The Happy Garden is a very apt name for this restaurant since all the staff seem to exude bonhomie by the bucket load. Their smiles as they greet and serve you appear completely genuine. I think they enjoy their work or maybe it’s the pleasure of seeing you enjoy the whole experience. Whatever it’s infectious and adds to the ambiance.  There is always a good crowd in enjoying the fantastic asian fare on offer. Pam and I have eaten here on many occasions and consequently have developed some firm favourites from the myriad of dishes available.

We often share the duck rolls as a starter, tonight was no exception. Think spring roll but not stuffed with bean shoots and the like but packed with deliciously tender duck served on a bed of lettuce with a small pot of hoisin sauce, absolutely scrummy. This dish is also a pleasant change to those of you who like pancakes with crispy duck, all the flavour without the mess of assembly, brilliant!

There’s not a tremendous choice of wines at the Happy Garden but I think you will enjoy the house wine, not expensive and reasonably fruity. Or of course you could just have the exceptionally chilled lager, always acceptable on those warm Spanish nights.

There are some terrific main courses here that showcase all that is good about Asian cooking with aromas to truly get the juices flowing. If you order sizzling beef with spring onions you might like to know you can ask for less salt. That has been the only minus point for our combined palates when selecting this dish. The sound of steak popping and fizzing while it cooks can be heard as your waiter proceeds towards your table and then places it before you. As the clouds of steam swirl around you become aware of the pungent smell of garlic, onion and ginger, Mmmm near nirvana!

On this visit we decided to share main courses, Pam chose the mouthwatering BBQ spare ribs while I selected the sweet and sour pork. To accompany these two dishes we had the plain boiled rice and Singapore noodles. I know there are far more exciting rice dishes but there is something very authentic about eating sticky pure white rice with Chinese food, okay I’m just an old romantic!

Now there are ribs and then there are Happy Garden ribs, I do hope they maintain the quality. On the two occasions I’ve had their ribs they have been special. Brought to the table on a wooden platter with a small portion of boiled rice (I had forgotten that bit when we ordered) and a sharp knife. Sticky, aromatic, slightly spicy and definitely worth getting your fingers messy eating them. Equally sticky is the sweet and sour pork which comes in an extravagant wooden bowl. I’m actually lost for words to describe this combination of pork, pineapple and vinegar laced sauce. If you knew me you would understand the enormity of that statement. For Pam and I what brings this main altogether is the Singapore noodles. These spicy noodles seem to have everything but the kitchen sink bundled with them. Including plump juicy prawns. I can’t recommend this particular version of the dish enough.

This is not an inditement of the Happy Garden but I just don’t do desserts here or at any asian restaurant. I just don’t get all the excitement about ice cream encased in batter or lichees. And to be frank it doesn’t do my diet any harm either! You will find the usual suspects on offer  here but unfortunately I can’t comment further.

If you haven’t tried Happy Garden I urge you to give it a go, do make a reservation though they seem perennially busy. Well done to them!

Urb. Lo Pepin, 1 Ciudad Quesada. Tel. No. 966 719610.

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