By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

The menu at Happy Day offers many versions of their Bo Loh Bao (Pineapple Buns), including the classic Pineapple Bun with a slice of cold butter. There are aslo sandwiches consisting of pork chop, ham, Spam and egg. We had the Corned Beef, Egg and Cheese Pineapple Bun. The bun was fairly light, yet a bit dry.  However, the fillings made up for it.

But the meal went downhill from there. The Baked Pork Chop Rice base was too soft as it was like someone tossed it with fried egg than doing a good job wok-frying it. The sauce was pale and bland. The onions were raw. The only good thing was the tender pork chop.  The portion size and flavour were underwhelming.

We had the Fish Soup Noodles a shot as well with rice noodles, pork jowl and tendon. The soup base was decent, yet lacking in the natural sweetness of fish. The noodles were overcooked. The pork jowl was nicely bouncy though and the tendon was soft. The Singapore Fried Vermicelli looked appealing.  Unfortunately, the noodles were too dry and hard to swallow. The curry flavours were impactful. The shrimp had a nice crunch and the BBQ pork was lean, but there weren’t much of them.

The Sweet & Sour Pork was made to order, which meant the outside was crispy while the inside was juicy and tender with the right amount of sauce. It needed more vinegar. Ultimately, this and the Pineapple Bun were the only appealing items we had at our meal at Happy Day. The others were not only forgettable, they were generally unappetizing.  We were not sure why there is so much fuss.

Happy Day

3312 Kingsway Avenue, Vancouver, BC

The Good:

• Nicely decorated and clean

• Efficient service

• Lots of choice with the Pineapple Buns

The Bad:

• Small portions

• Food is generally sub-par

• Flavours are a bit off

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.