, and Szechuan Beef; a;; have been outstanding. I have my items delivered so I can't speak to the in-house experience, but my food always arrive hot, not just luke warm as with the various food delivery services. The portions are so large that I get two big meals out of an order. Happy Garden is far and away my favourite Chinese Restaurant, bar none. The whole experience is always consistently excellent. read more

The best Chinese food ever i will never go anywhere else for my food.. very friendly staff and a great delivery driver .. my food is always cooked to perfection read more

I've been going here for years, and it's definitely one of the best Chinese restaurants in southern Maine. I knew the parents when they ran it, and the food was amazing then and it's just as incredible since their children took over. The quality and care haven't changed. It will always be my favorite Chinese restaurant. read more

This is absolutely outrageous there was a parasite in the orange chicken! whole family is sick food tasted fake went back to get an apology and they laughed in our face! little kid is now in the hospital read more

Knocked our socks off. Absolutely delicious Chinese takeout, like the kind we used to get in NYC. Affordable and large portions.

I was somewhat disappointed with this place. It looks like a typical Chinese restaurant and smells delicious when you walk in. Staff was very helpful. The food was a total disappointment. Noodles are spaghetti pasta. Not the fine delicious thin kind. The food itself was very heavily sliced onions. Overpowering. Was supposed to have chicken in the dinner. Very skimpy amount. I advise to go elsewhere. read more

Very greasy or very dry. No "Happy" medium. Seems little more pricey then other places and quality isn't comparable. But just my opinion...

This review is only based on one take=out visit and appetizer type offerings at that, but we stopped here just because we had a nearby medical point event, so I thought I would offer a comment or two for what should be our only visit here. It seems like Chinese take-out places all have the same offerings for a lot of their items, but there cn be minor differences that matter to me. I have ruled out a return visit to restaurants whose boneless pork is tough and chewy, for example, Or if their chicken wings are smoked or overdone. At Happy Garden we ordered two lunch combos of singer food, as we were eating in the car. And I can report that the boneless BBQ and the chicken wings were good. The teriyaki chicken seemed a little tougher than it needed to be, but not excessively so. The other items, such as chicken fingers, crab Rangoon, chicken teriyaki, egg roll and fried rice, were all fine. We probably won't be back as there are so many choices out there in the Portland area, but if you like Chinese fast food appetizers at least, I wouldn't discourage you. Oh, we ordered any the counter without calling head, and it was ready in the ten minutes she told us. read more

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Not the worst, but not great. I got the mongolian chicken dinner special with crab rangoon and hot and sour soup. The sauce is thick and savory, like a garlic sauce. I found it fairly unremarkable. The chicken was a little dry. The veg include mushrooms, peppers, onions, cabbage, carrots, and snowpeas. The crab rangoon was fried well, but it was all cream cheese and little to no crab (even imitation). The rice was dry and undercooked. The soup was okay but had a slight chemical or metallic aftertaste I thought. At least the price, $10.50, and the portion size, were good. read more

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Perfect American Chinese at a reasonable price. Awesome Fried shrimp and Mushu Delivery too. read more

It took 4 hours and two follow-up phone calls to deliver my food, and when I got it, it was bland and starchy. Granted, it was Xmas eve which is often a busy night--and I was polite with them on each call knowing this--but four hours is just absurd. After waiting 2 hours I called the first time, and was assured they had not forgotten. Two hours later I called again because I knew they'd be closing soon, and they seemed surprised that I hadn't received my food yet. They rushed it out 30 minutes later, and I was disappointed to find the chicken and broccoli was flavorless and starchy. They should have at least offered to comp or discount the meal, but didn't. This was my first and absolutely last time ordering from Happy Garden. read more

Consistently delicious, fresh and tasty! My dad always ordered Lobster Sauce (ground pork, no lobster). Happy Garden takes me back to my childhood with their old school delicious food. read more

First time here day after Mother's Day. I did take out. Food was good, plentiful and hot. Will definitely be going back

Happy Garden is a good option for takeout Chinese food. I understand the impulse to try to mark them down for this or that because sometimes these local Chinese food places can be really, really phenomenal without looking like they would be from the outside. While Happy Garden isn't THAT, they get everything right as far as Chinese takeout goes. I personally love their chicken fingers. They are tempura style like most places, but the breading is quite a bit crunchier than typical Chinese tempura chicken finger. I go back and forth between the orange chicken and the General Tso's and as such I would recommend either. The General Tso's definitely has more of a tang and the orange chicken is deliciously sweet. The chicken breading could be a bit crunchier here, as once it's soaked in sauce the breading becomes soft, but I don't mind that so much. I do wish that they gave out more fried rice with the lunch/dinner combos because it is very good. You can say what you want to say about the food, but does anyone really have super high expectations for this type of establishment in terms of the quality of the food? That isn't some backhanded statement, either. I mean, really, they offer good portions of decent takeout food all mostly for less than $10. How can you patronize an establishment like that and then be overly critical of how one particular menu item is cooked or prepared? If you are expecting to eat here and be surprised at the quality and wowed by a menu item, I think you are going to be disappointed. This place isn't a "hidden gem," it's more of a "community staple." That is, people know about them, people like them, and they are probably going to be around for a lot longer. They must be doing something right. Although I believe it has changed owners once or twice over the years, there is something to be said for a takeout place that has been around for over 20 years. Happy Garden has always been my go-to for Chinese takeout and it will remain that way unless they do something to make me change that. They are super conveniently located and I have never been disappointed by going in there and knowing what to expect. read more

Pictures do it fair justice. Very American Chinese food. If that is what you want, here is the place to come. **TO THEIR CREDIT** I have a mushroom allergy and when I have asked if a thing had that, they have gone out of their way to be sure it didn't or would be left out. That matters, so point where due. As a general quality v quantity, mainstream. Large portions for prices I expect for this genre of food. read more

Delivered quickly. Doughy egg rolls...more roll than filling. Beef fried rice was dry and tasteless. Wonton soup was disgusting...some kind of brown broth and too many crunchy carrots and strings of pork. Beef teriyaki was tasty, but not really teriyaki. read more

Great Chinese food, large portions. Reminds me of what I would get living in NYC, so I didn't expect it in Maine but am very happy to have it down the road. read more

The food was solid good! After spending a nice day in Portland, I headed down US 1 into Scarborough and stopped at Happy Garden for Chinese takeout to enjoy along my trip home. This "not so fancy" place is cozy which is order at the counter with self serve seating on each side of the counter, the left side of the dining room seems to be cooler. Happy Garden serves up the standard Chinese dishes including Cantonese, Hunan, Szechuan, and Polynesian dishes. They offer 33 Lunch Combinations ($6.95 each) served with pork fried rice (or white rice) and 17 Dinner Combinations ($9.50 each) served with pork fried rice & choice of soup. Family dinners and healthy dishes also served here. See the menu at http://happygarden.webs.com/menu.htm I ordered the D18 Cantonese Lo Mein ($9.50) with Chicken Fingers, Egg Roll, & Hot & Sour Soup. The food was cooked fresh to order with quick and friendly service.The portion of hot food was pretty generous! The lo mein dish was very good with nice flavors, yet a simple & fresh dish, which had thin noodles cooked soft and tossed with good amounts of boneless chicken, cabbage, carrots, and onions. The pork fried rice was decent, which was a brown color with onions and pork. The egg roll was wide, stuffed with cabbage & ground pork. The boneless chicken fingers were hot and crispy. The hot & sour sauce was spicy which had eggs, tofu, mushrooms, fungi, peppers, and bamboo roots. There was enough food for two nights of dinners. Happy Garden definitely gets a solid 4 stars! NO AMEX accepted read more

I'm beginning to think that every place in SOPO and Scarborough is either trying to hard or just stinks with the exception of Debs. Szechuan chicken is supposed to be spicy and delicious. This is basically boiled chicken and vegetables with some tasteless sauce dumped on it with the sole purpose of making a mess. Bland bland bland. read more

This is the second visit to Happy Garden. Dissapointing. Ordered the pu pu platter for 2. The fried chicken batter was not cooked thru. The egg roll was not up to par. The won tons were greasy. There were no fortune cookies. Will not return. read more

Ok I will preface this review in the fact that all I was looking for was a plain and simple greasy American Chinese food style restaurant that could accommodate the sweet and sour chicken fixation my wife has, the fried chicken fingers and egg rolls for my son and some beef and broccoli with a side of wings for this guy and I was not disappointed at all. Went in for pick-up and the 5 or six tables in the restaurant were immaculate and clean and the kitchen looked spotless as well which is sometimes rare in greasy food style places. It definitely has a take-out feel to the place and really isn't a great place to sit down and dine in a restaurant setting. A lot of oriental style restaurants around the area are niche based or location based and they cook in different styles like Vietnamese or Thai but if you are looking for some good general tsao's chicken or some good fried egg rolls, this place does the trick indeed. I will be back to this place for some pick up in Scarborough and look forward to it. read more

Terrific classic Chinese food. Ample portions, fresh, clean vibe. Will return for more.

This was plan C. We had two previous plans for dinner tonight that were just not practical for a variety of reasons. Last night I had picked up a takeout menu for Happy Garden at the front desk of the motel and we decided to have food delivered tonight. Alan looked over the menu and we agreed to order Happy Family, which we used to enjoy at a long closed restaurant in Berkeley. He also ordered seafood chow mein and an order of white rice. They told him it would take 45 minutes to an hour to be delivered. We discussed where to eat, in the room or downstairs in the breakfast area. He consulted w/ the desk staff and was told people do both. We agreed downstairs would be better so our room wouldn't smell of food all night. He went downstairs to wait and I stayed upstairs. In what seemed like less than 45 minutes he called to say it was there. The desk staff gave us plates and utensils and I got napkins. The food, which was in recyclable black plastic containers w/ clear lids, was still hot. I started w/ the Happy Family and Alan started w/ the chow mein. The Happy Family was delicious, w/ a variety of meat, seafood and vegetables in a brown sauce that was subtly sweet and not too salty. I had been concerned about that. Neither of us liked the chow mein as well. It wasn't as flavorful and varied. It reminded me of the chow mein of my childhood, undistinguished and unremarkable. But the Happy Family more than compensated and we had enough to eat w/o finishing the chow mein. They gave us 4 fortune cookies. If we were local we would explore more of their menu, based on the Happy Family. read more

We frequently order from Happy Garden as they deliver to our house. Our order is always correct and the food is always yummy. We typically order rice and a bunch of appetizers to share as a meal - pork fried rice, pan fried dumplings, teriyaki steak stripes, egg rolls and chicken fingers! read more

Ordered Kung Pao Chicken, either they put the wrong sauce or Kung Pao sauce not very good. Not much chicken and what here was, was hard and dry. Mostly celery. Did this place change owners? No more Mercedes parked in front, just Toyotas!!! read more

My go to for take-out Chinese food in Greater Portland. I have been to most, but always end up back at Happy Garden. You won't be disappointed going here for the quick takeout meal. read more

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We once frequented the Happy Garden, particularly for their crab Rangoon. In fact, we still receive phone calls asking how our experience was, even if it's been a year since the last time we ate there. Well, we stopped in Sunday for old-times sake and ordered General Tso's with some Crab Rangoon. Still delicious! The best part is how friendly the staff is. We had some nice conversations with them about moving from New York and their friends/family who are still there. Make Happy Garden your neighborhood Chinese join. I hear they deliver! read more

I decided after many years to try this restaurant for some take out lunches. I'm told the food is good. I'll never be able to give a food review. Unfortunately the owner doesn't wish to accommodate their customers. My simple request was to put the Egg Foo Yong gravy in a separate container. Never been a problem in restaurants throughout the country & Montreal who by the way has sensational Asian food. My decision after asking her twice was to leave, never return & post this review. Marc read more

What a treat during tough times! Order by phone with a credit card. Drive up, let them know you're in the lot. They bring it to your car. We had yum yum shrimp, house special bean curd, awesome large egg rolls. Easy Route one in and out, plenty of parking, Stuck inside? Take a ride and get happy with some chow from the Garden. read more

So, I've been in big cities, small ones, rural ones, and foreign ones. And never, NEVER have I come across a regular Chinese restaurant that doesn't offer cold Chinese sesame noodles. Ever. Notwitstanding, being a first try, we ordered delivery. It was prompt, and the fellow was really nice. The food (I only remember first hand the moo shu pork) was okay, but nothing special. So, I'm looking at the prior reviews, with two thoughts: 1). Folks must have experienced not much Chinese in their lives, at least not of high quality, 2) and second, why aren't their more Chinese alternatives in Portland? I miss Valley, which died a natural death of mediocrity, little business sense, but decent value. It was family-run. What's next, if anything? read more

Hard to try new places when you don't know what to expect. This place was fantastic! Got a to go order, super easy, not a crazy wait time. Got the food back home and opened it up to find great portions, and absolutely delicious flavor! Definitely going back soon. read more

I completely agree with the reviewer below who stated how odd it is for a Chinese restaurant NOT to have cold noodles and sesame paste on their menu. I also agree that any rave review begs the question: "Have you EVER eaten really good Chinese food, or just Chinese food from Maine?" Twenty years ago, under different ownership, their food was much, much better. Over the years, it has gotten progressively worse until resembling something slightly better that "Chun King" in a can. I can not recommend a single dish. PF Changs frozen entrees are better, or go across the street to JoJo's Thai Kitchen. read more

Not fancy, primarily takeout restaurant on Rt 1. All takeout during Covid. They had a combo place that had a good selection of appetizers at a reasonable price. Food was fresh and tasty. Rice portion was an ice cream scoop size where most places overload the plates with rice. Instead the filled the empty space with the other food. read more

I've been missing good Chinese food, this place is the bomb! We ordered a little bit of everything, Pu Pu plater for one ( its enough for two to share) orange chicken dinner & pepper steak dinner. The dinners included pork fried rice, soup and an appetizer, it was amazing!!! I did not want soup so they gave me extra fried rice. Service was quick and everything was so fresh. I did not give a five star because I'm a though reviewer, but definitely recommend this place. It was delicious! read more

Happy Garden - Pu Pu Platter (For One) Orange Chicken* Crabmeat Rangoon - Chinese Near Me - Scarborough, Maine

Evergreen was my go-to place, unfortunately (and stupidly) they stopped delivering, they only have two tables in the whole place so it's not a practical place to eat anymore. On a whim we tried Happy Garden just because of the perk of delivery. The reviews are mixed either really good, really bad. Well let me tell you about my experience. Best American-Chinese food in Portland, hands down. When you want perfectly cooked/sauced noodles, crispy Tso, and according to my husband "best beef teriyaki" ever. Give this place a go. I love that they have a smaller lo mein option available, I always want noodles to go with my entree but usually restaurants only offer full dinner sizes. I'm one of those people who wants to have little bites of everything. The vegetable lo mein was perfectly cooked with a light chew to the noodles, vegetables were plentiful and crisp and the sauce was just right. Even for a "small" I have more than enough for a couple meals. The General Tso Bean Curd was crunchy with a silky interior in a delicious sweet and slightly spicy sauce. Portion was great, I will have more than enough to make another meal. The Scallion pancake was crispy and tender on the inside, lots of scallion flavor with a slightly sweet sauce that complimented them nicely. My husband ordered one of the dinner combos, the spareribs were perfectly seasoned and tender, the beef teriyaki skewers weren't overly sweet nice cut of beef and perfectly seared/cooked. Again the portions were generous and he has more than enough left over for another meal. For thirty bucks we have more than enough to feed two people twice! I think we found a new favorite! We are glad they tucked in a menu because we will be ordering from them again! read more

My husband and I discovered this place when I was pregnant and didn't want to cook Thanksgiving dinner. It was the only place open so we gave if a try. I am so glad we did! Their chicken fingers are delicious, they have the best beef teriyaki I've ever had! The fried rice is also really awesome. We live in Yarmouth now but still occasionally drive all the way to Scarborough for this Chinese food! Thank goodness for this place because Portland is seriously lacking in good Chinese food. read more