HAPPY GARDEN BAYSIDE — Restaurant in New York

Dishonest servers. This time, I took family visiting from overseas here, and the staff yet again sneakily overcharged us. Not an isolated event. My family has lived on Bell since 1980, and we always try to support local business(es) first. When they newly opened, they cleverly added on random extra charge(s) to the bill. When we referred to the clear menu’s price, they were irritable and unapologetic they were caught. We have heard the exact scam from neighbors through the years.

Again, on April 19, 2024 I paid a $200 bill and kept a record of my receipt—the waiters actually fudged my tip to give themselves an extra several dollars! (Fact: there is a zero “6+ party automatic gratuity system” in place here and, as a local teacher, my writing is crystal clear.) Completely dishonest, quite unfriendly (in general) all-male, and miserly service.

Amongst several mains, we ordered two (tiny) whole lobsters with their advertised $29.99. We were charged $55.00. Same as another reviewer (where she was told the new sign fell off—but the same old sign is still up today), the server is a book of lies or excuses when the bill comes. My mom asked for napkins for the table of 6 for the lobster. The server visibly unhappily handed my aunt 1 piece of napkin. My aunts are polite and needed a meal around the corner before a 6AM flight. Otherwise, we would’ve left. Stingy. Dishonest. (Convenient location.)

They are going to tank as much as we support many local businesses. You do not steal from customers, who are your lifeline. (Many reviews speak for themselves here. Arrogant service and untrustworthy on repeat.) They don’t have the knowledge of true service. Fluorescent lit and dead silent floor. It’s always empty inside. They allow screaming karaoke to emit from their rooms throughout dining. If you wish not to be gouged every time you dine here, your family has been warned by mine.

TO THE RESTAURANT: For the several dollars you stole, you lost hundreds in revenue. Not very smart computation of business...

Unpleasant 1st time experience here. Street parking available. Arrived at 11am as posted this is their open hour. But nothing was ready to service the customer. Worker mopping the floor (Shouldn't this be done the night before or at least come early). The smell of floor cleaner solution kills appetite. They don't even have rice ready until 35min after, so they must have just started cooking after the door opened at 11am. Adding to injury he rice has a moldy smell, looking at other tables nobody ordered rice maybe they knew. Both workers acknowledged the smell but didn't offer any solution, one just said it was ok to eat (like I won't get sick, just eat). The problem is it doesn't taste good why should i eat it? Another just comment it might be the way they store it or the issue with the cooking pot. When i used to work at a restaurant i would have offered customer noodles or something, not here. The tea was not hot enough or tasted like tea, so better to bring your own. Their salted fish ingredients aren't good quality, avoid. I asked for some chopped chili pepper and was told they don't have chili in the kitchen. But they showed up in my salt pepper port chop. ;(0_0) port chop was crispy but lacking taste, maybe some white pepper powder will be good. The beef stew tasted like it was premade from days ago and reheated the smell of the refrigerator gives that away Maybe their live seafood is good, but for normal dishes they lack quality. The soup is a joke, teacup size when we were told a meal set for 4 while we only have 2 people couldn't they at least give us a...

8/13/23 update: Downgrading from 5 stars to 1 star. On a huge sign posted on the window they were advertising Dungeness crab for $28. We ordered 2 Dungeness crabs amongst a variety of other things for a big family gathering. My sister and husband picked up the meal. Food was decent. As we were cleaning up after dinner I happen to notice the receipt and saw that they charged us $50 a crab. They were closed already by this time. Called the next day and politely explained the situation, fully believing it was an error and would be easily corrected. The response was very curt, they said that they had taped a piece of paper with the updated price over the old price and that it must have gotten blown off by the wind and if we had a problem with the price we should have brought it up when paying instead of eating the food and then trying to get a refund, as if we were somehow trying to scam them. Meanwhile, sign outside still says $28…

Previous 5 star review: We were hesitant to try this place out based on the other reviews. In the end we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt try it out. We’re glad we did! While the server was clearly inexperienced, she was very friendly and a manager promptly stepped in the guide her whenever necessary. We ordered the 2 lobster dish, sautéed string beans, fried crispy pork intestines, boiled spicy beef, and the braised pork belly with preserved vegetables. Everything was authentic, delicious, and cooked perfectly. The pork belly was a little sweet for my tastes but this is typical for this dish in Cantonese cuisine....