“The seasoned pros”: Happy Seasons, Chinatown, reviewed

You know a place is good when there are lines out the door. Queues out the door and onto the road, halfway down Faulkner Street in fact.

From the outside, Happy Seasons is quite unremarkable. It has no frills, except for the red canopies over each window are frilly. Cochlea? You get the point. It basically opened in 1982 and hasn’t changed much since then. But why change when you’re already doing something right? Players clearly don’t need bells and whistles to return to this Manchester institution.

I watched as the staff waltzed between each other, distributing dishes, clearing tables and resetting them in one fluid motion.

Happy Seasons is ready to work seven days a week with a photo shoot in the light, crispy Peking ducks hanging and hanging in the window and a sweet salty scent.

Standing in line with your mouth watering and your stomach rumbling, looking through the glass at all the happy diners having their feast is almost like torture. But patience is a virtue, and like all good things, the dishes inside are worth the wait. Or so I’ve heard.

Thanks to about 40 years of perfecting the art of spinning, the table line dwindled much faster than I expected.

After ordering our drinks (Coke for me and Tiger beer for Dave) we took in the positive buzz of the place. It was busy, but not overwhelmingly so. There are plenty of tables and seats, but you don’t feel wedged in, just elbows with the next table. I watched as the staff waltzed between each other, distributing dishes, clearing tables and resetting them in one fluid motion. What would be a stressful situation for you and me, the Happy Seasons team will handle with ease. It’s totally impressive.

To start, we ordered a quarter of crispy duck and pancakes (had already made up my mind about this after teasing at the window), salt and pepper ribs and a serving of sui mai, which were steamed fresh, so it took a while. longer to arrive.

The duck was shredded tableside and served with all the traditional side dishes; scallions, cucumber, hoisin sauce and of course the one that holds it all together, pancakes. This duck is crispy on the outside but retains its moisture on the inside, so it didn’t become a window decoration. Paired with homemade hoisin, this appetizer was a winner. We greedy insiders probably should have gone for half instead of a quarter, because there was still more sauce, spring onion and cucumber left over.

The salt and pepper ribs looked and smelled absolutely divine. Dressed with fresh chillies, minced garlic, spring onions and the works, these ribs had us choking and Dave kindly gave me the last one. The Reserve spare ribs if you like.

After a quick bite of ribs and crispy duck, the freshly steamed sui mai arrived – four incredibly plump dumplings bursting with pork and shrimp filling. This dim sum dish offered a hearty bite but lacked a bit of the salty sweet flavor I was hoping for. Still good value for money at just £5.20 for four absolute duds. These bad boys alone could have filled us.

For the main course, we decided to share a portion of crispy chili beef, stir fried Szechuan chicken and egg fried rice.

The rice arrived fluffy and perfectly cooked, presented in a simple metal pot and served in bowls for easy sharing. Ideal to mix with the wonderful crispy chili beef and thickly sliced ​​garlic. I love chili beef and this has definitely fallen off the pedestal of my favorite dish. Sweet, spicy and oh so gooey, this dish alone is enough to make me go back to Happy Seasons for seconds, thirds and quarters.

Szechuan fried chicken, served with a few spoonfuls of crispy dried seaweed, was fragrant, fresh and full of flavor. Be warned, though, that this dish is heavy on garlic, so if you’re on a first date (or out with a vampire), you might want to warn your dining partner ahead of time. Luckily, I’m a garlic addict and always have a pack of mints on standby.

Fully satisfied and ready to go into a food-induced coma, we waved the white flag of surrender and asked for the bill. It was time to let another couple standing outside, itching to get into the restaurant, go.

Happy Seasons really is a staple of traditional Cantonese food in Manchester. It’s hard to fault a company that’s been around for nearly half a century and has stood the test of time like this one. With queues spilling out the door every day of the week, it’s clear that this Chinatown gem will retain its place in our Mancunian hearts for many years to come.

Happy seasons59 Faulkner St, Manchester M1 4FF

Follow Harley Young on X @Harley__Young