Happy Seasons Restaurant — Restaurant in Manchester

The food here is amazing, reminds me of home. The atmosphere, although unbearable to some, is very reminiscent of many restaurants back home, which I am a huge fan of. But all this is all ruined by the utterly utterly horrible service they have here. And it is an absolute shame.

I never post reviews for restaurants even if I had a bad experience as I’ve never been at a state where; after the meal, the experience would be horrible to the point that I thought it needed a review. I hope this speaks volumes of the utter disgust and disappointment that I have for this restaurant in terms of service.

My advice for any Chinese person coming to this restaurant is: If you speak mandarin, forget about it. You’ll be treated horribly.

A bit of context, I am a Hongkonger, and I was taking two of my friends who are “mainlanders” out for dinner. Whenever I’m with them, I always speak mandarin when ordering despite being in a cantonese restaurant. This prevents any confusion as both parties understand each other. Now here’s the thing, even as a hongkonger, nothing boils my blood more than the utter disrespectful, condescending attitude that a lot of Hongkonger waiters and waitresses have. When you’re treating me and my friends with that level of service and disrespect, who exactly is the one that is giving off a bad image (which many hongkongers accuse mainlanders of)? My friend speaks in mandarin, the waitress forcefully answers in English (despite her understanding and knows how to speak basic mandarin). Is all this too hard to comprehend? My friend is not speaking cantonese because he is NOT CANTONESE.

Through out the service, me and my friends showed the upmost respect, thanking the waiters and waitresses for everything they did. But them? Not a smile, not a gesture of acknowledgment. This hypocritical attitude is just absolutely f-ing disgusting and as a hongkonger, I am honestly so ashamed that this is the kind of attitude and image we’re projecting to mainlanders. Another detail that is worth noting is when I forgot a personal item as we left in a hurry, a waitress came to us with the item the second we left, sounds good up to this point right? Yeah it was… until I thanked her, apologized and once again it was that look of disgust, annoyance and condescension on her face. I mean…. C’mon, need I say more? Was that really necessary?

So please, stop it with the condescending attitude. The hypocrisy is just plain disgusting. This is all such a bad image for us Hongkongers.

If any of you are reading this, I will have to make this clear: My review and experience of this restaurant is strictly my own, your experience might be different. And please, for the love of God, do understand that not all Hongkongers are like this. Tai Wu, for example, which is not far away, also with staff that are hongkongers, are the nicest, most respectful, and friendliest people I have ever met.

I will definitely not be coming back here before the atrocity that is the service in this restaurant is improved....

A Taste of Perfection at Happy Seasons, Manchester Chinatown

If you’re a social media foodie or a Manchester local, chances are you’ve heard of Happy Seasons, the legendary spot in Chinatown famed for its Chinese roast meats. With queues constantly snaking out the door, it has become a must-visit destination for food lovers. But does it live up to the hype?

Having heard so much about this place, we decided to get there early, knowing the reputation it holds. By 11:15, there were already a few groups gathering outside. When the doors finally opened at midday, the queue stretched around the corner—a testament to its popularity.

Inside, the restaurant is no-frills, with service that is as fast as it is efficient. We wasted no time and ordered the food that included:

Won ton soup Fried chicken wings Minced chicken with lettuce wraps The famous Hong Kong-style 3-meat roast platter (roast duck, crispy belly pork, and BBQ char siu pork) A side of egg fried rice

The Dishes: A Mixed Bag with a Standout Star! First, the won ton soup. While the won tons themselves were decent, the soup base was lackluster—lacking the depth of flavor you’d expect from such a staple dish. Next, the minced chicken with lettuce wraps. While fresh and vibrant, it fell short on seasoning, leaving us wanting more punch.

But then came the fried chicken wings.......a total game changer. Perfectly cooked with a crispy exterior and juicy, flavorful meat, they were an absolute delight.

And then… the pièce de résistance, the Hong Kong-style 3-meat roast platter. Words almost fail me here. The combination of crispy pork, tender BBQ char siu pork, and succulent roast duck was nothing short of perfection. I’ve had countless versions of this dish in numerous places, but Happy Seasons delivered something extraordinary. It was, hands down, the best I’ve ever tasted. If anything, I wish we’d ordered a double portion, it was that good.

Final Thoughts. While the starters were hit and miss, the main event the roast meats more than justified the buzz surrounding Happy Seasons. Every bite of the Hong Kong-style 3-meat roast was worth the wait in line and the hype it commands.

At £56 for four people, this meal offers excellent value for the quality and flavor on display. If you’re a fan of Chinese roast meats, this is an experience you simply cannot miss. It's enough to convert a vegan to a full on carnivore!

Rating: 9/10 The slightly underwhelming won ton soup and lettuce wraps knock it down a point, but for the roast meats alone, Happy Seasons is a solid gold recommendation. Get there early, come hungry, and prepare for one of the best meals you’ll have in...

Probably the worst meal I’ve had out. Definitely the worst Chinese meal I’ve had.

After seeing this place on IG and saving it for future, we decided to make the 2.5hr drive and have lunch here before staying in a hotel outside Manchester. We got there early so we were second in the queue. We were seated and served quickly and staff were nice enough.

We really wanted to try the prawn toast as it looked so good on their IG page. We decided to have the sharing starter for 2 people which had prawn toast, spring roll and salt and pepper ribs. We also ordered the three roast meats on boiled rice as it seemed to be the famous dish there. My son also ordered the meat and prawn steamed dumplings.

The meat and rice came first and though it looked ok, there definitely wasn’t much duck on the dish which was the main attraction for us. The whole dish was topped with I assume their homemade ‘soy sauce’ this was sweet and very salty with not much other flavour going on. The roast pork was so incredibly salty we couldn’t even eat it all, and we like our food heavily seasoned! The 2 bits of roast duck we got were delicious but not really enough of it. The char sui again was just super salty and nothing else. The boiled rice wasn’t even nice and and the soy sauce just ruined it all.

Then the stater platter came out and instantly I noticed the prawn toast didn’t look like the one on their photos, instead we had been given 2 pieces of cheap (I assume brought in) deep friend prawn toast you get from any cheap take away. Very disappointing. The spring rolls were fine. The salt and pepper ribs were probably the worst part of everything. They were deep fried ribs that were literally COATED in table salt. You could see and feel all the salt on them when picking them up. One taste and we just couldn’t even stomach eating them, they had that horrible chemical taste you get from too much table salt.

My son’s dumplings were fine and looked appetising but as they came out last we were already feeling quite unwell and disappointed from the other food. I continued to feel quite unwell all day I assume from the salt in the food.

All in all it was a massive disappointment for us and a waste of £50! If you’re travelling far, maybe pick...