Happy Hill

Good News! Happy Hill is open again with the previous owners. I love their hot and sour soup! They serve dim sum all day now — just ask for the dim sum menu as well as the regular menu.

Fresh and flavorful dim sum. We also had gnow nam lo mein which is the beef brisket with soup and greens. It was quite good. The décor is still dowdy and in the 90’s and has the typical icky asian bathrooms. At least it has some parking. The service is typical asian resturant service..

Wow! I’m lucky to have found a place this good so close to my house. And it doesn’t get as crazy busy as some of the dim sum places in Chinatown because it’s a bit hidden away. But the quality of the dim sum is just as good and the prices are on par with downtown places. It’s a strip mall, and sometimes the parking gets a bit crazy, but there is street parking in residential areas nearby that can be used.
Service is so-​so. Some of the servers are very friendly and helpful, but there is the odd time that the servers kind of treat you like a nuisance. But I’m all about the food and the price at Chinese restaurants and don’t get too bothered by bad service, so I’ll continue to go back! They also offer chili oil in addition to the usual red hot sauce.
They also seem to have hot pot year round, but I“ll have to investigate that further, especially after my Cultural Center snafu. The food is served fresh and hot, and they do a really good job of their Chinese donut, and Chinese donut wrapped in noodle, and many of the of the other staple dim sum dishes.

Went last night for a dimsum but apparently they stop serving after 4pm so we picked from the menu instead.
Food is good. BBQ’s were excellent. But the service… OMG! But i guess its very typical with all chinese restaurant. These people are rude. After I paid, the lady server instead of thanking me for the tip was all acting like i didn’t tipped more! Hello?!? Look at your service.
Doesn’t recommend this place at all. No matter how good the food is, if your service sucks! Your business sucks!!!

A tough review to write insofar as nothing particularly impresses or detracts at this place. Straight up Canadian Chinese peppered with some traditional ho fan, etc. open late for a restaurant outside the traditional downtown venues.

I’ve been a regular customer at Happy Hill for ages but not anymore…‘cos we had the worst customer service ever!!! We were the first to arrive at the restaurant but was not served till everyone else who came later than us, were served first. Not only that they served non-​Chinese first. What! In this day and age! We argued with the waitress, Ling. She apologized but was not sincere enough. We ordered 3 dishes and promptly after we brought up the issue, 2 of our dishes came out but still the other tables got their food. This took 1 whole hour! Who wouldn’t get angry? We cancelled the last dish as really, how long does a tofu and vege dish take to make? The other waitresses are so much better but after this fiasco, I really don’t think we will be back EVER.

A little hard to find in a strip mall just north of centre street bridge and s of hwy 1 (16 ave)
Excellent dim sum in a packed house, order from the menu, had 4 dishes with tea for 16.50 $
I had sho lon pow (?) pork dumplings, short ribs in black bean sauce, gyoza, sticky rice in lotus leaf
Service is polite and prompt

My mom loves this place… and I dont understand why. The food is average, however cleanliness… service…POOR. I was told to give them tip… there were 2 of us, had dimsum (chinese breakfast entrees are served in small portions usually in 4 pcs) the price is reasonable, free parking, close to downtown. If you dont mind noise or poor service, its alright. Make sure the utensils are clean though… yikes

We’ve never eaten in, and I think that might be a good thing. The first time I ordered, the lady who answered the phone was pretty rude. I almost cancelled. But once we picked it up, I soon realized why… The place was jam-​packed with customers and take-​out orders were just flying out of the kitchen. The highlights were: house special chow mein (crispy) — huge huge portion with lots of meats, seafood and veggies, eggplant and meat, and house special fried rice. The squid was good, but not as flavourful as I am use to as it didnt taste like it was loaded with MSG (like most places) Chicken and cashews — tasty — sweet and sour pork with pineapple — also pretty yummy. The second time we ordered, we had it delivered and it wasn’t as good. Food wasn’t as hot, ginger beef was too soft, squid was too salty. I’m guessing it sat around too long before we got to it.

After reading all the wonderful reviews on here. My friend and I decided to check this place out. There were so many things wrong with it. I’ve been to many Chinese restaurants so I know what kind of service to expect but this place has to take 1^st place when it comes to crappy service. After waiting half and hour nobody came over so I had to come to the front counter to request a waiter. then when she finally came, she gave us attitude when we asked for water or extra hot sauce. And the food was not much better than the service either. I’m just gonna stick with dim sum at Grand Central from now on.

A nice simple family run restaurant at the cross section of 7 th ave and Centre North. I have been here many times. The food is inexpensive, the quality good. Customer service usually fast and efficient. Favorite dishes … Chicken Corn Soup or Mixed Veggies /​Chinese Greens and Congee

Good dim sum for a reasonable price.
Standard dim sum fare that is well made and quickly available. The order sheets make sure everything is hot and fresh. No cart ladies but it is fresher this way. Plus, the cart ladies are a vanishing beast, they are almost impossible to find these days in Hong Kong (the home of dim sum).
The baked pastries are exceptionally good (try the pineapple BBQ pork buns).
The Sui Mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) are a bit below average.
Don’t expect customer service and it can be quite noisy.
Overall I will be back for sure in spite of the décor and customer service as the food is good enough that writing about it is making me hungry.
⁶⁄₃₀

Dim Sum Eye Catcher: Durian
I wish I wasn’t such a chicken! We saw many interesting and unique dim sum options on the menu, but durian is what glared at me. I now know I’m all talk. I pride myself on being the Bear Grylls of dining, but when Durian graced my eyes, I looked the other way. Yeah, the legend of its stink is infamous, but I turned the other way, and let it walk by.
And I will always feel the regret.
Nonetheless, we stopped by Happy Hill to grab some afternoon dim sum. We went here basically because we happened to be behind schedule and were desperate for dim sum. We were late, and we were hungry.
Happy Hill — -I love the name. I like being happy, and I like green grassy hills. Now where does dim sum fit? The restaurant is in a little strip mall north of downtown. We walked in to find ourselves the minority. Many Asians were chowing down and looking happy. This made me feel comfortable. One thing I was disappointed in was how the dim sum was served. I’m used to places which have plates prepared and paraded on a cart. Here you are given a menu and a pencil and you go down the list checking off everything which looked good.
The menu is extensive, and you will find anything for your dim sum fix. We went with quite a few plates, and we waited, and waited. Granted we were already famished, so seconds ticked just a little slower. Then we finally started getting some plates. One at a time. I’m sorry, but I can be a non-​polite tiger at the table when I’m hungry. So, I pounced on the first plate. It was good, but I wanted more. I wish we would have received more plates at the same time. Happy Hill was being a tease.
We eventually got into a strive though, and the plates started popping out.
All in all, the dim sum was decent. I would definitely come here again if I was desperate in the late brunch hour. A solid 3.5 stars.

Supper time can get pretty busy because it’s a smaller restaurant. The food is very good and is very reasonable. You can’t go wrong with any of the dishes on the menu. The service is quick and if you’re looking for a smile from a waitress you won’t find it at any Chinese restaurant. I will have a meal at Happy Hill at least once when I’m in Calgary.

Excellent dim sum, and the closest to Montana that I know of. Having dined at other dim sum joints with a friend who is a Hong Kong native, I like to think that I know what to look for, and it was all here.
In the US, dim sum is usually selected off or roving carts, but Happy Hill uses a «checklist» that you fill out at your table. Since our friend wasn’t with us this time, the checklist made it much easier to order, and to make sure that we got some of the less-​mainstream dishes. Having tried chicken feet before, and not really liking them, I decided to try braised duck feet, because every other table that I could see was having them. Delicious! Much better than chicken feet, and well worth the 7 hour drive.

Happy Hill is one of those places that you would never notice on your own. You have to be told about it, usually by a native Calgarian (if you can find one.)
But once you know where it is and discover how great the food tastes, then you’ll never have any trouble finding it again.
Now about the food, It is seriously good, but usually I have no idea what I’m eating. If you think you like Dim Sum (usually shrimp and combination of about 1000 different things), then bring a Dim Sum-​educated friend with you and let them order. That’s what I always do. I’m not sure what it is, but I like shrimp, so I usually leave happy.
Dim Sum is pretty much a group activity, so they have big tables good for up to eight people. Usually there is about 6 or 7 of us, so that leaves us lots of room. Plus once the bill is divided between seven people, the bill is rarely over $ 10.
Parking tip: Make sure you get there early, the parking lot fills up and it will be tough to find a place to park.
This is easily one of my favourite restaurants in Calgary… as long as I have someone that can order for me.

My cousin likes to treat our family to dim sun here, she does this because the dim sum is delicious and basically cheap; I mean have you seen how large my family is?
We have never received unpleasant service here and when you are a hungry family and you want your food fast and at Happy Hill they do deliver.
The nice perk is parking, there is FREE parking as it is not located in the busy and expensive parking area of Chinatown; just last week I paid $ 16 for parking to go for dim sum at the Regency. Plus it has easy to read menus, lists in both Chinese and English.
You can also order hot pots here, which is an all time favourite for my cousin, no wonder she takes us here.

I have not had dim sum here yet, but after reading the reviews, it’s next on my list!
I have had dinner here twice and both times have been great. The food is very authentic and the variety is great. The salted whole chicken is delicious, and the tofu dishes I’ve had here are great too. The portions are very generous and reasonably priced.
The décor is not much to speak of, but I haven’t had any problems with grumpy service as others have mentioned. The people have certainly been pleasant, and the service is surprisingly quick.
This is definitely my go-​to place for fresh, authentic Chinese food in Calgary.

Another reviewer mentioned that a smile is unheard of in a Chinese restaurant. I’d have to agree. None of the staff cracked a smile when I was at Happy Hill.
The tiny lot was jam-​packed with cars today at about 11:30 am. I had to park across the street in another lot (and it was FREE, what a concept in Calgary).
A quick glance around the interior revealed that the place was full of Chinese clientele — always a good sign. The large windows gave a nice sunny vibe to the place (the closest thing you’ll get to a smile there). The décor was rather plain but at least everything was clean.
I quickly found my friend and we ordered. The list was pretty easy to understand. The columns are ordered according to size (S/​M/​L dishes).
We had the spring rolls, sesame seed rolls, egg tarts, steamed shrimp pork dumplings, chives and pork steamed rolls, steamed-I-can’t-read-my-scribble crêpe and deep fried squid.
There was something different with the spring rolls. It was cinnamon-​like (but not quite). Tasty. That made up for the bland shrimp. The dumplings were plump and juicy, exploding in my mouth.
The crêpe made my stomach grumble in protest and had my palate demanding tea to purge the taste from my mouth. Personal preference I guess. As for the squid, it looked like the squid I tasted at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin in Hawaii but not as tender or flavorful.
I would have liked to have our teapot refilled but they didn’t really check on us.
The sesame rolls and egg tarts were light and not overly sweet.
My friend and I couldn’t finish our food so we both had doggie bags. The food’s not as flavorful by suppertime. My palate and stomach protested profusely.
Final verdict? The food was decent. Some yummy dishes and some not so yummy. If you’re ok with service without a smile and your dishes to be plonked on the edge of the table without much acknowledgment, then you’ll be fine.
If you’re looking for friendlier service and service where they check up on you a bit more, keep on driving.
Deductions: One star for service being «just ok» and another for the food being «ok».

My mainstay for dim sum in Calgary — I’m practically here on a weekly basis. In fact, I’m here so often that the service is somewhat approaching «friendly» and I think I even saw a smile once, otherwise unheard of in a Chinese restaurant.
I really like Happy Hill for a couple of reasons:
— It’s a bit separated from the crazy drivers and parking hassles in the epicentre of Chinatown.
— It’s a smaller restaurant, which translates into shorter waits and fewer screaming babies.
— The dim sum is steamed after you order it, with the order list printed in both English and Chinese.
The dim sum has always been excellent, with one caveat: Although this is one of the few restaurants I’ve found in Calgary that serves xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumplings), don’t get too excited, because the wrapper is too thick and too often the soup has already leaked out by the time it reaches your table. The restaurant certainly doesn’t lose points for trying, though. (I guess I need to find an excuse to get back to Shanghai, or at least to Ding Tai Fung outside Toronto.)
They also do hot pot here, but I haven’ t had it for quite a number of years — I always end up here for dim sum instead!
$ 20 for two people, with leftovers.