Seattle, WA

Happy Food Is Very Quietly One of the CID’s Best New Restaurants

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2024

Happy Food Is Very Quietly One of the CID’s Best New Restaurants

She goes by Chef Ye to her regulars, but her full name is Aifang Ye, the “Ai” being the Chinese character meaning “love.” Love is what Ye and her new restaurant Happy Food exude despite challenging circumstances: Her English is limited and she works mostly alone, operating Happy Food on a corner of the Chinatown-International District that — like many corners of downtown Seattle — struggles with visible signs of poverty and drug use.

Like Tanya Nguyen at nearby Chu Minh Tofu, Ye sometimes helps feed her unhoused neighbors. Volunteers who help with Nguyen’s food giveaways acted as translators so Eater Seattle could interview Ye in Mandarin.

The Happy Food owner hails from Taizhou, a coastal town in Zhejiang Province, about 200 miles south of Shanghai. She first learned cooking from her mother (who she describes as just an average cook), and by age 10 she had mastered the complexity of making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings wrapped with bamboo leaves). She upped her cooking game upon getting married and needing to cook for family, then brought that passion to bidding for the business to run a buffet-style cafeteria in a factory setting serving nearly 200 workers.

In 2019, Ye followed her husband and son to Las Vegas where they easily found construction work, while she became a pui yuet, or confinement nanny — someone who prepares meals and herbal medicines for new mothers, who in the Chinese tradition stay at home to recuperate 30 days after giving birth. She continued that work when she moved with her family to Bellevue in 2021 for a nicer environment with cooler weather. But soon, with desire to be independent and entrepreneurial, she jumped on an affordable opportunity to lease a less-than-desirable spot at the corner of 12th Avenue and Jackson to open Happy Food at the end of 2023.

Save for occasional moments when her husband comes to help, Happy Food is a one-woman show: Ye greets customers with an exuberant smile, beckons them to sit, takes orders, cooks, serves, and cleans — all with little more English than “Thank you very much.”

Fermented rice ball soup at Happy Food.

Jay Friedman

A plate of fish topped with greens and chiles. — Fish with scallion oil at Happy Food.

Happy Food’s menu is simple and understated (think “potato chips salad” and “braised chicken leg”), making it hard for diners who don’t know Chinese characters to anticipate the dishes and to know what to order. And while Zhejiang cuisine is considered one of the eight traditional cuisines of China, that’s not the restaurant theme. Ye says that her food reflects a variety of dishes she ate in Taizhou, prepared with her own spin.

What diners can count on is that the food is delicious. The stir-fried green beans pack the punch of ya cai (a type of preserved mustard green). Fish filets float in a sauce of fragrant house-made scallion oil that finds people reaching for another portion of the self-service rice. Cabbage comes rustically stir-fried in large pieces, available “plain” or spiked with vinegar. Especially popular with Asian clientele are the braised pork intestines, cut large for extra chewiness and mixed with meaty and tender King oyster mushrooms, cooked to the desired level of spiciness.

There’s more — not all of it on the menu. Ye will enthusiastically show other dishes she can make, many doughy delights like pumpkin mantou and dumplings made with mugwort in the wrappers and zesty pork and vegetables in the filling.

People are still learning about the place, perhaps skeptical of the location, but the regulars happily return. On a recent visit, a table of diners delighted in the food, saying that whether from Taiwan or different parts of China like Hong Kong and Shanghai, they feel at home when eating at Happy Food. The restaurant truly has a home-style vibe, the food reasonably priced and served with a warm smile.

Ye wouldn’t let Eater Seattle take a photo of her. She declined to talk about the homelessness and drug use endemic to the area. What’s most important, Ye says, is that “Anyone can come in and really enjoy the food. Having people enjoy it brings me happiness. I have passion for it.”

1043 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA

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Seattle, WA

Huard: Rams’ trade a ‘direct’ response to Seattle Seahawks

Published

11 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Huard: Rams’ trade a ‘direct’ response to Seattle Seahawks

One of the Seattle Seahawks’ biggest rivals delivered the first big shockwaves of the 2026 offseason.

Why Salk ‘blanched’ at a Seahawks Maxx Crosby trade proposal

Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a deal that would send four draft picks to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for All-Pro cornerback and former UW Huskies standout Trent McDuffie, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday morning.

McDuffie, who is entering the final season of his rookie contract, is expected to sign a long-term extension with the Rams, according to Schefter.

Shortly after the news broke, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard gave his reaction on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

“This feels like a direct move to match up with JSN and the Seahawks,” Huard said.

Widely considered to be the two best teams in the NFL this past season, the Seahawks and Rams squared off in three epic battles, capped by Seattle’s 31-27 win over Los Angeles in the NFC Championship.

Over those three games, the Rams’ shaky secondary struggled to contain NFL receiving leader and AP Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks star wideout totaled 27 catches for 354 yards and two touchdowns across those three matchups, including 10 catches for 153 yards and a TD in the NFC title game.

Smith-Njigba also had a career-high 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns in an overtime loss to the Rams in 2024.

“It’s kind of like an old NBA world,” Huard said. “Like, alright, we know we’re gonna have to deal with Jordan or we’re gonna have to deal with Pippen or we’re gonna have to deal with Bird. Like, how do we match up? And (the Rams) know that that was the one area – in their back seven – that could not match up.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation at this link or in the audio player in the middle of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks offseason coverage

• What Brock Huard makes of Seahawks’ Ken Walker situation
• A possible replacement if Seahawks don’t re-sign Walker
• Huard: Jobe is most likely free agent the Seattle Seahawks re-sign
• Report: Seattle Seahawks not tendering restricted FA Jake Bobo
• The Seattle Seahawks’ risks with Walker set to be free agent

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Seattle, WA

Seattle leaders mark 100 days until FIFA World Cup with artwork, security plans

Published

23 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Seattle leaders mark 100 days until FIFA World Cup with artwork, security plans

The countdown to the FIFA World Cup hit a milestone Tuesday, approximately 100 days from the start of the global soccer tournament, which is being played this time in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Seattle is one of 16 host cities for the tournament, with the first game at Lumen Field scheduled for June 15.

Seattle-area hosts could net $3,800 as Airbnb eyes home sharing for FIFA World Cup fans

City leaders at a press conference on Tuesday described specific changes underway to welcome an estimated 750,000 people during the six matches, from adding new artwork in downtown to bolstering security.

“Our aim is actually to revitalize, reinvigorate, rejuvenate the downtown core,” Seattle World Cup Organizing Committee CEO Peter Tomozawa stated.

People who take a trip through downtown Seattle will see that part of that work has started in anticipation of the World Cup, with 53 colorful paintings on the columns of the monorail, showcasing the flags of the countries of the competing teams.

“In just 100 days, people will come back to Seattle and will be using the system to travel back and forth to various events related to [the] FIFA World Cup,” Seattle Monorail Services Megan Ching said.

“The visitors who are coming here for the World Cup are already booking their trips: where to stay, how to get around and what to explore,” added Jorge Gotuzzo with Visit Seattle.

Darkalinos restaurant hopes the events planned for Pioneer Square will convince new customers to return beyond the tournament.

“The summer season is what keeps us going,” General Manager Crystal Hernandez told KOMO News. “We’re going to have a beer garden in the plaza. There will be some live music outside.”

Behind the scenes, work continues to plan for crowd control and security. That means round table meetings and partnerships at the international, federal, state and local levels.

Iran’s participation in Seattle World Cup match up in the air following US strikes

“We’ve been working on the security plan for over three years,” Tomozawa explained. “We hired former SPD Chief John Diaz to design the plan and I have to say this is one of our highest priorities, for sure.”

Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes adds that businesses are eager to build on the success of the recent Seahawks Super Bowl parade. He said there will be watch parties for the matches at Westlake, Pacific Place and along the waterfront.

“Seattle’s a big event town, and we can do it well and produce a lot of joy for hundreds of thousands of people,” Scholes stated.

The World Cup Organizing Committee mentioned Seattle’s walkability makes it a great location for the tournament. It’s why they also announced a new walking path to connect multiple neighborhoods that will stay beyond the summer.

Seattle to host 4 free FIFA World Cup 2026 fan celebration venues starting June 11

It’s called the Unity Loop, runs about four-and-a-quarter miles and will connect the stadiums, waterfront, Seattle Center, Westlake and the CID, but no specifics were provided.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle police arrest man accused of throwing rocks at cars and buses, injuring two

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Seattle police arrest man accused of throwing rocks at cars and buses, injuring two

SEATTLE — A 36-year-old man was arrested after Seattle police say he threw rocks at passing cars in South Seattle early Tuesday, shattering a truck window and injuring a couple in their 50s.

Patrol officers responded at 12 a.m. to reports of a man hurling rocks near Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street.

SEE ALSO | 3 hurt after late-night crash sends car into north Seattle auto parts store

Police said they found the couple with facial injuries after their truck window shattered. Firefighters treated both victims at the scene, and the couple then drove to a nearby hospital for further treatment.

Officers found the suspect nearby and arrested him. According to the police report, the man made “multiple threats to shoot officers in the head and kick and punch officers before and after being placed into custody.”

Police also spoke with a King County Metro transit supervisor who reported that two Metro coaches had damage to their windshields and route destination signs after being struck by rocks. Police said no drivers or passengers were hurt.

More witnesses also told police they saw the suspect throwing rocks at moving vehicles.

Police said the suspect is a convicted felon and was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of assault, malicious mischief, and property destruction. Detectives in the General Investigations Unit are assigned to the case.

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