Happy House

Very good food for the price, the family meal for two will probably come out to 3 meals for my wife and I. The food came out fast and the service was good. There is a bar next door so it’s probably not the best place for small children.

Service: Exactly what you would expect looking at a mom and pop’s americanized-​chinese chop suey place like this.
Mom/​waitress/​manager spent quite a bit of time going over homework with her son before she took my order. His education is important of course, but hey, I’m also there to eat.
A little bit of temporary priotirization can go a long way. But dang, the food came out quick. And it was crunchy so you can’t claim that it was microwaved, ha! (unless they’re using that super-​crazy-​patent hot-​pocket pocket crisper thing)
Food: Again, exactly what you would expect — cheap, greasy, class b meat, but HUGE quantities.
General Tso chicken — would prefer spicier
Fried rice — More vegetables please, and a little on the dry side
BBQ pork — a little dry
Crispy shrimp — actually not bad, crunchy, obviously not fresh, but tasty
Crab puff (uh… where’s the crab? Just say cream cheese puff and call it a day)
Friday dumplings — *shrug*
But ~$ 10 for all that AND left overs? Come on.
Oh, and $ 1 beer.

Our 1^st time trying out this restaurant, what a pleasant surprise. Portions were very generous. We ordered the B combo dinner for two and of course made the mistake of adding another dish. When the appetizers arrived I was shocked. It was a meal in and of itself. There were fried shrimp, vegetable egg rolls, crab puffs, and Bbq pork, and all without the 5 spice that a lot of Asian places like to use and I absolutely cannot stand. Then she starts bringing out the main meal, each dish is brought out as it is ready. My favorite dish was deluxe pan fried noodles, it had chicken, beef, shrimp, plus a lot of fresh vegetables in a pan fried noodles bowl. I liked that everything was cooked to order, fresh, and not over cooked vegetables. Their green bean chicken in black bean sauce deserves mention also, very tasty, not an overwhelming amount of sauce, and greenbeans cooked to perfection. I recommend giving this a try

Cheap beer is always great to have but the food can be better. Always there for dinner so I’m always getting the same combination dinner #5 since that’s one of the dishes that doesn’t up set my stomach too much. Chinese food hurt my stomach no matter where I go.

I’m not going to say the food was horrible, but it definitely earned a solid rating of bad. They give you a lot of food. That’s one thing. For me, I’d much rather have something more edible and less of it. As is, I’m stuck with pounds of slop I don’t think I can even feed to my neighbors dog. I don’t want to be unkind but when the potstickers are suspiciously exactly like the ones you buy at Trader Joe’s in the frozen food department… That kind of says it all. Unfortunately they might’ve been the best thing I ordered.

Don’t let the fact that this place is connected to a bar turn you off. The food is really good and the portions are generous. Came here with my husband tonight, and we had the number 4 combo, Szechuan lo mein, honey walnut shrimp, pork fried rice, and some egg foo yung. Holy shiznit, did we have a lot of food! It came out fast, hot, and everything was tasty. Will definitely be coming back and I highly recommend for casual Chinese food.

I really enjoyed it. Didn’t look like the best place in the outside and the conjoined bar threw me off a bit, but food came out very quick and looked awesome. It tasted great and there was plenty and that was just a lunch combo. I will definitely go back.

Great value, no-​nonsense American-​Chinese cuisine. Make sure you’re hungry. The number one filled me up good. The one quirk about this place is that their chow mein is all bean sprouts; the only noodles here are the «crunchy noodles» buried underneath. Not knocking it, just saying its funny considering the Chinese «chao mian» literally means «fried noodles».

I don’t know why people are so dang hard on this place. From the looks of the food, and the shape of the building, I think you know what you’re getting before you even order.
This is the greasy variety of americanized Chinese food that I think most of us grew up on. Expect bbq pork, fried pork, fried chicken, egg foo young, fried rice, fried noodles… It’s by no means traditional or authentic… But it’s a damn good hangover cure and should hit the spot if you’re looking for a decent sweet and sour pork loaded with MSG, as Anthony Bourdain says; «The shinier, the better.»
As for portion sizes, we ordered one combo meal and an extra side of fried rice and found ourselves eating on it for a week, so be weary. Food was a good four stars, we will be back every once in a while, I am sure.

I read your reviews, and I visited Happy House with excitement. Could Happy House have the «sketchiest food I’ve ever eaten, in my entire life» or «the best Chinese food in Portland?» I’m Chinese American and grew up in Chinese American restaurants and on that type of food.
This review comes after eating-​in about 4-​times and ordering take-​out about 2 times.
For starters (not appetizers), Happy House has $ 1.00 house beers. If you’re feeling a little rich or riche you can toss another $ 0.50 for Rolling Rock. The beers come in tall pint glasses.
Secondly, the lunch specials are stellar. Happy House has the meal deals everyone talks about but aren’t delivering. Happy House lunch special list is long, so you’ll find something you’ll like and like more as a snack or meal for later. The dinner specials are good, but not as good as the lunch specials list. The beef and broccoli is great. The broccoli is cooked perfectly. The beef is tender, tasty, and a good portion.
If you’re a real Chinese American food connoisseur, you’ll opt for the Sweet and Sour Pork over the Sweet and Sour Chicken. More often than not, Sweet and Sour Pork is cut from pork shoulder, and pork shoulder is tastier than chicken breast.
The Moo Shu Chicken is a winner for kids who like burritos. I hate it when there’s too much liquid, and Happy House’s Moo Shu isn’t overly saucy.
The Salt and Pepper Squid could use some honing. It seems like they used the same batter as Sweet and Sour, because the squid is hidden in a layer of thick dough. I prefer Salt and Pepper Squid with a light, dry dusting and tentacle visibility: 100%.
Service has been 100% both eating-​in and take-​out, even when I sent the Caucasian to do the food pick-​up. Every server we’ve encountered has been nothing but kind, friendly, and attentive.
Bads: Salt and Pepper Squid
Good: Service, beer prices, Beef and Broccoli, Sweet and Sour Pork

My wife and I rarely go out for Asian food since we usually get our fill eating lunch at the food carts downtown, but we like Chinese food and we were in the neighborhood, so we decided to give Happy House a shot.
In addition to a $ 1.50 Heineken, I got a combo plate with BBQ pork, sweet and sour chicken, beef and broccoli, and fried rice. It was ready in less than 10 minutes. The BBQ pork was a little overcooked, but still flavorful and not bad. The beef and broccoli was great. The beef was extremely tender. The sweet and sour chicken was also great, maybe even better than the beef and broccoli. The portions were extremely generous, and I reheated my leftovers for lunch the following day (pro tip: put leftover sweet and sour chicken in a 350 degree oven for about 6 – 8 minutes).
After this experience, Happy House is now my go to Chinese restaurant.

Great food, extremely reasonably priced, and the dollar beer ain’t half bad. I love the tofu, and egg flour soup!

This is the sketchiest food I’ve ever eaten, in my entire life.
DONT. DO. IT.
all the people (45 of them) raving about this crap hole are obviously drunk in the bar next door. Seriously, are they giving out drinks for top reviews?! I don’t usually like to completely hate on an establishment, but these are dire times. I’ve had better crab puffs, pot stickers, and rolls from the goddamned freezer aisle. This shit was worse, I kid you fucking not.
My general chicken had awesome pockets of greasy fat hidden between the jerky parts, smothered in sauce.
Even the MSG couldn’t help me force it down.
The chow mein. THE. GODDAMN. CHOW. MEIN. It’s grey! And ligitamatley slimy. I poked around trying to figure out what the «chicken» actually was. And when I left my questions were answered by the rats running along the fence by my car.
TRUST! That the fried rice IS INDEED a mound of stale microwaved rice with some soy sauce dumped on top, along with EXACTLY two pieces of dark, dry, fear inducing (pork?).
STAY AWAY TRAVELLER!
FOOD DOES NOT LIVE HERE!

How could this be my first time here? It was. So in search of a Jewish Christmas near home, I chose Happy House. Parking is pretty easy with the lot off Interstate ave. The place was fairly crowded on xmas, so we decided to sit in the bar. I loved it!
What could be better than a dark and divy bar serving fresh Chinese food, with poker machines making ungodly noises in the background on Christmas? Nothing! That’s what. Unless Hulk Hogan walks in the bar! Ok, it wasn’t really him — but a total doppleganger. Two dudes with crowns gave us english popping toys with prizes and crowns of our own.
The food was fairly cheap, fresh, large portions and quite good. I would like more vegetables in the dishes, but the veggies we did get (green bean w/​chicken) were very crunchy and tasty. I will return!

$ 5.95 lunch specials! Is this authentic Chinese food? No. It is American style Chinese food, and it’s delicious! I’ve only been once, but the kung pao chicken lunch was great! Plenty of kung pao, pork fried rice, and a spring roll. You get soup if you eat in, but I opted for take-​out. Will definitely be back. The dark, somewhat lurid looking lounge has me intrigued!

Old school Chinese food restaurant. Lunch menu is perfect and priced well at about $ 6 a plate with soup. Yummy food. .what I expect, Chinese food. .lots of it and not Foo foo.

Happy House is a solidly decent Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood — that makes it pretty awesome. I’ve both ordered take-​out and enjoyed their lunch special while watching an episode of Grimm being filmed across the parking lot at the restaurant next door. Bonus.
Both vegetarians and omnivores alike will be satisfied with the options available at Happy House. Service is solid and efficient. Portions are good sized and hot mustard and sweet/​sour sauce is complimentary at lunch along with a tasty, hot oolong tea. Recommend.

This place is a proper dump. Mediocre food. Good enough though. Next time I want a big pile of greasy Chinese (in, like, 6 months). I may return.

The name might be deceiving, the décor might be depressing, but the lo mein is friggin’ legit! I mean, that schezuan lo mein has me craving it like a crack addict.
Go here for take-​out and stop in the Lounge for a beer while you wait. Oh, the beer. $ 1 Happy House Lagers!!! That’s 16oz of beer, for one dollar, and they don’t care if you pay in pennies! ‘Happy House Lager’ you wonder? Well, it’s pretty much Rolling Rock, with maybe a hint of Budweiser. But it’s a buck.
The Lounge itself makes for good people watching — lots of gamblers and story tellers. And the occasional «are they homeless or are they just commuting home and avoiding the rain» types. Who cares! The beer is a dollar and the lo mein is delicious!
Good Chinese food is hard to come by in inner NE, but Happy House is an easy on the wallet spot that’ll make your liver and tummy hap, hap, happy.

This is one of the closest Chinese restaurant to my home, yet I have never tried it. It looks a little sketchy from the outside but all is good inside.
The décor is dated but most Chinese places could use help in that area. I was seated quickly and after reviewing the menu I decided on the Mongolian Beef. I started with the Hot and Sour soup and it was good. The right amount of heat to sour.
The Mongolian Beef came out and first impression was good. Good amount of beef and plenty of scallions and the won tons were fried perfectly.
The fried rice looked to be just white rice with some soy sauce for coloring. No kidding. Service thru out was spot on with me never asking to get anything before they took care of it for me. It was a spot on 4 star experience.