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Happy Nest
- Hours:
Mon-Tue, Thu-Sun 11 am - 9 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
36 reviews for Happy Nest
Review Highlights
"Have tried their beef noodle soup as well as wonton noodle..."
(in 9 reviews)
"We tried their pan-fried pork bun (the new owner highly..."
(in 3 reviews)
"...would dare say this is my new favorite place for Taiwanese."
(in 9 reviews)
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36 reviews in English
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Review from Wendy A.
Irvine, CA
1/25/2012
my favorite dishes are:
Shredded eel with Leek Sprout
Stir Fry mountain potato (special order ahead of time required)
Shanghai Pork Spareribs
Fish Fillet with Rice Wine Sauce
I heard their dumplings good too
I do not like their:
Wine chicken
Shanghai style tofu with Hot Sauce -
Review from D L.
Cerritos, CA
1/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
Food over all seemed ok. I ordered a curry chicken which was decently executed. The curry had a bit of heat to it, a good assortment of onions and carrots. The chicken used was chicken breast, which made it a bit dry, it would of been better if they use chicken thigh meat for this dish.
I'm going to have to dock a star for this don't give a crap appearance of the restaurant. There were stacks of take out-boxes and paper napkins in plain view. It's like this restaurant doesn't have a storage closet or pantry to keep these things neatly out of view in. Their kitchen was in direct view of the dining area, but instead of a chic bistro neat looking kitchen, it was just a mess (not in a dirty way, but not organized). As I ate, I heard the clanging of utensils on hot wok and sizzling food. It was a noisy commotion. I wish they just sealed off that service window and placed some soft music to make the dining experience a bit better. The large round tables felt cramped for the small space they were in. That space isn't really fit for that chinese style large round tables. -
Review from Eddie C.
1/4/2012
Got the beef noodle soup here and it was quite tasty. The broth was flavorful and the beef was braised nicely.
This place is not a big place and has about 3 round tables and 5 square tables. It wasn't busy when I was there, but I noticed that they had a lot of to go orders.
They also offer 3 item dinner combos for $22. Not a bad price and you get to pick from an array of items like pan fried fish, fried tofu, beef and broccoli, etc.
This place also serves up some delicious boba too.
Leave your credit cards at home cause this place only takes CASH.
Overall, a good place for Taiwanese food in this area. -
Review from Irena W.
Cerritos, CA
8/12/2011
It has been FOREVER since I've been to this place last. This is definitely the spot to go for the "boba" drinks. The owners of this place use to be in charge of making the drinks when they co-worked with the owners of Yummy Boba... then, they branched off and started their own store, and Happy Nest was born!
They did have a lull in service a while back, when times were a little rough for them I guess, and they shut the restaurant down for a while... but now that it is up again, buisness trickles. I drive by many times, and looking through their windows, I don't really see much activity going on most of the time. I suppose that would mean faster/better service if you were to enter the restaurant with a large group?!?! Don't know.
Overall, a good variety of reasonably healthy food to select from for a decent price. Good stop, grab, and go place. No complaints here. -
Review from Nancy T.
Downingtown, PA
5/2/2011
The dishes at this restaurant are delicious, delightful, healthy and very reasonable in price. The chef maintains the original characteristics of each regional dish and yet adds very fresh or healthy ingredients. The result is the food tastes great and is good for you. The chef also adds new dishes to the menu according to the season.
The service is warm and efficient at this place of simple decor. The family members are open and friendly with no fake pleasantry. You can tell people are enjoying their meals and are eating in a happy mood.
I have come to this place for rewarding meals with my family and friends many times and hope to do so as often as I can in the future. -
Review from thanh d.
Cerritos, CA
10/27/2010
I drive by this place all the time and always wondered what kind of place it was.. Happy Nest? Were they trying to say Happiness??
Whatever it is, they made a happy customer out of me.
We ordered:
Fried Dumplings - BOMB! think xiao long bao but pan fried with a nice crispy crust on the bottom and warm chewy top with juicy meaty center. (4.95)
Fried Pork Bun - This one essentially had the same filling, but the outside was the white chinese pork bun. Theyre smaller than the typical pork bun though, the order came with 8 i think. Pretty good.. (4.95) the
Tried the Beef Noodle Soup everyone was raving about.. I thought the broth had a nice smooth and sweet beefy taste. The meat, very tender and juicy. The noodles however were a little bland and didnt seem to mesh well with the rest of the dish. For 4.95 I thought it was decent... but I honestly like the beef noodle soup at Tea Station better, suprisingly.
My boyfriend had the spicy fried rice. Also, 4.95! I thought it had a good amount of spice and flavor. Made you want to keep eating it.
In the end, for the great prices, quick service (we were in and out in 30 min), and pretty tasty food, it deserves 4 stars. I'll definitely be coming back! -
Review from Scott T.
11/28/2010 1 photo
God I love sheng jian bao. I love it so much I could write a poem about it. In fact, I think I will.
Sheng jian bao
Ni yao bu yao
Jin qu wo de kou
Sheng jian bao
Ni zenme xiao
Wo chi ni de yihou -
Review from Jennifer L.
Cypress, CA
5/27/2009
You can take the girl out of Cerritos , but you can't take Cerritos out of the girl****
Been living in Cerritos for 22 years & discovered this place when Boba was just an up & coming thing...used to have to go all the way to Chino in 8th grade to get boba once my cheer coach got me addicted....
So it was under 3 different names..first time I went in H.S. in 9th grade don't remember then it changed to Little Bean & now Happy Nest I usually will go & visit my fav Asain lady that's always there she always give me the usual when I stop by aka Milk Tea BOBA!!! usually when I go I get a large & it's 2 for 1 when you go...soo yummy** meant for any season the best is in the summer ..
Other than that have eaten here before & had hot & sour soup soo yummy & beef & broccoli even more yummy!! Pretty bomb Chinese food probably will make a Boba run this weekend for sure & take a stroll through memory lane in C*town.... -
Review from Melody C.
Long Beach, CA
1/12/2009
I adore this place. This has got to be my favorite restaurant in Cerritos.
This is probably my most frequent dine out restaurant. I would have to agree with Ocean Love R; this place is not completely spectacular for Taiwanese, but it does have that nostalgic home cooked taste, something yo mama would cook up when you're wanting that authentic Taiwanese comfort food.
The food is very reasonably priced; the people that work here are very congenial and sweet, and you can tell they genuinely care about the food and the customers.
I was browsing yelp and found that this restaurant was on here, so last time I went I actually informed the daughter of the owners (it's a family business) that they had great reviews on yelp. She did a little squeal and looked it up, all smiles, and ran to tell her mom. Haha. I'm glad that now they can see proof of their hard work pays off.
My favorites here would probably have to be the Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, and the Sausage Rice, always with extra pickled veggies. But really, that's usually what I'm craving - everything here is actually quite satisfying.
I would definitely refer this restaurant to people. There are so many restaurants now going downhill to pay for cheaper unskilled labor, cheaper ingredients, etc. - I'm glad that this one does not fall into that category. Yay! -
Review from Jennifer H.
Huntington Beach, CA
1/24/2011
I don't know why Happy Nest only has three stars because the food is so good and so cheap and they also have a large variety as well. I always come here with the family and I've never been disappointed. I love their "zai fan" or vegetable rice which is rice with ham fat and vegetables inside. They also make really good soups and always have specials on the menu so I'm nicely surprised when I come to eat here. They also have "tong yuan" which is a rice ball stuffed with sweet black sesames in a sweet wine rice soup which is great! The restaurant itself is very small and not decorated really, and I'm not sure if they speak English either, but I think they do. If you're looking for cheap authentic Chinese food then this place is perfect for just that. Five stars just for the quality and price of the food alone.
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Review from Sunny C.
Irvine, CA
6/28/2010
Service is mediocre and this is definitely a Shanghainese place. They are known for their Sheng Jian Bao (aka: Shengjian mantou if you search Wiki) It's a specialty of Shanghai.
I also ordered their Shanghai noodles - which was ok and their Shanghai pork ribs - which was ok too.
The place is small, literally a hole in the wall. But if you need a quick Sheng Jian Bao fix this would be the place, unless you want to travel all the way to Alhambra/Monteray Park area. -
Review from Kevin T.
5/22/2010
Oh man...I gotta say, I was pretty disappointed in this place. Before I say anything, I'm going to have to direct you to Shanghai Xiao Chi or Giang Nan, both in Alhambra, if you want genuine, *delicious* Shanghainese cuisine.
We had some sheng jian bao (pan fried pork bun), which were pretty delicious, but it's hard to get that wrong. Gong bao ji ding was spicy and tasty. We also ordered sea cucumber, which has an interesting gelatin-ish texture, and they did an OK job seasoning that.
But there were two dishes we ordered that are pretty staple and popular in Shanghainese cuisine...and they were sub-par. First off...their Shanghai Nian Gao (Shanghai rice cake) was pretty damn bland. Rice cake + unseasoned cabbage + relatively bland meat made for a pretty boring party in my mouth. Finally, my dessert that I ALWAYS look forward to: jiu niang tang yuan (mochi balls in sweet rice wine). It could not compare to the dessert I have at Shanghai Xiao Chi (Listed as Wok and Noodle on Yelp)...it was definitely not as sweet, nor as rich.
So all in all, an OK meal, but since there's much better Shanghainese food maybe 20 minutes away , I probably wouldn't visit here again. -
Review from Lisa S.
Long Beach, CA
12/1/2008
My go-to place for Chinese food in the area. Taiwanese style; forgive me, my review is biased because northern Chinese is my comfort food.
Everything's been good, nothing's been truly outstanding. The xiaolongbao wrappers are too thick, but hey - you can't always make the trek to Din Tai Fung. -
Review from Ckai D.
Harbor City, CA
Updated - 1/6/2010
Came back again on Sunday to test out the other dishes. I think it was the first time I was there, there was a psychological affect of ordering only the small dragon buns and seeing a packed venue with tasting looking dishes, made everything perfect. This time we came and ordered the little spicy peppers with shredded beef, fatty pork, lions head soup, and rice wine with fish fillet. All tasted just 'okay'........nothing great.
I think it's safe to say, Giang Nan is #1 for Shanghai style Chinese food in the entire L.A. Metro.......1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/18/2009
The best Chinese restaurant in Cerritos, no joke, but then again, read my reviews and you'll know… Read more »
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Review from Daniel J.
Cambridge, MA
5/15/2011
Strange experience. Completely deserted on a Sunday evening (I wondered if it was closed). Sat down at a table, and waitress asked us to sit somewhere else. Service was slow, and food was mediocre. Xiaolongbao was DRY inside. Waitress was expressionless and inattentive. Atmosphere unpleasant. Much prefer May's Kitchen or Canaan.
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Review from Grace K.
Cerritos, CA
12/21/2008
For family style taiwanese food, this is the place to go.
For Taiwanese people, the food here will not be anything spectacular, but that's the great thing! It tastes like something your mom would make, and sometimes that's exactly what you want. This is like my taiwanese Soul Food place. The food is good that way, plus it's reasonably priced, the portions are also generous. I order take-out from here a lot, and they make it pretty dang fast! The hot and sour soup is pretty good although the consistency is not always the same (sometimes it's a little thin, sometimes it's more sour, but over all, the fundamentals of the soup is pretty good). I also like the green-onion pancakes, and some of the noodle items.
For people who are not familiar with authentic Chinese food, stop going to Panda Express, because that is not true Chinese food-- we have more flavors and sauces than sweet & sour, and kung pao. Try this place, you'll be amazed at the variety of flavors that exist in Taiwanese cusine!
And of course, the service here is awesome. The owner is super friendly, and you will NOT get the impatient bad attitude that some small restaurant owners have. The homey feel and easy-going atmosphere here makes people come back time after time! -
Review from felicia d.
Westminster, CA
5/9/2010
Decided to come here after reading some reviews about boba and taiwanese beef stew noodle soup.Came here and got seated, but looking at the menu, it looks like they have changed into a shanghai style king of place.
they serve some lunch special family style for $4.95/ dish?
but i ended up getting: pot stickers, green onion pancake and beef stew noodle soup.
pot stickers were good. green onion pancake.. yuck.. no taste and hard as stone. Beef stew noodle soup, a biiiig bowl, tasted ok after i asked for some chili sauce.
so i was bit disappointed. -
Review from Bonnie S.
9/5/2009
DAMN.. you yelpers..I have been reading all the fantastic review about this place, I was super excited about eating dinner here tonight.
We got there around 8:30 pm and we had no clue this place closed 9pm. So we walked in and was not greeted with friendly service yelpers described. I think the daughter of the owners was having PMS or something but she acted mean, rude and not very helpful. If they needed us to order take out because they were closing soon, they should have told us but they didn't. We didn't see any sign that it was closing at 9pm.
So we ordered steamed pork dumplings, beef noodle soup, Shanghai Pork Spare Ribs and Kung Pao Chicken = $26. The food was ok. I thought the menu didn't have very much variety. And it sucked that we couldn't enjoy our food. we were rushed and didn;t feel comfy. It was a very disappointing dinner.
Argh! -
Review from Janel P.
Austin, TX
Updated - 7/8/2010
The food isn't as great as it used to be. Bummer.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/30/2009
This pan fried dumplings and onion cake are my staples at this place. This is my favorite place for… Read more »
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Review from Nancy H.
Cypress, CA
12/20/2008
My aunt actually recommended this place, and it used to be Little Green Bean.
Anyways, recently I've been in a funk where most of the restaurants I've tried have just been ok...nothing spectacular...boy do I sound spoiled...but it's true, the food has been either too salty, overcooked or greasy.
Totally not the case this time. I would dare say this is my new favorite place for Taiwanese. I went alone so I didn't try much except the knife cut beef noodles. OMG! It was delicious, my mouth is watering as I write this...but the noodles were not too thick...chewy and the broth and beef were cooked to perfection! The broth is heavily flavored...and very very satisfying. Definitely the best beef noodles I've had at a restaurant, my grandma makes it the best!
As I was perusing the menu there were other dishes I'm going to try next, such as the red bean soup with taro balls...I'm such a fan of rice balls and sweet soup...I haven't had it since I last went to Taiwan which was four years ago!
I think I'm going to go back tomorrow for the sweet red bean soup...I'm drooling as I think about it....oh no! I'm addicted... -
Review from Jenni H.
Los Angeles, CA
11/4/2009
I love this place! It is one of the best Chinese restaurants I've ever been to. Everything that we got was so so good. The food was fantastic and prices are just as wonderful. Can't wait to go back!
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Review from stephanie v.
Cerritos, CA
1/1/2010
Okkkk.... so I kind of have mixed feelings about his place because I love their food, BUT....
Well, let me start from the beginning. Went here on a Wednesday night with sister dearest in search of braised beef noodle soup. Thanks to my friends on Yelp, I was able to find this place and the soup was FAB. In addition, they have all kinds of dumplings on the menu- Xiao Long Bao, potstickers, and a few others that I can't remember but were also quite tasty. The price was pretty good, although they don't take anything besides cash, so hit up the ATM before you come here.
Now, second time comes around and I take SigFig to this place, raving about the fantastic food and how bomb the dumplings are. Again, I order the beef noodle soup and he orders a pork bbq dish with a side of rice served in a large rice container like in all Chinese restaurants. Food is great as usual, no problems UNTIL...
The waitress asks if we are all done, takes away the rice serving bowl (which has, oh maybe, a scoop of rice left in it) and PROCEEDS TO GO BEHIND THE COUNTER AND DUMP THE LEFTOVER RICE BACK INTO THE RICEMAKER!!!!!
Now, I for some reason don't doubt that there are some establishments that happen to do this practice. However, AT LEAST DON'T DO IT RIGHT IN PLAIN VIEW FOR CHRISSAKES!
So, alas, though I love your food, Happy Nest, we must part for I cannot help but think my food was scraped off someone's plate after not finishing it.
2 stars solely for the food. Sigh. -
Review from Bobby L.
Irvine, CA
5/20/2009
Good food. Good priced. Good service.
I can honestly say, all the dishes my wife and I've tried - I've yet to be disappointed. Very authentic.
If you like beef & cartilage noodle, try theirs... it's pretty good.
--5/28/09--
I just changed my rating from 4-Stars to 5-Stars, because I failed to acknowledge the class in which this restaurant is. For its price range and quality of the food; it's far superior to any other Chinese Restaurant in a 20 mile radius. -
Review from Gigi M.
Aiea, HI
2/23/2009
Done take-out here a few times and I do love their onion pancakes! Have tried their beef noodle soup as well as wonton noodle soup and all very tasty. Only negative is it's CASH ONLY.
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Review from Lan N.
Artesia, CA
10/17/2009
It was okay...We had the fried pork dumplings- good, beef noodle soup- ehhh, and seafood mixed chow mein- good. Service was somewhat friendly, and cleanliness was a major issue for me.
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Review from Jenn L.
Cypress, CA
8/20/2009
MMM delicious! i really enjoyed their meatball dish.. with some veggies.. price range is all under $10.. service is attentive.. and $1 milk tea!!! :) boba's not that great though, it's a little hard... but the milk tea's great~ i also tried their shredded pork noodle soup, very delicious.. and their mongolian beef... best time to go is lunch.. they have lunch specials all the time! next time i'm gonna try their dim sum! =)
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Review from Allie L.
Cerritos, CA
4/8/2010
They changed owners guys .. That's why The reviews are wrong! The previous happy nest was amazing!! Best authetic Taiwanese food but now... Let's just say I would rather eat at home!
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Review from Vincent S.
Long Beach, CA
2/24/2010
Small quaint location. Food is better than the service. Cheap prices. Might try again for lunch.
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Review from Jade L.
Cerritos, CA
7/5/2008
Great Chinese food at reasonable prices. Just steer clear of the shaved ice dessert.
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Review from Danny S.
Artesia, CA
5/4/2009
We used to frequent this restaurant when it was called Little Green Bean. It actually used to be pretty good but last couple times we've gone, just doesn't seem up to snuff.
we used to always order the stir fried stinky tofu.
There just wasn't much flavor to things and everything almost tasted the same.
But I do love their iced coffee there for some reason...but you have to get the daughter to make it, else it doesn't taste right.
haven't gone back in a while but I heard the owners changed, don't know if it's just rumors. -
Review from Erik K.
Gardena, CA
10/15/2009
Sorry Bonnie S.,
The restaurant is under new management. The family that ran it sold the place. I haven't tried the new place's food yet. I went there once to pick-up dinner but was saddened to see it changed. I ordered a boba and went to a different restaurant. The boba is fairly similar to before, but I will hold off on the review. The waitress didn't seem particulary friendly or unfriendly...indifferent was more like it. I mean, the place just opened when I went there, how can you be tired of working there already!? I'm giving it a 3 star for the boba until I have the chance to return and give it a proper review. -
Review from yen n.
Los Angeles, CA
9/25/2009
Food is OK with a reasonable price. The only thing that bother me is the lady on the cashier, she never smile and shows some attitude, and not helpful at all.
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Review from Michael W.
Los Angeles, CA
6/2/2009
i got a boba here once...nothin' special!
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Review from stanley w.
Harbor City, CA
3/29/2010
Came to lunch at Happy Nest a friend who had eaten there many times and liked the food but the food we had that day was not what she remembered. We think there might have been an ownership change or something because the food was pretty unacceptable. My beef noodle soup only had little slivers of beef and the broth tasted like it was full of msg. we also ordered the onion cake and it was way over cooked. it was hard like a cookie and would break if you bend it. maybe they forgot about it on the burner but they should have thrown it away and remade it. Can't tell you much about the taste because the little bit I ate was hard and tasteless.
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Review from Food L.
Everett, WA
Updated - 10/3/2009
We did go back to try the other dishes in early Sept, but we still like the "Previous" Happy Nest when it was serving Taiwanese. The previous owner and family was friendly and will not pressure you to you to try any item. I can understand that the new owner is anxious to introduce their dishes, but I don't like people to give me that pressure. Give me the time to read the menu and decide. We tried their pan-fried pork bun (the new owner highly recommended on our first visit) and it was just okay. It was too greasy. Another place called J & J (Jin Jian) Restaurant on Valley Blvd in San Gabriel (see my review) has better pan-fried pork bun. The noodle with brown sauce was terrible. The stir fried rice cake is okay, but still like the one from J & J. A little disappointed and still miss the previous "Happy Nest". Another yelper told me that they might have moved back to Taiwan. If so, I wish them best, but I really like the food they served.
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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8/20/2009
Grand Opening! Went back to have dinner last night and found out that the restaurant has a sign… Read more »
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Review from david k.
Riverside, CA
5/29/2009
I was introduced to this place a while back from my friends. I used to live in cypress which is very close to cerritos. However now that i am a college student i moved out to riverside. But whenever i come back to the oc for the weekend i make sure to swing by for a meal Or two. They have a lunch special which includes three entrees and a soup . the portions are more than generous and could feed up to 4-5 hungry people.As for the taste, it feels very authentic and home made, not anything like those fast food chinese joints that leaves you a bad stomach ache. You should definitely try the homemade noodle beef soup, and i always have to grab a boba milk tea togo!The service is great and they very kind people. I would recommend this family restaurant to anyone and everyone.
