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    Happy Wok

    3.4 (217 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Closed 11:30 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Happy Wok Takeout or Delivery

    Happy Wok Photos

    HAPPY WOK ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Happy Wok

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    Placed an order for delivery. Egg rolls were fine . Chicken Chow Mein is just plain poor: about four TINY pieces of chicken (one solitary piece was quarter sized and the other 3 shreds smaller than a dime) in a carton full of fishy-tasting thick noodles. Oh plus a couple additional shreds of unknown vegetable matter. Called the restaurant to let them know and ask for a refund but phone wasn't answered. Including photos of menu description and the carton of Chicken-less Chicken Chow Mein. Really disappointed because this was ordered as a treat for my hard working husband. Doubt I'll order from Happy Wok again as this isn't the first time we've been underwhelmed by this restaurant. There are much better places here in town to get good Chinese food.

    2. Mongolian Beef

    My mom took me out to lunch today and we decided to try Happy Wok since they had good reviews. The food was delicious and this was my first time trying pork buns and they were delicious. The mongolian beef and BBQ Pork fried rice were delicious too. The service was fast and the servers were nice and it was a quiet afternoon for a Monday at noon. 10/10 restaurant, I will return for more!

    Happy Wok Chinese Restaurant is located in the Auburn Town Center on Elm Ave, just off I-80.
    Eric R.

    Happy Wok Chinese Restaurant, located in Auburn Town Center, in Auburn, CA, is a family-owned and operated restaurant that serves a variety of Chinese dishes, in a comfortable dining room. I'm an active member of the Facebook group, "Gold Country Foodies," and for the past year or so, many members had posted very positive reviews about their dining experiences at this restaurant, both in the cuisine and the service. I'd been wanting to dine at Happy Wok for quite some time, and had messaged the restaurant to let them know of my dining plans, to take photos of my dining experience, and to post reviews on this website, Yelp and Facebook. The staff messaged me positively and said they were looking forward to my visit. As I walked into the restaurant, I was greeted by a hostess wearing a mask - not a great start - and promptly seated at a table and given a menu. She seemed to be in a hurry and rushed off, without saying much of anything. As I was looking over the menu, another staff member quickly placed a glass of ice water on my table without making any comments. There seemed to be one hostess and two hosts working the restaurant, and all were wearing masks, which definitely raised a "red flag" with me. Wait... this is Auburn, located in very "red" Placer County, and this is May, 2023... who wears masks? I looked over the "Lunch Specials" section of the menu, and decided to begin at the "top" and enjoy a lunch of "Sweet and Sour Pork," which is served with fried rice and egg roll, along with an extra bowl of "Sweet and Sour" soup, and a large Sapporo beer for dessert. My hostess - who I "think" is one of owners - came to take my order. Before I placed my order, I introduced myself, gave her one of my business cards, which introduce me as a photographer and a "foodie." She looked it over and said, "I'm too busy to take photos. I have other things to do." I asked her name and she didn't say anything. Alright... I then went on to say that I wanted to take photos inside the restaurant, and take her photo as she delivered my order to me. I mentioned that I'm a member of "Gold Country Foodies" and that we'd messaged and whoever had come back to me was "good" with what I planned to do. I told her that I have done this for many years, and would not be intrusive to other diners, and it would only take seconds to take photos. She replied again, "I'm too busy to take photos..." So I got up from the table, politely thanked her for her time, and in parting I said, "Since you're too busy for my photos, I'm too busy to dine here. I wish you a pleasant day." I can't comment about the food served at Happy Wok Chinese Restaurant, as lunch never happened, but I CAN comment that I've crossed them off my list, never to return. I truly wanted to love this restaurant, as countless friends and other "foodies" had posted many positive comments about Happy Wok Chinese Restaurant. Sadly, I wasn't able to enjoy their cuisine, maybe because of a mix-up, or a misunderstanding? I don't know, but when it comes to Happy Wok Chinese Restaurant, "it is what it is..."

    BBQ pork chow mein to go
    Alicia C.

    In my effort to explore and find my go-to spots for certain cuisines in the area, I recently tried Happy Wok for the first time after searching for a Chinese restaurant in the area on Yelp. I tried my two basic favorites: the potstickers and the chow mein. Both were solid and good. The potstickers were homemade as far as I could tell with a thicker breading and a yummy pork mixture filling on the inside. The one complaint I have about the potstickers is that two of them were burnt on one side and that burnt part was not edible. I got the BBQ pork chow mein and it was made with thick noodles and a good balance of meat to noodle. Overall great flavor with some garlic and other seasoning which made it a delicious dish. I will definitely return for the potstickers, chowmein, and to try other meat and/or fish dishes they have to offer.

    :(

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    5 months ago

    Great service good food atmosphere is Chinese decor. If you're in the mood for sizzling rice soup it's very good.

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    5 months ago

    Service and food is great. Our party ordered a variety of dishes and they were delicious. Decorated appropriately.

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    1 year ago

    Delicious food, especially for the vegan crew. Everything was hot and wonderful from pot stickers to Happy Veggie Family. Thanks!!

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    9 months ago

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    I throw out most of the meal I bought!! Terrible!! I'm not going back anymore! Too expensive to get bad food!!

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    Mongolian beef is mostly onions. Fried eggplant is mostly batter. Sizzling rice soup is good.

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    Service was great! The food was delicious. They give you good portions so you can save some for later. My family and I will be returning.

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Happy Wok

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    Liu Mandarin Kitchen

    Liu Mandarin Kitchen

    4.3(443 reviews)
    0.7 mi
    $$

    Walked in from the foggy weather and ordered Home-made noodle soup. The broth had nice depth to it…read moreand enough bok coy , chicken, beef, shrimp etc. noodles was silky soft. . When I see Singapore chow mein on menu Is a plus. I love the curry spice & stir-fry noodle taste! Cordial staff- waited on me as a solo diner instantly. One thing I did notice was they didn't offer tea which is usually customary at Chinese restaurants. It's just an observation ( not a critique). Love all the original work of art on the walls. I felt like I was in someone's tasteful livingroom. Looking forward to returning after another hike in Auburn.

    FOOD - Walnut Shrimp: battered shrimp with candied walnuts…read moreover broccoli. The shrimp wasn't crunchy enough. Walnut shrimp is my go-to when I have Chinese food so I'm a little bit of a walnut shrimp snob. This was pretty mid. 3.5/5 - Mongolian Beef: beef with onions, red bell peppers, and bok choy. The flavor was pretty good. The beef was tender enough. 3.75/5 - Orange Chicken combo: orange chicken with chow mein, and egg roll. The chicken wasn't dry but not very tender either. The flavor was okay. The chow mein and vegetable egg roll were pretty standard. 3.5/5 - Fried Rice and 4 Dumpling set combo: the fried rice was, also, pretty standard. The pork dumplings were pretty good. The side of wonton soup was good. 3.75/5 SERVICE: Service was pretty fast and friendly. 4/5 FINAL THOUGHTS: Everything was okay. Nothing was bad, just nothing to write home about.

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    Sum's Mongolian Bar-B-Que Restaurant - Cooking

    Sum's Mongolian Bar-B-Que Restaurant

    4.3(242 reviews)
    0.4 mi
    $$

    January 25, 2026…read more Update now of any my comments, try one thousand three hundred seventy seven! On the area Ask The Community, a person asks the prices. It for Sums Mongolian is now lunch $17.00. That is rounded off, people think saying $16.99 they saving money. If somewhere like state Oregon, no sales tax yes. For California and other states, no. Okay $17.00, with tax $18.23! May seem expensive however, is an All You Can Eat Place. If the person really can indeed do All You Can Eat, for him it be worth. For person such as I, I cannot do that as much anymore, but I do highly suggest to him if indeed he is able to do those All You Want To Eat restaurants. I will continue to wish this restaurant the best of luck, I will continue to wish the employees best of luck, I will continue to wish the volunteers best of luck!

    All You Can Eat-ish... Bar-B-Que…read more.. I was excited to find out there was a Mongolian BBQ in Auburn. For weeks, my coworker and I have been trying to get our schedules lined up so we can go try it out together. Finally, tonight was that night. We parked in a large parking lot around the corner and noticed it was not busy. One of the employees was sitting outside (outdoor seating is available) on his phone, but he was so welcoming and opened the door for us. He took us to a booth and gave us the run down. Sit. Order your drinks, and go get food. Go back for more, because it's ayce... Tony was really nice and had a great smile! He told us how it works - The server would be over to get out drink order. Then, she brought us some crispy wonton chips with some sweet & sour, a cup of soup each, and a small bowl of rice to share... although there are signs that say "do not share," lol. I'm not sure why you can't share if everyone is paying the same price and eating almost the same exact thing... especially, if it's ayce for everyone... It was exciting to see what they had to offer. After finishing the soup, we walked around the wall to fill your bowl with meats (choice of pork, chicken, beef, or lamb), noodles, vegetables, and at the very end, the flavorful liquid. These liquids make your dish. You can put on a simple teriyaki, but that will make it sweet. There is a house sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, wine, vinegar, and kung pao sauce. If you aren't sure what you like, there is a "Sum's Sauce Recommendation" recipe up for your convenience. **Be sure to tip the grill cooks!! The best way I have noticed to do this is to grab 2 bowls. One of for your food and the other, you will want to fill to the at least half way with your liquids. The saucier the better with me! I spoke to the cashier in the front... who told me it's $21 to dine in, and $17 to take it to go since the person taking theirs to go wouldn't be ayce.... (never mentioning the extra charge.) When we sat down, it felt like something in it was missing... maybe a little salt? Usually, I nail my own sauce recipes. Good amount of soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger... garlic, chili oil... a little kung pao... Since we weren't too happy with the flavor of our first bowl, and finished just over half... and this was an ayce... we decided to go back and tweak our creation. This one had better flavor (I added A LOT of soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil), but I seriously could still not taste the sesame oil and this trip, and I used a lot (is there such thing as sesame water?). Then, I wondered if they were using low sodium soy sauce (i asked, and it was regular). I'm wondering if all these sauces are watered down since the soy sauce and ginger sauce were lacking major flavor. The sesame oil couldn't even be detected... so either it is old or a not so good brand. I figured I would just take the rest home and fix up the flavor... and since I overheard a server offer to box someone's meal up...I thought that was neat that we were able to take out food home...turns out... we had to pay to take home the rest of our bowls(extra$9), or pay extra to not take it home... a "waste" charge(extra$8). When we first walked in and we asked how this Mongolian BBQ worked, they left out the part about paying for waste/ or taking home the rest of your food for a charge. If we had not gone back for a 2nd bowl, we would not have had to pay the extra charge because we would've just not finished it and left. I felt a little ripped off. Of course, after we were ready to pay, they pointed to the sign on the wall that we did not see... in fairness, we did ask how they operated and we were told to go get more... but we were not told about the extra charge. I felt cheated. Over all, it was not bad, it just was not good. It was edible, but definitely not worth the extra charge.. i didn't even want to bring it home, but with the extra charge, I figured I would fix it up at home to make it taste better. This brought our bill to close to $60... $30 split each. Not worth it. I feel like a great honest business that is confident in what they serve would have been up front about the charges before springing them on you in the end. They even brought us the bill without the extra charge when they noticed we were close to finishing, but then took the check back to add on the extra charge. The signs should have been pointed out. Service was great. Food was not anything to be excited about. Day after, I warmed up my food with a few drops of a sesame oil that I have.. it added 10 times more flavor than the 2 ladles of soy sauce and 3 ladles of sesame oil that I added at this restaurant.

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    Sum's Mongolian Bar-B-Que Restaurant - Yummyyyy

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    Aibao Noodles and Tea - Homemade Xiu mai

    Aibao Noodles and Tea

    4.3(30 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    Ai bao is a rare spot in Auburn with both great asian snacks and teas…read more Auburn is typically low on good Asian spots so this is a real find. First off when you enter the interior is rather modern and very clean you are greeted by the smell of incense (which I like) . The service is cordial and quick, our server was very nice and took our order quickly service. For the food we got some fried BBQ pork baos I think these were homemade the filling was really good not too sweet not too fatty and not too salty - very balanced I liked that the top was brushed with oil and had some scallions on top! My only feedback is that these should be filled more and they bottoms should be fried till golden. For their drinks we got the berry freeze and the mango fruit tea, this might sound like a complaint but It really isn't - they took their time to make these drinks and they made it damn good. Especially the mango fruit tea, strong tea flavor but not too bitter and tasted not overpowered by the fruit flavor either

    My fiancee and I were exploring auburn for the first time and decided to stop for boba. I would def…read morewant to come back to try more of their food items . We could tell their pork buns were genuinely made from scratch, which made the wait completely understandable. The drinks as well were amazing. Both my fiancee and I thought the mango was one of best fruit teas we had- it was so refreshing and real fruits were blended in the tea. The deco of the shop was cute too

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    Panda Express

    Panda Express

    2.1(101 reviews)
    2.7 mi
    $$

    On my most recent visit, I put my order in at 3:52 pm and my BESTIE put her order in 5 minutes…read moreafter we arrived. There was plenty of parking and I thought thankfully, they were not busy. However, one of the items I wanted was not ready. I was quoted 4 minutes. My BESTIE got her meal and sat down and was already eating within minutes. My 3 entree plate had already been boxed up, minus the chicken and mushrooms and sat on the counter I guess that is the downside to ordering through the app. If they are out of an item, you'll have to wait verses ordering by sight and you can switch up to the available items. After 10 minutes, Panda express was getting pretty busy and I was still waiting for my food. I went to the front counter and waited behind food delivery persons to speak to a staff member. That was about another 5 minutes. Finally, the staff member saw me and grabbed the chicken and mushrooms from the cooks in back and finished up my box and handed it over to me. Just as I suspected though... it was not hot. Not even the chicken and mushrooms. So I walked back over, stood there for another few minutes and when I finally got her attention, she remade my entire meal super fast. It was after 4:20 (could've been longer, or it just felt like it, lol) when I was finally sitting down.... with again, warm food. Not hot. Now, what was going on?? Why is their food not hot?? My entire plate again was just warm. After the couple bites of warm food, I just closed the box and saved it for later on. As disappointed in the food temp as I was... I was impressed by the work ethic of everyone when it got busy and how quickly the particular staff member got my food when she finally saw me standing there waiting. However... what is up with receiving warm food? Especially with me waiting as long as I did for the chicken and mushrooms... why was that just warm? When I got home, my daughter warmed it up in the microwave for dinner.

    So we read the reviews but decided to give it a try since we love Panda. The restaurant was clean,…read morethe service was excellent and the food tasty and well seasoned and well prepared. We had chicken egg roll, king pao chicken, beef broccoli, orange chicken, and mushroom chicken. The experience was on par w our favorite Panda locations and we will be back.

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    Happy Wok - chinese - Updated May 2026

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