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Happy Cafe (Chinese cuisine)  $

 8
JaT Rating

250 South B Street, San Mateo, 94401  (Directions)


650.340.7138


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Authentic Shanghai style restaurant on South B Street in San Mateo


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 998
Reviewed: 6/8/2005
Rating: 8
My photo gallery 		Its my good luck tonight that we hit Happy Cafe on the 1 night they serve dinner which by the way is only on Weds. It was even better luck that I went to dinner with 2 chinese people that could order off the menu. And it even gets better that I dont have any money...woohooo...gooooaaaallll.

Anyways, the restaurant specializes in shanghai style. The place is tiny and was filled to capacity. Dare I say we waited 10 minutes to get a table. It had to be a good sign? We ordered quite a number of things and dont remember the proper names.

stir fried shrimps - medium sized shrimps, lightly seasoned and green onions for added flavor, shrimps cooked just right.

braised pork and eggs - tender pork with soy sauce eggs and tofu knots. never had this before and it was ok. could have been served at a higher heat.

cold tofu - I normally dont like my food cold but willing to try something new. Cold tofu with other things I cant identify. This was the saltiest dish of the bunch but very tolerable. Would I order it again...maybe I would share it with someone else but I dont think I could order it by myself.

chicken chow mein - doesnt really defy my expectations. Heavy on the oil side but once again, not heavy on the seasonings. Its such a relief knowing my mouth wont require 10 glasses of water after dinner. The chow mein rates about average.

steamed pork dumplings - Ive had these before. If you havent had them, they are like little steamed pasty thingies with a souplike broth and pork mixture inside. I was told the way to eat them is take a small saucer dish, put black vinegar along with ginger. Dip the dumpling in the mixture, take a small bite and be prepared to suck up some pleasant broth. Kinda like drinking soup with a meatball mixture inside. It was very good. Its a definite repeat order.

fried rice cakes - the oddest dish for me. The rice cakes look like water chestnuts but they are rice, served with cabbage and shrooms. These white scallop looking things are chewy rice with a smooth texture. Ive never had anything like this. Its an interesting dish and deserves another taste test for me to give my opinion.

Tonights dinner was a learning experience for me. Its one of the first times, Ive had chinese food that didnt rely on heavy seasoning and sodium. The style of cooking was mostly about natural flavors from the ingrediants. Portion size was smaller than normal which is almost refreshing considering most places serve you way too much to begin with. Happy Cafe is mostly a lunch restaurant with weds being the only night serving dinner. See picture #3 for hours.
 
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