Happy Gathering

I grew up in a Cantonese household in the San Francisco Bay Area and dim sum is pretty much a religion. For those of you who want to try authentic cuisine, don’t you fucking DARE go to Happy Gathering and order shit like sweet and sour chicken. Read my review and learn, my child.
NOTES:
~ Bumped into Craig Bellamy heading in while I was on the way out. If Happy Gathering is good enough for Craig Bellamy, it’s good enough for you.
Food:
I came here for dim sum lunch and was really pleased with my meal. I ordered a bunch of my childhood favourites that I’ve been missing pretty hard since moving to the UK and allow me to make some recommendations (don’t worry, I won’t hit you with anything too strange!)…
~ Fried Meat Dumplings (Potstickers)
Little parcels of goodness. Really delicious! I’m normally used to them a tad bit more juicy on the inside, but they’re a lot better than some other Chinese places I’ve been to in Wales so far.
~ Jian Mian (Fried Crispy Egg Noodles)
They come with a different assortment of meats you can choose from. I opted for Roasted Pork or Duck, but you might want something different because duck Chinese-​style isn’t for everybody I think. Jian Mian is amongst my favourite Chinese noodle dishes. The perfect balance between crispiness and yummy softness.
~ Beef Rice Noodle Wraps (Cherng Fun)
My go to dish when getting dim sum and it’s always my favourite. I wolfed down 2 plates! Very delicious, the only downfall is that it could’ve used a tad bit more sauce.
~ Fried Pork Buns
What it says on the tin, except very flavoursome and a slight hint of honey glaze! Yum!
~ Custard Buns (Nai Wong Bao) for dessert!
Now this is something the kids will love. It’s my FAVOURITE Chinese dessert and I always go ga-​ga over them. Give them a try — I swear you won’t regret it.
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Happy Gathering is more pricey than your average Chinese takeaway for good reason — it’s actually authentic. I’ll be honest — the chop suey mess you can get for £4 from down the road is the equivalent of getting McDonalds and thinking that it represents «Western Cuisine». There’s so much more out there! I promise you! Come to Happy Gathering for the authenticity — dive into the deep end and never order chop suey again.
Be sure to take my criticisms with a pinch of salt, I’ve been blessed with having an over-​saturation of delicious Chinese food back in San Francisco so I might be a bit harsher than I should be!

Celebrating 25 years in the business this year, one of Cardiff’s oldest Chinese establishments– loved by locals and loyal food lovers alike. Highly recommended for their dimsum menu however recent years has shown an increase in price. Spareribs with salt, chilli & pepper, lobster with ginger and spring onion and lamb with cumin spice remain highlights. Alternatives in Cardiff include Riverside Cantonese, Summer Palace and .CN; a recent addition to Cardiff’s Chinese cuisine.

We love the food had a great meal the other night even husband approved! staff were really helpful and polite interior is quite dated in a funny sort of way

Great place, Great food, friendly staff. Will custom again! Also very nice to Students. But slightly expensive compare to the other one.

This place got rave reviews from some locals but i was disappointed. I had the duck fried rice, lemon chix, and dim sum, all bland. My friend had underdone pork ribs (yuk!). Very pricey for what it is. The Cantonese place in Grangetown is better.

How do these gems seem to stay hidden in Cardiff. This is about as Chinese as Chinese restaurants come; 90% of the clientèle is Chinese families. It’s not particularly modern inside but that’s part of the charm. I would be happy taking any Chinese person there. Some of the Dim Sum was almost exceptional with all of it being good.

definatly in the running for one of the best chinese restraunts in cardiff, if you compare the food here to any other you will definatly notice how good it is, didnt eat in had a takaway, but the staff seemd friendly and up for a laugh, a little pricey, mabey a little cheaper would make it more appealing, but thats the way things are,

Not massively well known to across Cardiff to its residents, this is genuinely one of the nicest Chinese restaurants out there. Of course all the modern, stylishly furnished establishments situated in the Bay and central Cardiff are quite nice, yet none of them compare to the Happy Gathering. Indicative of its high quality are the number of Chinese families and friends found eating here during lunch time and in the evening.
Whilst the exterior is a little dated, and the inside isn’t exactly modern, this in a way furthers the charm and authenticity of the Happy Gathering. It is not in any way seedy, and in fact the dining area is a lovely warm, friendly and atmospheric area. The most important thing which makes this so great is the food. It’s delicious. The menu culminates very authentic and traditional dishes with all the western favorites like sweet and sour chicken and crispy beef. It is all cooked to a very high standard and really is the best i’ve ever had in Britain.

To begin, I’ve gone ahead and given the Happy Gathering a rare 5 star rating, which for me, says it all!!!
SERIOUSLY GOOD– YOU HAVE TO GO!!!
I love this place for several reasons. I’ve been going there throughout my childhood, and never once been disappointed (maybe when I’ve been with my Chinese-​food loving Father who can’t help but finish off my dish if I turn my head for a second). Wow the food is fantastic, and this is undoubtedly proven by the local Chinese community filling up half of the very large restaurant. One good tip is to try and take a sneaky peak at whatever they have ordered and copy them, they know their way around the menu better than anyone! Saying that, try and be an early bird and get there between twelve and six, ensuring you can take full advantage of the Dim Sum menu, which is smaller plates of Chinese favourites, almost like a tapas menu but better.
The food really is something special, hands down the best Chinese food in Cardiff… I might go wild and say the best Chinese food in Wales, yes, it’s true. The décor is slightly dated, but it’s all very authentic and it adds to the experience. The staff are lovely and extremely attentive and polite.
It’s not inexpensive, so make sure you have budgeted, it can cost you up to twenty pounds a head if you have a side, a main and a drink, but it really is worth it, and I always find myself sitting at a table for hours as it’s such a nice overall experience.
It really is one of Cardiff’s and Wales’ little gems.
BE WARNED– once you start going, you can’t stop!

When I was a kid and lived in the valleys (about 20 miles away rom Cardiff) every now and again my father used to ask a question that needed no answer — do you fancy going to Cardiff for a Chinese tonight?
Whenever we went we invariably but thankfully ended up in The Happy Gathering. It is one of the original Chinese restaurants in Cardiff and is the hub of the Chinese community across South Wales who often go there for lunchtime Dim Sum on a weekly basis. In fact they have an excellent Dim Sum lunch menu which is also worth considering.
If you are going to eat Chinese in Cardiff there are only a handful of restaurants you should consider –this being one of them. The food is good, as is the atmosphere, including a live pianist and smiling service.
The only draw back is that the décor seems a little dated but this sort of re-​affirms how long this business has been there trading happily. Having said that it is now their 25^th year anniversary so maybe they have had a refurb since I was last there 6 months ago.
Even though its located on a bustling high street there is a general free park at the rear.
I can only give you my opinion and experience as a diner there but its always been a happy gathering — if a slightly full one for me.

If you haven’t eaten at the Happy Gathering then you are missing out! Eating here is almost one of the rites of passage of living in Cardiff; a lot of the regulars have been coming for decades! In many ways it is similar to the concept behind China China on Saint Mary Street, but the Happy Gathering is more upmarket, and operates on a much grander scale. There must be a couple of hundred covers in Happy Gathering compared to less than a hundred in China China, (although I haven’t got round to counting them, and so I could be miles out in my estimations… sorry if I mislead, I’m usually far too busy stuffing my face to be so pedantic about non-​food items!!!). And this is where I think the two resemble each other quite closely. They are clearly set up to cater for groups, with a high turn-​around, but offering a lot of food at really affordable prices… great if you are a large family on a lower income… job done! China China is and ‘all you can eat’ place, whilst Happy Gathering has an incredibly affordable set menu… I reckon that you could eat similiary at each for around the same price. But, I think Happy Gathering is more consistent and offers a better standard of food.

My resounding memory of this place was once going there with a group of friends and being mortified that my then-​boyfriend only ordered chips and proceeded to consume them by stabbing them with his chopsticks. This was the beginning of the end for that romantic affair, but fortunately not the end of my relationship with this lovely restaurant.
The food here is delicious Chinese, where you can find all your usual favourites and many other, more traditional items on the menu. The sweet and sour sauce is delicious, and this is probably one of the only Chinese restaurants in Cardiff that serves food that doesn’t taste of sugar and MSG. Instead of leaving this place feeling sick, you’ll leave feeling valued and satisfyingly full.
Also, there is quite often a pianist playing the most absurd music that any lulls in conversation can be blamed on the intrigue of the background music. A good place for first dates, therefore.

When I first moved into the Canton area of Cardiff a few years ago, several people told me I was lucky to be living down the road from the Happy Gathering. I’d never heard of the place, but it seemed everyone else in Cardiff had, and were travelling from all corners of the city to eat Chinese there.
It wasn’t long before curiosity led me down the road to Happy Gathering, and I enjoyed a very delicious meal in elegant surroundings, accompanied by gentle music from a live pianist.
Surrounded by Chinese families and groups dining together, you get the feeling this large restaurant is very well-​respected amongst the local Chinese community, who have to be the best judges of authentic Chinese cuisine. It’s an ideal place to go with big groups, too, because the service is incredibly efficient, the menu offers plenty of variety, and the large round tables make for a more social meal than conventional rectangular ones.
I’ve been back many, many times since this first visit, and although the pianist wasn’t playing last time I ate there, the food is still consistently good. Probably Cardiff’s best Chinese restaurant.

So agreed on everything that has been said. Really want hammer in just one more time how lovely the food is here. It is very good here. Thank you. The meat is just brilliant, it falls apart just by breathing on it and is so tasty.
The tables are funny though as mentioned as I felt my lovely and I were in War of the Roses at opposite ends of the banquet table.
You really can’t do much better for the price in Cardiff I can almost confirm.

Food is nice here

I couldn’t agree with Laura more, the food here is fantastic! I’ve been coming to the Happy Gathering since my school days. We all seemed to celebrate our birthdays here never tiring of their brilliant food, and lovely staff.
In more recent years I have tended to use the Happy Gathering more as a Take Away. In fact I actually drive about halfway across Cardiff, so good is the food (despite the worry, that the food will get cold if I hit traffic on the way home).
There is one dish on their menu that I fear has ruined all other Chinese restaurants for me, and that is their honey-​glazed prawns. For this dish alone I would recommend a trip to the Happy Gathering.
Despite all of this there are one or two negatives. Most of the tables are all large and round, so whilst brilliant for big groups, not the best if you want a more intimate setting. Also the décor is now becoming slightly dated. But theses are minor issues in comparison to the great service, and incredible food. If I were you I’d get down to the Happy Gathering right now!

I’m such a chinese food fan. (In fact, I am writing this after having got back from a chinese restaurant this very evening) But I feel like this helps me to sort out the best chinese food from the worst. I’m not indiscriminate by any means.
This food is good. No, let me rephrase that. This food is GOOD!
The service was really good and I felt attended to. What is it about chinese rice that makes it so much better than how I cook it? I don’t know but I’ll keep going back till I work what it is.

i agree that it used to be 1 of the best in Cardiff, but its sadly looks dated inside.
still has a great menu and the Lettuce Wraps are something to die for. mmmmmmmm: o)
quite expensive as well

I was like WHAAAAAAAAT und brauchte drei Stunden um mich zu entscheiden, was ich essen wollte. Hier merkt man die Unterschiede zwischen guten und schlechten Chinesen. Hier gibt die ganzen Kleinigkeiten, die ansonsten neben den Standard-​Frass wie Süß-​Sauer fehlen.
Wir hatten als Vorspeise gebackenen Hummer und Ente in Mandarin Marinade, zusätzliche diverse kleine Häppchen wie Frühlingsrollen etc.
Ich empfehle sehr Minced chicken & sweet corn broth.
Das Hauptgericht bestand aus zig Tellern, zuviel um alles zu erzählen.
Einziges Manko: verzichtet auf den Rotwein, 3 probiert, alle schlecht. Die Weißweine sind aber gut zu trinken.

This place used to be the best chinese in Cardiff. I dont believe that anymore. Its very expensive. The food is rushed and somewhat boring. It needs a big re-​launch with a change in décor and menu. You are better off walking to the top of Bute Street and going to In-​Fusion if you want a nice, interesting chinse meal.

I went here with a large group of people for a Christmas Party and we all left with a great impresion; the food was delicious and fresh and the service was spot on. It’s a bit dark, which is one downside if you’re there in the afternoon, but great in the evening when it’s cosy. It’s a popular place, so you might have to book, but if you like Chinese food, then you would do a lot worse than the Happy Gathering.