Happyhappyjoyjoy is a pretty unique place. It combines hazy memories of old Ren and Stimpy cartoons with tasty, trendy Asian tapas. Not typical Amsterdam cuisine but that doesn't keep it from being tasty. The long and short of it:
1. Food: Happyhappyjoyjoy offers a pretty wide variety of Asian food ranging from Dim Sum to Pho and everything in between. They also have plenty of vegetarian selections, so we opted for the Dim Sum route with lots of smaller plates. The Chi Pao Buns really stood out along with the Who Tip Xia, but it was all good. I'd say an entree each and a split small plate would be good for 2 if you're mildly hungry.
2. Drinks: Happyhappyjoyjoy offers a full bar with some beers that may be brewed in house? Unsure of that but theres a pretty good selection. They also offer Asian sodas, cocktails, wine and sake, so you have your pick on how you're going to booze up.
3. Atmosphere: Loud and dim with the faint glow of neon lights. I personally found it fun, but if you're looking for a quiet meal to have a soft conversation over... this probably isn't the place.
4. Price: Happyhappyjoyjoy runs a bit on the expensive side, 8ish Euro for a small plate and 11ish for an entree. Tack on a few 5 Euro beers or 10 Euro cocktail and the bill really starts to add up. Worth it for the food you get but not an every day affair.
5. Service: The service really stood out here. The place was absolutely packed but that didn't seem to matter to our server who always seemed to appear right when we needed him, which was often given our small plates approach.
We resisted eating too much Asian fair while in Amsterdam, but I'm glad we stopped in here. I'd like to explore more of the cuisine that Amsterdam has to offer, but I'd be far from disappointed if we ended up back here on our next trip.
Overall Grade: B+ read more