Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff. 029 2039 7531 / www.happygatheringcardiff.co.uk
Food: **** Atmosphere: ***
Arguably one of the most popular Chinese restaurants in Cardiff, Happy Gathering stands out as one of the culinary highlights in Canton’s bustling foodie scene. The restaurant is also renowned for its dim sum (Chinese tapas) and is a popular spot for a Sunday dim sum meal among the Chinese community. After noting to friends of mine in Cardiff’s Chinese community that I’d not actually gone out for dim sum in the city, they suggested Happy Gathering for ‘点心’, which because of my rather appalling Chinese translation skills, I translated as Chinese desserts (in my defence it can apparently mean both dim sum and dessert). When arriving at the restaurant, instead of choosing from a selection pastries, I found myself greeted with the likes of duck tongue and chilled chicken feet. Not one to be closed-minded, I dived right in.
As per tradition, we order a huge amount of dishes: steam buns, chilled chicken feet, chicken feet in a chilli and black bean sauce, duck tongue, custard-filled spring rolls, steamed sponge cake, turnip squares, dumplings, congee and coconut puddings, to name but a few. All of them are, as expected, extraordinarily tasty, and the chilli and black bean chicken feet actually stood out as my favourite of the smorgasbord, the meat tender and beautifully spiced. That being said, it is extremely hard to eat with chopsticks. The duck tongue was another surprising favourite, with notes of chilli delicately flavouring it (be careful of the bone though). Happy Gathering’s dim sum menu is definitely a marked change from what we often think of as Chinese cuisine in Wales, and is a great choice for adventurous foodies who want to try something new at a good price.
words LUKE OWAIN BOULT