24/8/2010 1 photo

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 decor 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 25th 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.

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12/6/2010

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.

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7/6/2010 1 photo

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.

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28/8/2010

The Happy Gathering, apart from being one of the best restaurants in Cardiff, sure knows how to throw a party! One of my favourite visits to the Canton based slice of heaven, was on a friend's Birthday. We sat around a huge circular table, the food was all pre-ordered and ready to go, I might add and were treated to course after course of delicious and refined food. Of course when the food is that good, the conversation flowed and the party atmosphere followed. The staff catered to our every need and the whole experience was easy and appropriately, happy!
I think that it is the best Chinese food I have ever had and it seems to be a favourite amongst the Cardiff-based, Chinese community too. If you haven't been you absolutely need to go asap!

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4/5/2010 1 photo

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.

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19/3/2010

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.

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3/4/2010

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!

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24/6/2010 2 photos

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.

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