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Make your day ‘Happy’ by dining on delectable Chinese food

A La Carte

July 15, 2018

Story By: Don Robbins | Photos by: LAWRENCE TABUDLO

Spicy Eggplant with Pork ($12.95)

Happy Days Chinese Seafood Restaurant has the perfect name. Take a bite out of one of the delicious dishes at this Waialae Avenue eatery, and you’ll leave a happy camper.

Happy Days has been in business for 17 years and is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving up tasty Hong Kong-style foods accompanied by a nice steaming pot of jasmine or oolong tea.

Stir Fried Rice Noodle ($10.95)

Along with a satisfying meal, owner Lisa Lum and her friendly staff always provides smiles for their beloved customers.

“I like to see the customers happy every time,” shares Lum. “It’s like a family.”

Choy Sum with Black Mushroom and Tofu ($12.95)

The eatery can seat about 300 jolly patrons within its spacious dining room, and the restaurant also has a private room for parties, explains Lum. The room features paintings of nature scenes on the walls, festive lanterns and chandeliers.

Happy Days is known for its delectable dim sum service from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as its dim sum take-out-only special from 8 to 11:30 a.m., where customers can get a discount on the bite-size treats. Just a few of the smorgasbord of dim sum items available at the restaurant include pork hash, manapua and har gow.

Besides dim sum, one of the scrumptious dishes available at Happy Days is Spicy Eggplant with Pork ($12.95). This lavish meal with a zesty kick includes ingredients such as tender bamboo shoots, perfectly sized pieces of pork, green onions, garlic and oyster sauce. All the ingredients are carefully stir-fried together for a taste bud pleasing sensation.

Another popular stir-fry meal is the meatless Choy Sum with Black Mushroom and Tofu ($12.95). A feast for the eyes as well as the mouth, this dish melds delicious green stalks of choy sum with large, round, juicy black mushrooms and big pieces of yummy tofu in one plate. Lum shares that the dish is great for “plenty people who cannot eat meat now.”

Third, Stir Fried Rice Noodle ($10.95) boasts a bounty of rice noodles mixed with shrimp, char siu, egg, cabbage, onions, carrots and bean sprouts. Customers also can order this dish Singapore-style with curry sauce to mix inside, explains Lum.

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