Three unhappiness! Three Happiness was recommended by a friend who dines here for dim sum when he visits Chicago. Oddly enough, he took me to a much better place in his native Detroit area before he recommended this The reheated, pre-cooked dim sum dishes made this a terrible dining experience. The dim sum worth ordering was the chaozhou dumpling and the dry tofu skin roll. For this quality food, the items were severely overpriced at $2-$2.25. -Fried taro puff - almost passable, but greasy and only came as an order of 2 when the picture showed three. -Dry tofu skin roll - almost done right, except that they drowned it in bland gravy. -Chaozhou dumpling - stuffed with meat and peanuts, the noodle cooked just right. I wish i ordered 5 more of this dish instead of the other items. -Stuffed peppers - bland meat, undercooked green pepper. -Siu mai - soggy noodle wrapping around bland meat. -Pork buns - lamentably tasted like they came from a bag from the freezer aisle. We ate one and left the rest on the plate. -Custard buns - same as above, but at least the filling was ok. -Turnip cake - cut too thick, not heated the whole way through, had a gross brown-ness to it like it was fried on an unclean surface or using old oil. The service, despite this, was great. And this is only a review of their dim sum. Perhaps their lunch/dinner is better. There must be better dim sum in Chicago; again, I had great dim sum in Detroit! How does this place remain so highly rated? read more

Last time I came here the food tasted like shit, salty as fuck and full of MSG. Tonight I came again and a friend said to order the food with no MSG. Guess what, tasted just as bad and maybe even worse, still salty as hell. And the meat was not fresh at all. Now I know why they add a shitload of salt and MSG, it's to cover up the stale and rank meat they use. I won't be going back to this dump again. read more

open Late like well after 4am. Consider it a rarity if you get in the restaurant with out some hustlers hitting you up, "I just got out of Cook County, are you gonna help me out' while his friend stands there next to him pacing. Once Got in from the cold, The food was great. The Spicy Egg drop soup did me proper. they split bills. The Table we wanted the mail worker yelled at us we couldn't have, twice. I told the Lady in our group, let me go talk to the 2 ladies that work here, lets see if I can get you the table you want. I got the table I wanted from the ladies with a pleasant smile. read more

Hi I went there yesterday and my freaken gosh, it was the best food I have tasted in my life. Usually I have meetings and often I get Three Happiness to cater to my office and they are superb, they even help set up everything for me! The portions are so generous and recently it looks like they remodeled the restaurant. Don't be mistaken for the one across the street which is 2130 S. Wentworth, that Three Happiness according to CBS has rats in the building, so go to 209 W. Cermak, it was the original one and yes it great. I remember as a child going there, it has stayed delicious for all these years and now I bring my kids there. The owners are also very very nice with good service and making sure that everything is 110%. My favorite food was the pike fish, lobster and many more. The restaurant is still tops for its time. read more

Three Happiness - THIS IS THE REAL ONE!!!! - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

OOPs! wong west-want.. the other 3 happiness across the street... After years of downhill quality, my last visit (Dec 2013) was the best ever. I have been coming here for more than 20 years and always stop in when I go grocery shopping for the good stuff I cannot find in Indiana. Well, this visit was great and I can't wait for a Sunday with clear weather to slog up there. The price has gone up with the quality and one needs about $25/person .. but its worth it. Now here are some tips if you are a Dim Sum Commando: 1) Get there early (10:30 latest) for best selection and service .. and for the best cuts of BBQ Pork if you go grocery shopping afterwards. 2) Get a table close to the kitchen door, forgo the ambiance for the better selection and quicker service/hotter plates. 3) Group of 8-10 is optimum for lazy susan table (be early for good table) Group of two offers comfortable room at the table/more selection. Group of 6+ is crowded and little elbow room at regular table. read more

This place is horrible. I ordered fried rice with mushrooms and sesame chicken. The chicken was plain fried chicken pieces with a side of sweet and sour sauce with sesame seeds added. It was so disgusting. My fried rice looked like it was drenched in soy sauce and did not look or taste like fried rice. It was just very nasty and I will never go back again. I never had sesame chicken that I had to dip in sauce. It looked more like sweet and sour chicken. Avoid read more

Three Happiness - My sesame chicken looked like fried chicken nuggets with a side of sweet and sour sauce with sesame seeds in it - Dim Sum Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Ugh, someone posted the wrong photo as the main one for this restaurant (yay, it's been fixed) and I think some of the reviews are incorrect as a result. This is NOT the big "Three Happiness" on the corner of Cermak & Wentworth. That one is technically considered to be on Wentworth and is called "New Three Happiness". This is the little guy on Cermak. BIG difference. Anyway, this place has lovely weekend dim sum, and you get to order off a checkbox menu (as per most sushi restaurants) while looking at a picture book. The singapore noodles, chicken dumplings, curry chicken dumplings, etc- everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. We were completely taken aback in a really pleasant way. The noodle dish portions are enormous and we wound up with enough food for dinner tonight, plus we were stuffed. All for under 30 bucks. I will definitely be going back. The decor is basically...well, nonexistent, but they know how to cook. Seriously delicious, and clearly underrated. Some of the best Chinese food I've had in Chicago and definitely the best dim sum- better than Phoenix by a long shot. read more

20+ years and this place is still here! It's so great to see childhood favorites still around in a land of gentrification. The old ladies who do the cooking, cleaning and serving all still snap string beans at the corner table, eat lunch together and yell at each other at break neck speeds. Hurray! I was actually gonna skip this place for once and try something new but as luck would have it, a creepy man followed me off the Red Line and straight into the restaurant. He looked around and scampered off when the owner shut the door on him. I'm glad I walked in here, otherwise I would have forgotten all about a beautiful thing in Chinatown called "$4.95 lunch specials." I'm so used to being grateful for a $15 lunch in San Francisco, I forgot how much I liked to eat. I decided to go with the shrimp in black bean sauce and oh my gosh was it yummy!! Nothing gets your stomach doing happy somersaults than the sight of a big mound of shrimps, egg, black beans, red chilis and rice just like in my childhood memories. There was no questions of whether or not MSG was present, whether the produce was local, the egg free range etc. No! This was a tiny 1 room restaurant with a tiny restroom and the same specials on the wall since I was in the 4th grade. I hope it never changes! read more

Short: I've been here many times, and this is a good place to go if you (a) like mainstream Chinese food and (b) have never been to Chinatown. Long: Three Happiness has been around for a long time, I remember first going there in the late 80's when I was finishing up college. It's on the 2nd floor of the building, and has a large dining area. Don't forget to validate parking if you parked in the capacious and convenient lot just East, it knocks down the cost to $2 (which you can pay by using a credit card with the machine). I met my family later so they did all the ordering. We had beef fried rice, mongolian beef, and another beef dish (beef, green pepper, onions). The mongolian beef was pretty hot, which I personally liked, but my wife didn't care for it (yay more for me). But it was so hot that I would caution readers to talk to the server about the level of spiciness when ordering. I heartily recommend this restaurant if you don't have a place in mind in Chinatown. It's kid-friendly, big, has large tables, and the food is prompt. read more

I've come here for dim sum a few times and as the rating suggests, food is A-OK. Price is reasonable...nothing special, but nothing terrible, in my experiences at least. Chicago, in my opinion, has great Chinese food though, so why just get "OK" Chinese food? read more

I haven't been to this place since 2013. Today was a reunion. They give you large portions which is good for leftovers. The lady who took my order was very kind and gracious. I highly recommend this place for either takeout or dine in, through the place is very small with few tables. A thumbs up for me! read more

This is one of those restaurants where you have to know what to order. The dishes they do well, they do better than anyone. However, there are land mines on the menu. I've only ever gone for dinner, so I can't speak to the quality of the dim sum. Dishes to get at LTH: Chow fun noodles, prepared crispy. The crispy, thick, rice noodles are simply outstanding. They taste good topped with duck, bbq pork, or anything else really. Also the crispy noodles are good, though those are thin noodles that get soft when covered in sauce. Pretty different from the chow fun noodles which are flat and thick. Clams with black bean sauce - The best preparation I've had. Order it with extra jalapenos, even better. Salt and pepper shrimp or squid - The shrimp is best served head on and shell on (though this can be intimidating). The shell is soft enough to eat, kind of like soft shell crab. Crispy skin chicken - This is a simple roast chicken with exceptionally crispy skin. It's served with a salty dredging sauce and lemon wedges. Also the green beans and chinese greens are pretty good too, but those are done well at a number of restaurants. There are plenty of good items on the LTH menu, but be warned that some of the dishes really aren't good at all. This is one of those restaurants that rewards being in the know. read more

I think this place is the best value in Chinatown. A LOT of places in Chinatown are marked up big time because of it being a tourist attraction. Not so here. The food is ALWAYS good here as is the service too:) I've been going here for years. I don't live in the area anymore but I still visit on occasion. The BBQ Pork, Crab Rangoon and Egg Roll appetizers are killer! All of the entrees I've tried are very good too. Friendly service and always a kettle of tea with the meal too:) Check it out! BTW - it's not between Indiana and Michigan it's between Wentworth and Archer across the street from the firehouse. read more

Rude tried to give us reused food from someone else, after they made a mistake tried to say that we already had the correct food not kind at all wouldn't recommend so rude read more

I really don't write reviews because as a restaurant owner I understand sometimes things go wrong! But tonite I was super disappointed! For years I have been coming here and their food is great but after over an hour of waiting on our food and seeing how other tables got their food before us even though they had just arrived! They forget to put our order in! As a Chef and owner I would have done the impossible to fix that mistake, but to hear them say it was because of what I had ordered that I took so long basically it was my fault! Fried rice, egg foo young and fried shrimp really! Over an hour!!! They didn't even say sorry! And to hear another customer that it took them to get their food the same time! I think it's time to find a new place in Chinatown! read more

Place is bomb.com. I'm from San Diego Cali and this place made me come twice in one trip. Came once when I was drunk and everything is good when drunk but came the next day sober and it was the same bomb. It's a whole in the wall place!!! read more

Been to Chinatown at a minimum of once per year (Christmas, my tribal tradition) for the past 13 years I've lived in Chicago and have tried MANY different restaurants but never really had a favorite one like when I lived in Manhattan (and used to go to Woh-Hop in Chinatown or Empire Szechuan on the Upper West Side). Well 'Three Happiness' was a nice change from what I've experienced here (and I have walked out of some restaurants because of lousy service or food). I decided to go there exclusively because of the YELP reviews. The food here was VERY good, inexpensive and service was excellent. The woman in the dining area worked the room like a shark surrounding a school of bait fish-picking up empty plates, refilling water and bussing tables as soon as they opened up. Here's MY review of the food we ordered; BBQ Ribs-OK, but probably would try something different next time-they did sit in a good sauce. Egg Rolls-Good but NO COMPARISON to the worlds best Egg Rolls which are served at Kow Kow on (Pratt & Skokie Blvd.) Seaweed Soup-My wife and 5 yr old son said it was GREAT. Eggdrop Soup-VERY GOOD! should have ordered a single size instead of a small-oh well, it reheated great in a double boiler last night. Salt & Pepper Beef Ribs-WOWWOWWOW!!! Awesome Crispy rib slices in fresh onions & jalapenos. I WILL get this dish EVERY TIME I go back. Chicken & String Beans-Another great dish-White Meat chicken and PERFECTLY COOKED fresh string beans. A very tasty meal. Shrimp Fried Rice-Good, nothing that much better than other places. TsingTao-COLD and refreshing! OK, now for the bad part-the bathrooms, at least the mens room-No heat, wet floor, broken urinal and worst barely a trinkling of water coming out of the sink to wash your hands! Just a total shadow on an otherwise good experience. So that's my take on the joint. I definitely suggest it and look forward to trying other highly rated YELP reviewed restaurants. read more

"Little" Three Happiness is a hole in the wall, right at the Chinatown entrance, which serves very yummy food. This one is so much better than its ginormous sister, "Big" Three Happiness, which is across the street, around the corner. These guys serve dim sum every day. You check off items on a paper menu, like you would for sushi. It's good, made-to-order, and consistent. They make some good standard dishes too. The salt pepper shrimp is excellent. So is the beef chow fun. The food is super cheap too - two friends and I had a dim sum lunch there once, for under $20 for all three of us! This place is a no-frills experience. Just a few tables, not so high on the appearance, cheap chairs & tables. It could be a little hard fitting a large group, but we've done it. The staff is attentive (since they are only a few feet away from you at all times). And they are open all night! It's a great place to visit at 2-4am, after a night of drinking (so is New Chinatown Restaurant next door). If you know what you want, Little Three Happiness is a fine place for dim sum. read more

The Three Happiness Original restaurant (not to be confused with the New Three Happiness restaurant across the street on the north side of Cermak Ave.) is a hole-in-the-wall storefront operation in the heart of Chinatown. The dining area is small and unembellished. On a recent weekday our group of four lunched there. We all shared the shrimp with black bean sauce, the satay beef, the chicken with cashews, and the pork fried rice. When the food arrived, we initially thought that we had ordered too much as the portions were quite ample. However, the food was so good that hardly a scrap was left over. All the dishes were well prepared and tasty, but I especially liked the shrimp because of its very flavorful sauce. The service was efficient and courteous. Pay-to-park lots and metered street parking are available. Weekends in Chinatown are usually very crowded so plan accordingly. The Three Happiness is recommended for the good quality of the food and its moderate prices, but go elsewhere if you are looking for a classy atmosphere. read more

I'm not a huge Cantonese fan. Nor do I love the Dim Sum. This place surprised and delighted me on a recent tour with friends who eat very differently than I. That may have been the best chicken Bao I've ever eaten. Every single thing we ordered was better than average. We took home, and ate, every single left over and loved it the second time. In order of deliciousness: (see Bao above) Pepper Beef Chow Mien (normally I do not like beef or Chow Mien- outstanding) Chinese Broccoli in garlic sauce (ok- too many stalks in there people, but it was a large serving and 80% was PERFECT) Chicken Chop Suey (also something I never order out of childhood trauma when this - out of a can- was considered "Chinese Food"- have I mentioned I've been to China? And not as a staying in the Hyatt wai-guo ren.) Pork Shu-mai And, it was Very Reasonably Priced. read more

I really agnoised over this one. On one hand, the food was tasty. On other, my mapo tofu wasn't 100% authentic, yet this place seems to cater to the authentic. In the end, I decided to give them the benefit of doubt and review them more favourably. The food here is quite good, though not quite cresting that bit to become spectacular. The decor, on the other hand, is 100% cheap Chinese. What they have going for them is that you get a fair amount of food for the price. I'd be interested in trying out their non-Szechuan dishes, as they seem to specialise in Cantonese and Pekinese cuisines. read more

Most of the time after going to a bar or club downtown, our late night sober up spot before venturing back to the suburbs is Three Happiness or Mr Greeks. Years ago the service and food preperation took quite a long time but now a days its quick and has the same great taste! I had the shrimp in black been oyster sauce which was delicious! Id highly recommend it. The following dishes are some of my favs: Crab Rangoon, Salt and Spicy pork, Chicken Chow fun with noodles a bit crispy, house fried rice, Fried Oysters, Beef with Chinese Broccoli, honey walnut shrimp. Wow too many too name! Anyways definitely a good spot. They also have alcohol. Dont forget the yummy fortune cookie that comes after the meal! Portions are huge. The host/waiter speaks english so there is no problem with ordering. They constantly fill your glasses with water and keep the tea pot full. Parking can be a problem during the day but at night its plentiful except for snow days. read more

Three Happiness has become the equivalent of a greasy spoon Chinese restaurant, only one step above the generic Americanized Chinese carry-out place. Three Happiness, along with Hong Min, were the go-to places in Chinatown during the 70's and 80's. Hong Min has moved to the suburbs, following the generation of Chinese-Americans who moved to the suburbs. Three Happiness is now a no-name restaurant in Chinatown. The restaurant continues to have a fairly extensive menu, with many specials, including snails, lobster, fishes, pea pod greens, complementing the basic menu. The selection of soups is small, but the soups themselves are ok. The kitchen does a pretty good job with most of the dishes, taste wise. However, the dishes are basic, neither exceptional in taste nor original in composition. The dining space is old. It feels dilapidated and has a mildly dirty look. In my opinion it detracts from the dining experience. Another item that affects the ambience is the trickle of customers picking up their egg foo yung and shrimp fried rice orders. The dining space is small, so the activity at the cash register is noticeable, and distracting. Service is adequate but not exceptional either way. One big plus of Three Happiness is its late closing time, if it closes at all. The restaurant is a fine choice for Chinese dine-in or carry out at 3:30 in the morning. In summary, the food is ok but the restaurant is no longer in the upper tier, as it once was. read more

I have been going to Three Happiness since I was a kid. I've always loved going there for the Dim Sum. Three Happiness is not fancy. You go there for the experience. Women pushing around carts of small plate chinese food. Your table is covered in a plastic disposable cover and it's all about the experience. I went to Three Happiness over the holidays with my boyfriend and we were craving some good dim sum. This is definitely one of the best dim sum places in Chinatown. Go for the quality food and experience! read more

Thus place has always been mediocre. The prices offset that. Over the last couple of months the prices have doubled or tripled on some items. Which wouldn't be bad if the food showed it. This was my go to late night drunk spot. Everything should taste great. The shrimp toast was water logged with grease. We left most of the meal there. Left the place and went and got Polishes at Maxwells. read more

One of those hole in the wall treasures that you see on tv. Delicious authentic Asian food. Orange chicken is to die for and piping hot every time.The prices are amazing. This is a place to visit Chinatown for read more

THIS IS THE LITTLE THREE HAPPINESS not the big two floor restaurant on the corner! This place is awesome!! We've stopped eating at the Chinese places by our house and only come here (which is a good half hour drive away)! We have eaten here now about ten times and every time it is fantastic! Whether it's 3pm or 3am the food has always been fresh and hot! The only thing I don't like is the career bum that hangs out in front. I know it's not the restaurant's fault though. (and yes, I said career bum - we watched this guy beg for money and then dip around the corner to make a phone call and BS on his cell phone!) read more

I've only had a few items from here but all of them have been pretty darn good. My first batch of egg rolls were burnt which was of course disappointing. The next time I ordered I just asked that they not fry them very hard and they were great! Hot, perfectly crispy, and fresh. I also ordered Kung Pao Chicken (not listed on their carry out menu) and it was great! Spicy but not too spicy and fresh tasting veggies and peanuts. The sauce was also pretty good. The best thing by far had to be their shrimp fried rice. It'd been a long time since I'd tasted some that fresh and without a bunch of grease. I almost ate the whole box in one setting. Each time I ordered I did carry-out and my food was ready in less that 10 minutes. All in all a great little spot to grab some really good chinese food. read more

Mongolian beef with rice noodles, pot stickers and soup. I cant remember exactly because i was super drunk at 5:30am This i can say for sure though. FOOD WAS EXCELLENT. read more

Picked up to go. We took a shower and the food was still hot. Great portions. Shrimp toast i never had it and saw it on chicagos best and it was awesome. The house fried rise was so good. They didnt drown in soy sauce. So happy. Then sweet and sour chicken was the best ive had. The dough was not thick and the sauce was great. The noodles and beef and broccli was great. The flavor was just so tasty. I say try this spot its awesome. If u pick up and go you should call 40 minutes before arriving. The only thing is no free fortune cookies. That sucked. But other than that was great to take home and watch a movie. read more

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All I am going to say is that the waiter cleaned our table with the previous customers leftover tea. While we were sitting there he actually took the used tea cup, dumped it on the table, and proceeded to wipe the table with it. I suppose we should have left but we were hungry. The food was fine, pretty authentic, service was fast hence the 2 stars. But I really hope someone reads this and gets a clue about how to clean a table. read more

It was a weird experience. I cannot say that the food wasn't good but I was really surprised by our shrimp and scallop with walnuts dish. I asked it without MSG and it came out with a ton of mayonnaise on it...the seafood was high quality, the walnuts were delicious but the mayo really killed the deal for me. The orange peel beef was ok (this is not my favorite but you have to compromise, don't you) and the bok choy was actually perfectly cooked. Another bad point for me was the temperature of the food - way too cold. I am confused....I guesss I will have to try it again. We came for the clams in black bean sauce and they didn't have it - which was a big disappointment. We went there on a Monday night around 7:30 and it was empty. read more

Stop # 5 on the Southside Supper Swing and also the finest food we had. The Salt and Pepper Shrimp was ridiculous. After wolfing down the salty and spicy shrimp, coated with onions, jalepenos, salt and pepper, I am ready to crown this place my favorite Chinese Place in the Chi. This place is right off of the Red Line and is clean. Count me in. read more

Did you know? Three happiness opens late until really early hours so you can satisfy your munchies after going out at night. I came here at 2am with a group of friends after going to a bar. I ordered a bowl of wonton noodle soup with rice noodle and i got some with char siu. Um, its not what i got, but i guess its ok. Of course i got charged xtra for it, but why send it back when theyre going to pick it out. The service here isnt really up to par but thats how it usually is for late night and chinese. The wontons were ok. I didnt like the texture or the taste but still edible. The rice noodles were super wide, stuck together, extremely starchy, and not what i had expected either. The soup was bland, so i asked for red vinegar and poured in some pepper. Overall, if you must eat, its ok, but if you've got other choices, id give them a shot. read more

My family, all 6 of us, enjoyed dim sum here. I was a bit nervous since I have one kid who is not very adventurous with food, but they even had some stuff he would eat. Everything that we ordered (and we ordered A LOT) was great! The portions were very generous and the staff was very helpful and attentive. We ate and ate and ate and the staff didn't try and rush us out of there. (That has happened to us at other restaurants). I did have to subtract a star since one of my kids ordered General Tso Shrimp and we weren't sure if he was getting it or not. We had everything else and kept waiting for it and finally had to ask. We already had to wait awhile for picky son's chicken wings, so it was ok that it wasn't going to be ready quickly, but they never told us that and we think they forgot about it. The inside of this place is not fancy and that's ok with me. I felt like I was dining at a friend's kitchen and her mom was bringing us food to eat! read more

There's only 3 places I consider when it's around 3AM. This is one of them. Order the Salt 'N Pepper Squid or Salt 'N Pepper Pork...so good! (The squid they served didn't have any tentacles, which I thought was a plus.) It's deep fried, and comes with onions and peppers. The beef chow fun / beef chow mein are satisfactory as well. It's open late. It's a hole-in-the-wall. It's cheap. Big Portions. read more

The "little" 3 Happiness has become my favorite Chicago Chinatown restaurant. So far, I've been well pleased with everything I've ordered and I try to mix it up and order new things. I will say the stuffed to-fu hot pot has become a must-order however, it's that good, and something I've rarely seen anywhere else. Yeah, the place is a dump and a true hole-in-the-wall. I've read some other reviews that say the food was better in the past, and I've noticed that the fairly negative reviews seem to come from people that are ordering the more quasi-Chinese, or Ameri-Chinese items such as egg rolls, General Tao's chicken and beef & broccoli and such. Folks, if you're ordering anything on the menu that's available at your typical Chinese take-outs or buffets outside Chinatown, you probably won't be satisfied with this place. But if you're looking for truly authentic Cantonese cuisine (i.e. the stuff y'all don't recognize as food on the menu with descriptions like wood fungus and such) this place does it better than most others. Yeah, it'd be nice if the place was a bit cleaner or updated and modernized, but it's truly what a stereotypical ole' fashioned Chinatown dive with excellent authentic food is all about. read more

My favorite dim sum spot. I'm not sure if it's becasue I grew up coming here with my dad, or if it really is the best. Every time I try a new spot in Chinatown, I feel like I spent more and got less. I also feel guilty for going elsewhere. Be sure you know this is the little Three Happiness on Cermak, not the big one on the corner, which isn't as good or as cheap. read more

Disgusting food. Bad service. Dirty restaurant. Everyone in my party hated what they ordered. All of the restrooms were out of order and I saw a lady that works at the restaurant go into the bathroom with a bucket of water to flush the toilet. Same lady that brought us our food. Gross. AVOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

My brother and I grabbed some food here this week. It was about 11:30pm and we were very hungry! The staff was friendly and helpful. The food was reasonably good and price was good for two people to eat. read more