Chen's Happy Garden — Restaurant in Eugene

I have recently visited this restaurant and enjoyed my experience. My kids and I wanted a quick, hot dinner that wasn't too far from home. I actually came here because China Seas was closed but I still had a craving for Chinese food.

We ordered off the combination choices; choosing Orange chicken combo(#10), General Tso's chicken combo(#9), and the Mar Far chicken combo(#6). While we waited, we received the small cups of soup that come with the combo order. You have your choice of egg flower or hot & sour soup. I ordered hot & sour and it was pretty good. My kids ordered the egg flower and it was NOT a hit with them (ages 9 & 11). It was very pale, bland and super thick. My son took one bite and made a face, so I tried it. It wasn't very good. I thought it was odd to be so thick, too. I added a teaspoon of soy sauce, stirred it and let it cool. Several minutes later, it had cooled and was much less goopy and thick. Weird! I ate it and it was ok. Food came and I was pleased with the portion sizes. I ordered the Mar far combo. The fried rice is ok, a bit dry but good. The chicken looked great. I loved the smaller, bite sizes and how crisp the fried coating was, without being excessively chewy or greasy. It didn't come with any sauce on it, just on the side. The fried shrimp was tender and flaky. Bbq pork was tender. They have a slightly different sweet & sour sauce then the typical bright red, sickly sweet dipping sauce that is a staple on most Chinese food restaurant menus.

My son ordered the lemon chicken. It is VERY sweet, almost like thinned, hot marmalade was poured over it. He decided it was too orange-y, so I traded plates with him. I have a wicked sweet tooth so I enjoyed it but it might be too sweet for some. However, it comes with 4 crab puffs that he quickly gobbled up.

My daughter ordered the general Tso's chicken. She really liked her dish, and my son and I shared some and also enjoyed it. I snagged one of her 4 crab puffs to try one. It was tasty, though definitely high on the cream cheese ratio. But the won ton shell was so perfectly crispy and flaky, it practically melted in my mouth.

It is not a very big place, which is fine but it is also super quiet inside. Like eating in a library. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the looks of the place, but I was pleasantly surprised. We returned with my boyfriend several days later, and will probably visit again at some point. Definitely ordering crab puffs to go...

Atmosphere 4/5. While completely outdated, the restaurant is clean, tidy and charming. There were several other customers there, but the nice booth seating kept our experience relatively quiet and private.

Service 5/5. We were greeted and seated promptly. The waitress was attentive and kind, but not bubbly (a trait that I tend to find annoying.) We were offered tea and water upon being seated. It doesn't seem like Chinese places offer free tea anymore, unless you specifically request it, so that was a lovely surprise. The waitress checked on us at appropriate times and we were never left waiting for service, our check or to-go boxes.

Food 2/5. We ordered the crab puff appetizer, General Tso's Chicken, and Orange Chicken. The entrees came with soup; we ordered one Hot and Sour and one Egg Flower.

Hot and Sour Soup- Great flavor and texture.

Egg Flower Soup- Nice flavor. Pleasantly surprised with the generous amount of goodies within it (egg, water chestnut, peas). Slightly thick.

Crab Puffs- Presented on a platter with sweet and sour sauce. Fried to perfection, but the filling left much to be desired. 98% cream cheese. The remaining 2% was made up of little flecks of pink that I assume were meant to be crab.

General Tso's Chicken- An enormous platter of chicken and a small side of white rice. Slightly disappointed that the main dish didn't contain any vegetables; it often has peppers, onions and pea pods at other restaurants. Although it was marked as "hot/spicy" on the menu, this dish contained zero heat, which was another disappointment. The chicken was breaded heavily. I'd guess that over 50% of the meal was breading. However it was cooked perfectly. Lovely crispy texture.

Orange Chicken- Exactly the same chicken, rice and presentation of the General Tso's, just a different sauce. The sauce was unlike any orange chicken sauce I've experienced. It tasted as if they just dumped a jar of orange marmalade over fried chicken. Unless that sounds appealing to you, I recommend avoiding this dish! It was so sticky sweet that it was...

I love Chinese food... and make it often. I usually prefer Sichuan food, but also love all of the Chinese American classics like sweet and sour, and General Tso's.

I wanted some General Tso's and decided to check out Chens Happy Garden even though the review ratings were a bit low.

I walked in, and was greeted and seated immediately. The location was clean, and setup pretty well.

I ordered the General Tso's chicken lunch special and a cup of Hot and Sour soup, with water to drink. My water was brought to the table immediately, and the soup showed up just after that.

Hot and sour soup was good, delicious even. It had a nice mix of standard hot and sour ingredients, tofu, woods ear fungus, bamboo shoots, egg flower, etc... and the flavor was good. Not spicy at all either.

My General Tso's chicken arrived quickly also... and I noted that it was actually prepared with some chilis fried in the oil as it should be. Chilis were on top of the chicken as decoration. The chicken was crispy, and delicious... all white meat. The sauce was very good too... tasted as it should. This dish should always have a little bit of heat from peppers, since it is meant to be a little spicy. It had just enough spice to be noticeable, although not spicy for my palate (I love spicy food). Some people might find it a bit spicy though. Large portion too... YUM!

The crab puff were good, just cream cheese in a wonton wrapper, not sure how much actual crab there was, lol.

The BBQ pork fried rice was excellent, with a fair amount of Char Sui (Chinese BBQ Pork) in it, with a nice smoky flavor.

Based on this one dish... I am surprised at the negative reviews. If the reviews are based on delivery orders, that may be due to the person delivering more than the actual dish, which I suspect. Prices are very reasonable too...

Chatted with the Chinese gentleman that waited on me... and he was friendly...