UYE Happy Garden Dim Sum Dinner #5

Paul C. has done it again! Another successful UYE at Happy Garden. It just gets better with each event he has held here.
This time the food was more to my liking and there was enough variety to satisfy everyone. My favorite was the more traditional steamed dim sum elections. The pork dish is still a little too chewy for my taste. The beef dish was excellent and everything was well presented.
The addition of the cloth tablecloths was very nice. It really set a nice mood for all of Paul’s guests. He also had cookies for each person and Paul worked his magic by canvassing the crowd to make sure that everyone got what they wanted.
Everyone was so excited to be there and so many Unilocalers brought an amazing array of desserts! So much fun! Thanks Paul!

Wow… so sorry I haven’t written a review for this amazing event!
After rushing through the freeway and highways to get to this location, not to mention looking for street parking. I finally found this restaurant… Only because it was packed with awesome people inside!
This is my first UYE hosted by Paul Chan, and when he mentioned it last month I was excited to go! Now… what to order…“no worries” Paul said, as he took the orders for every table to the kitchen. He was on a mission to bring us the best Dim Sum experience from this Happy Garden!
I can honestly say after each bite of awesomeness, even trying a few dishes for the first time, I really want to bring my family to this restaurant! From the first Dim Sum to the last… SO ‘ONO! I was full, but not stuff… still enough energy to walk out the restaurant and drive home.
Thank you very much to those that brought desert! I had to enjoy each tasty morsel at home so I make it home in safety, also my family could have a taste of what was at the event!
Thank you very much Paul for hosting a wonderful UYE! Still gotta make it to one of your Prime Rib UYE!

Blah blah blah, it was awesome, as always. I feel like there’s nothing much I can say about this that not only hasn’t been said, but that isn’t obvious. So here’s the breakdown, even tho I think it’s unnecessary to even say:
The host: Paul is amazing. He is friendly, welcoming, and the perfect host. He sets everything up in advance to make sure people are happy. I also think he’s a great guy, and I’m lucky to call him a friend.
The venue: this place is a whole in the wall, but it works. It’s got good food, a vast array of choices, and decent prices.
The UYE itself: spectacular. It’s always fun. FYI you should get to Paul’s events early. Not sure why, and I didn’t know that, I just happened to get lucky.
The other Unilocalers: I was fortunate enough to sit with Maka, Cathy, Malia, Todd, Mahina, Jacob, David, and Darin. I wish I could have sat with everyone, but that doesn’t seem possible! As such, I found myself wandering just to say hello to other Unilocalers. I’m scared to keep listing people, incase I forget one, but you know who you guys are!
Everyone was awesome, and there was much laughter, food, and happiness shared! If you get the chance to go, you should.

(W) e never get tired of Paul C’s UYE Event’s
(O) h my lord, the food was amazing!
(A) lcohol was flowing from start to finish
(I) ‘ll never forget this amazing evening
(D) ining and drinking with fellow Yeeps is priceless
(I) loved the Capital Pork Chops
(A) mazing dim sum throughout the evening
(N) adine C made these amazing Blueberry Cheesecakes
(X) cellent Carrot Cake made by Lyla D
(I) also loved Sharon C’s Banana Cream Pie
(N) oise from our table was louder than a UH football game
(Y) uzu Sake from Darrell and Sophie P was off da hook
(A) lso those Big Island Candie’s from Janice were too die for
(Z) ipper was ready to fall off after eating all this food
(H) ad those deepfried pork intestines… AMAZEBALLS!!!
(O) utstanding Fried Calamari
(U) ye Events are not to be missed
(F) antastic wine compliments of Kimo S
(U) nbelievable turnout for this UYE Event
(N) adine C was the best dressed that evening
(U) nique dishes are to be had here if you dare
(J) ust looking at all this food made me gain weight
(I) was known as YOUNGBOIIIIIIIIIII!!!
(U) nfortunately, it was Sober September for some Unilocalers
(J) ust don’t understand eating chicken feet
(I) need to eat MEAT!!! not FEET!!!
(N) ice to see Lisa T, Arynn I, Jennifer S, and Li Y
(G) reat to see new faces such as Sharon C and Maggie T as well
(W) hen is the next UYE Event Paul?
(O) nly the strong survive at these events baby
(H) ad no room for dessert
(A) te half of China last night
(N) adine C took a bite of my Jin Doi
(J) ust repeat after me… YOUNGBOIIIIIIIIII!!!
(I) loved that word
(A) bargain of a meal at just under 20 dollars a person
(O) h my god, the chili sauce was so good
(D) im sum heaven
(E) xcellent service by our server Paul C
℗ aul C, you are DA MAN!!!
(E) ach and every one of your events are a hit!
(N) o need to worry Paul C, we
(G) ot your back
(Y) ou can’t count on us
(O) h my god Darrell and Sophie P
(U) both go all out for these events as well
(H) okulani Cupcakes… WOW!!!
(E) xcellent Lemon Bars and Brownies too
(B) oth of you are simply amazing… Thanks so much
(A) lso nice seeing my sister Lien V as well
(O) h, i got some free Jin doi from nice Chinese Lady
(L) I Y, you are my drinking partner at these UYE Event’s ok?
(U) taught me how to say YOUNGBOIIIIIIIIII!!!
(O) ver and over again the whole night
(D) amn!!! This review is as long as The Great Wall of China
(E) ating those leftover desserts while writing this review
(U) nreal, i need some yuzu sake right now
(Y) uzu is something i never ever get tired of
(E) veryone who attended this UYE Event… I
(H) ope to see you at the next one
(U) ye events are the best way to meet people in real life
(O) penly and in the raw
(D) is YOUNGBOIIIIIII is getting exhausted
(O) h my god, it’s coming to an end
(N) ighty night my fellow Yeeps
(G) ot to get my okole off the laptop and watch my Korean Dramas
* Now if you translate these Chinese words into English it says…*
I Love Dim Sum, Asian Women, Alcohol, My Unilocal Friends, and Paul C’s UYE Events
Ganxie nin Chouchu Baogui de Shijian He Yuedu Ben Unilocal de Pinglun
Thank You for taking your time and reading this Unilocal review :)

IMO, there is no greater meal than eating dim sum for dinner and Paul C. made this possible. Paul, once again, has outdone himself as a the ultimate host. It’s amazing to watch him in action. How does he do it? Paul doesn’t even have time to eat much because he focused 100% of his energy into taking care of us. Yes, we’re that lucky. I see Paul sincerely loved to make people happy and he absolutely enjoys seeing everyone enjoying themselves at these fun get-​togethers. This UYE was truly a success since there were quite a few stragglers who had a hard time leaving HG when it was time to go, myself included.
I arrived 15 minutes pass the official UYE starting time and walked into a full house of Unilocalers all happily squeezed into the smaller HG restaurant ready to feast. I starved myself most of the day in order to go all out on this dinner. There were a total of 13 dim sum and dinner entrees and we were eating like there was no tomorrow hehehe. I feel like I was eating at a Chinese wedding function. Halfway through the entire 13-​course dinner meal, I think I hit the food wall because I ate too fast. That’s what happens when food is good and the company is even better.
Kudos to the generosity of these Yeeps: Paul’s cookie bags, Janice’s Big Island cookies, Ramfis and Li’s happy libations and he brought pies from Wahiawa’s Sunnyside bakery, and Victoria handed out Trader Joe’s wafers during dinnertime. AND then there was the overabundance of more desserts from Nadine, Lyla, Sharon, Darryl and Sophie. I tell you, there are some dessert groupies running around in this group of foodies! All the desserts were super yummy.
It was awesome to see so many Yeeps enjoying the food, drinks and desserts but I gotta say I took great pleasure in watching my table mate Kathy A. not shy about eating the deliciously-​marinated chicken feet. Of course, I devoured mine. Nadine, Chris and Keith were super nice because they made sure everyone at our table were well fed through the evening. Nice hot tea were constantly replenished in a timely fashion and to go boxes were provided for our leftovers.
Since I was late, I didn’t get to meet some of the unfamiliar faces but it’s always fun to see the regulars too. As attendees, we sure reaped the benefits of Paul’s hard work. The house was packed with good food, lots of laughter and contagious merriment. It’s so cool to have so many photos taken by the photogs to memorialized the occasion. What a way to spend a week night among great Unilocalers. Hana hou!

«Whowhwhwoowow!!!» that and many other noises were heard or misheard from 2 of the tables.
What a wonderful night– MAhalo Nui Loa PAul for organizing this event.
The event was mostly preordered by Paul for each table. We each got at least to taste 1 of each of the items, and sometimes there were some left overs and by the end of the night there were many left overs.
He clearly said, we’re going to start off with some steamed Dim Sum, most people think of dim sum for brunch but Happy Garden does it for dinner just as well– but most of the items are not fried. Then move on to some noodle/​meat dishes/​then on to more unusual chicken feet and others.
We got some great different chicken/​shrimp dim sum that I usually would not order myself since they were steamed.
The HIGLIGHT of the night for me was the calamari fried. SO ONO!@!!! Cooked to perfection!
A different kind of sweet and sour pork cutlet was different.
There was a beef funn– wonderfully cooked. So tastey!
The fish on veg was cooked perfectly– by that time most of the table was full and some more than normal would go uneaten, heartrenching.
Then the mochi rice with chicken came out and — people were still able to eat and try it, I was out for the count on normal dinner foods.
When what to we see– sugar– Hokulani cupcakes, fresh made pastires and other cookies and cakes– wonderful way to wash down a perfect meal with great friends.
UYE is a great way to sit and talk to a few Unilocalers when some officail Unilocal events do not lend themselves to meeting new people as much as an event like this.
Wonderful way to talk about life and work only if needed but more importantly talk about making good friends and meeting new friends.
Space was a little crowded but everyone seemed to be ok with it and enjoyed the companionship.
Some tables had BYOB wine/​sake, There was tea provided and normal ice water. Small note, I didn’t notice anyone drinking soda or other things.
I hope to be able to join more events and be invited to other UYEs.
Mahalo Nui Loa to everyone for making a wonderful night.
Aloha

Whew! I had to take a day to recover from this UYE. This was only my SECOND UYE that I’ve been to since I’ve been Unilocaling and like ALL OTHER Unilocal Events, this didn’t disappoint.
We appreciate and are thankful to our host, Paul C, for being so organized, detail oriented and gregarious. This event changed our minds about how we felt about this restaurant… We will always give a business a SECOND chance.
We learned from our previous experience that veteran Unilocalers arrive early to either help with finalizing the plans or to start the party with a «Happy Hour», in the case, Happy Half-​Hour. We were greeted by Paul C, Nadine C and David T. We were invited to sit with Li Y, Ramfis B, Darrell and Sophie P. as our SECOND meeting. It quickly became apparent that we were sitting at the «Beverage HQ». Thanks to Ramfis, Darrell and Sophie and Li, the alcoholic drinks started flowing! Please note that there 6 of us and it was about ½ hour before the official UYE start. We were each offered a paper cup (sorry, folks we are low-​key) of Riesling then Shiraz. I allowed my Shiraz to breathe while sipping on the Riesling. Within a few minutes, a cup of Yuzu sake was poured and I just had to try because it was well-​chilled and would slide past my tastebuds like an icy lemonade on a hot day. By the time our UYE started, we had 9 people at our table and about 5 bottles of wine, sake and soju were empty. I vaguely remember Paul stopping by to get our menu input then all went a blur! OMG! I worried that this would be my SECOND time in my lifetime that I would go into a drunken stupor. Luckily, the food started coming and I managed to get a grip.
Ohh, you may ask about the food. We had 15* dishes served to our table! Shades of our Chinese childhood when special occasions were celebrated with a groaning board of 9-courses…this event eclipsed our childhood memories. Paul was buzzing about along with the wait staff making sure we all had water and hot tea refills. I don’t even know if he ate dinner with us. All of the food was served piping hot from the kitchen. The quality of dim sum, steamed or fried, was way better than when we tried them during a previous lunchtime. The entrées (Capital Pork Chops, Fish Filets with Chinese Broccoli & Mushrooms, Seafood Mix over Pan-​Fried Hong Kong Noodles, Dry-​Fried Beef Chow Fun, Fried Pork Intestines aka Chitlin, and Garlic, Salt and Pepper Calamari) were OUTSTANDING.
And then… there were desserts galore! Unilocalers are not only great friends, good eaters, er, gourmands, gourmet but very generous! Darrell and Sophie P brought delicious guava and lilikoi cupcakes from Hokulani Bakery, Ramfis B provided Sunny Side Bakery pies — luscious chocolate cream pie and blueberry cream cheese pie. Sharon C brought in her homemade onolicious Banana Cream Delight. And I, shamefully brought in a simple homemade ½ sheet carrot cake. Cookies from Big Island Candies (Trademark diagonal chocolate dipped shortbread) and Trader Joes (Caramel Wafers) were circulated around from a couple of others…
In the end, this UYE brought old friends and new friends together for a spectacular evening of camaraderie, fun and laughter, and great Hong Kong-​style family cuisine. We scored on taking home the chicken feet dim sum that others on our table didn’t want. We were so «stuffed» that we probably looked like «snakes that swallowed a cow» by the time it was time to mingle with the other folks at other tables.
Thanks, again to Paul C, the kitchen and wait staff of Happy Garden, fellow Unilocalers for this excellent adventure!
*I did a recount and realized that in my drunken haziness, I forgot to take pictures of additional dim sum sticky rice pouches.

My 2^nd UYE and they just keep getting better! If you’ve never been to a UYE before, you must check out one planned by Paul C. If you manage to score an elusive seat at these events, it’s fun, loud and you mingle among the Unilocalers you see online, in real life ;) I even met Maggie, a fellow Unilocal Fantasy Football league member :)
Paul greeted us with name tags and hugs before we said our hellos (hi Nadine ;))and made our way to our seats. Yup I was stuck in the corner but it worked out okay because I could see everyone and I was on the table which got the food first. My table mates were great… met Ashley, Eric, Sharon and Gary while sitting with our buddies Kimo and Lauren from our first UYE :) Paul always made sure we had everything we needed with water, tea, napkins and chopsticks. He made sure to explain each dish and managed to order food that didn’t scare me :) Not quite what Ramfis ordered ;) there was soooo much delicious food though, I even had to loosen my belt :(
Desserts were yummy and I took some home as I was way too stuffed to eat another bite.
Overall another wonderful night with fun people :) Thank you Paul and to all those who helped :)

What a feast! There’s nothing like having all of your day’s calories in one meal! Sometimes it’s nice to stuff yourself.
There were a total of 13 dishes not including dessert! I tried everything but the chicken feet. I really liked how we only got a piece of each dim sum so that we got to try a large variety. My favorite dim sum was the shrimp and chives dumpling and my favorite non-​dim sum dish was the fish and veggies.
Much thanks to everyone that baked/​brought desserts! Thanks Paul for organizing this event. I still have a bunch of food in my fridge that I need to eat soon
It was wonderful seeing everyone. Can’t wait for the next feast!

YamBuuiii !! Cheers to Paul and his successful UYE at the happiest place on earth tonite!
Thank you so much Paul for your expert coordination, your diligent hard work @ hosting and tending to everyone’s needs, wants, and anticipated questions. Thank you to all who contributed in spirits, delicious desserts, and good cheer and helped make this evening memorably magical. What a memorable time happens when Unilocalers come together under these great fun conditions.
The party started well before the designated 6:30pm start up time as many veteran attendees wanted to snag the best street parking which became free parking at 6pm. So there it was… happy half hour started as soon as Ramfis and Darryl and Sophie got to the restaurant… about 5:53pm ! ;). I arrived just in time to bring the starter bottle of cheer in the form of a light and crisp chilled bottle of Riesling. The opening of Ramfis’ and Darryl’s most memorable yuzu sake (3 types), lemongrass ginger Kai vodka, ume sake, chili pepper sake, and some smooth Zinfandel and Shiraz from Washington state flowed freely… and that was just on our table! Hah !! Now that 630pm arrived and at least 6 of the bottles empty, we were ready for the good food!
Food was more than memorable, both for the shock factor as well as the deliciousness. I started to take pictures of the food then quickly realized… there were eight other people on my table alone taking pictures of each dish… I had a novel idea… I will be the one to dig in to the dishes instead of take pictures! Food spoilers, there’s at least one in every Unilocal bunch. buwahah!
There were so many Unilocalers @ Happy Garden tonite… it was like the academy red carpet list! Happy to see again many familiar faces as well as new ones… a good mix. I consider it such an honor to have been sitting with the infamous Sophie and Darryl (aka: rice and shoyu), Arynn, Maggie, Wayne, Ed and Lyla, Janice, and… if he wasn’t famous before… he was certainly a legend by the end of the evening… Ramfis! In fact, as the last of the guests slowly filtered out of the restaurant I could here in the distance… the Chinese only speaking waitress mumbling under her breath, «yaaamBuiiii …dat guy so funnnnnieee!!!». :-)

There are three basic types of leaders — the autocrat who asks for no input from members; the Laissez-​Faire leader who provides no guidance to a group; and the democratic leader who invites members to participate in activities such as decision-​making and merry-​making!
Clearly, Paul is a democratic leader who asks fellow Unilocalers for their input in planning a UYE (Unofficial Unilocal Event). From the start, he asked if certain days were alright; what we’d like to eat; what kind of favors he should get; etc. Paul really showed concern for us and that resulted in a successful event with excellent attendance, participation, new dining experiences, and fun!
How does one rate an event like this? Do we measure by the volume of laughter or the speed at which members signed up? Is the number of participants more important than the ratio of new faces to Elite Yeeps?
All I know is that Paul knows how to draw us in. From the start, he posed interesting questions such as, «Would you like to try Chicken Feet or Fried Pig Intestines?» Even at dinnertime, he asked the group for final suggestions. We all got to voice our opinions and Paul gave good reasons as to why we were not going to order Chinese desserts as seven Unilocalers donated after dinner treats (Lyla, Sharon, Ramfis, Darrell, Sophie, & Janice). Other participants donated beverages (Wayne, Li, Ramfis, Kathy) — thank you! We got a chance to meet new people (Darin, Ashley & Tom) and see new friends again (Hi Lisa T. & Jin!) and joke around with old friends (Chris, Lien, Gary, Victoria, Maka, Mahina, Hoku, Malia, Jacob, John, Cathy, David, Eric, Arynn, Jennifer, & Maggie).
Paul was so organized and enthusiastic in the planning and execution of this event. He posted it, reminded us about it; got the name tags and favors; collected the money and had change onhand; ordered all the food and brought new customers to Happy Garden! He was very cordial to everyone and bussed the tables; filled our teapots and water glasses; got us more napkins; and did so many behind-​the-​scenes tasks!
There are various factors that make a UYE successful: the food, the location, the activity, the participants, etc. In this case, I believe that the Happy Garden UYE Dinner #5 was a hit because of the fantastic leadership of Paul! He did an outstanding job! I truly admire Paul for hosting this phenominal event with his positive energy and look forward to Dinner #6! (Hint, hint, but no pressure!) ;)

I was dumbfounded by the questions here on Unilocal before this UYE started.
QUESTION: «When eating chicken feet, which wine compliments the left foot and which one for the right foot?»
This then led to the next question of: «How do you know if it’s the left foot or right foot?»
My initial response: :P
You could have a lengthy debate over this topic but my answer: «Rosy wine.»
I first co-​hosted my UYE about a year ago at chose Happy Garden. I am very fortunate for my sister to have introduced me to this place. I have dined here numerous times and with many different people. It was about 5 months since I last had UYE #4 here so this was sure overdue.
Yes, I still stress out when I host UYE’s. I want people to have a great time. I want people to enjoy the food.
First of all, I would like to thank all of the 38 Yeeps who attended this UYE. This by far was my largest turnout among the 7 UYE’s I either hosted or co-​hosted. For those who showed up for «Happy Hour», the 3 hours were so entertaining seeing old faces and made some new friends. Dined on some foods that you probably wouldn’t order if you came alone (with the exception of true Chinese FOODIES of John N., Cathy T., Nadine C., Chris Y. and Li Y.). Your attendance made this my most successful UYE.
A big MAHALO to the staff, especially the «boss lady» at Happy Garden. Even I’ll admit that the portions were LARGER than usual. I mean, to feast on 13-​courses and have each person pay only $ 19 (tax and tip included) with MANY doggy bags to take home. I’ve heard people mention «You’ll never starve at Paul’s UYE.» I mean, hey! I don’t want to be remembered for hosting an event and having food run out!!!
I also thank Nadine C. for coming early and help me bag the party favors. I picked up several buckets of almond cookies from Lynn’s which I pre-​ordered. She also was a great coordinator as she helped pre-​write some name tags, made sure the Yeeps on our table were served and for bringing her FAMOUS homemade baked goodies.
DESSERT??? DANG — — we had so many at this UYE I was overwhelmed!!!
1) Nadine C. — - homemade blueberry cheesecake bites.
2) Darrell P. and Sophie P. — - BOXES of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars winner Hokulani lilikoi and guava cupcakes. They also brought an aluminum pan filled with lemon bars and brownie bites from a bakery in Wahiawa!
3) Lyla D. — - her award winning carrot cake. She was so thoughtful to not add nuts for those with food allergies.
4) Sharon C. (the WINNER of the 3^rd Annual Unilocal Cookie Swap) — — she baked a pan of banana cream delight.
5) Victoria M. — - she shared waffle cookies from Trader Joes.
6) Janice H. — - she brought a large box of assorted chocolate dipped shortbread from Big Island Candies.
7) Ramfis B. — - he bought 4 Sunny Side pies (chocolate and blueberry cream).
I was delighted to have met 2 new faces tonight (Darin O. and Tom S.) who were both so cool to have joined us in a tiny restaurant with 30+ strangers. I thank Malia H. and Todd S. for coming down to Chinatown, where this area at night can be somewhat intimidating, regardless of the police substation at the corner of Hotel and Maunakea.
I also would like to thank both John N. and Cathy T. as these 2 have attended ALL of my 7 UYE’s either hosted here at Happy Garden or co-​hosted with David T. at Ray’s Café. You 2 are AWESOME! I also would like to thank Hoku T. for catching the bus from Waianae after finishing work to make it to this UYE.
There were so many bottles of «happy juice» and laughter throughout the night. Ramfis B. was taught some Chinese phrases which he practiced. His intonation may be a little off but give the poor guy some time. I mean, if he’s brave enough to chow down on the deep-​fried pig’s intestines here, give the poor boy some slack!
In closing, I may have stressed somewhat for this UYE as I wanted the evening to go well and have my guests enjoy themselves. When I look back at the many photos taken and posted here on Unilocal and Facebook, I’d host another UYE again. And that’s WITHOUT hesitation.
NOTE: After 9pm, the crowd pretty much died and people drove away. However, a group of about 10 Yeeps headed over to Wing’s for ice cream! You gotta try their vegan coconut Italian chocolate chip!!!

Wow! What a fun time this dinner was! Four tables of starving, salivating, happy Unilocalers. If I heard it once, I heard it 10 times… Didn’t eat lunch because I wanted to eat everything Paul ordered.
Sat with Nadine, Lein, Chris & hubby Keith, newbie Tom, Jin, Paul, and Keith my +1. Don’t believe for a minute that Paul really sat with us, more like he was totally around the entire restaurant taking care of everything and everyone. Name tags for all, pouring water, tea, Dim Sum, plates of steaming noodles OMG there were at least 12 courses. While the food was excellent the gathering itself was the most enjoyable part. Met some new friends too, added some new friends to my Unilocal account. Always fun to have active friends. Got to meet Lyla for the first time although we have been exchanging review for several months.
Paul did an outstanding job, so inviting and welcoming. Ramfis pouring wine and Sake, deserts brought by so many Unilocalers that everyone was stuffing them in boxes to take home because they looks awesome but we were all way too full to enjoy. Cheapest Dim Sum dining we have ever done. We will be back to this little hole in the wall, there was a parking lot two door down and to our amazement the car was there after dinner!
Love Unilocal and Unilocal Friends!