Happy Food

"Chinese restaurant in Little Saigon known as one of the neighborhood’s best new restaurants closed after less than a year." - Harry Cheadle

"At 12th and Jackson, regulars happily return to Happy Food for reasonably priced meals served with a warm smile in a homey atmosphere. Fish filets float in a sauce of fragrant housemade scallion oil that compels people to reach for another scoop of the self-service rice. Cabbage comes rustically stir-fried in large pieces, available “plain” or spiked with vinegar, and the stir-fried green beans pack the punch of ya cai (a type of preserved mustard green). Especially popular are the braised pork intestines, cut large for extra chewiness and mixed with meaty king oyster mushrooms, cooked to the requested level of spiciness." - Jay Friedman

"At 12th and Jackson, regulars happily return to Happy Food for reasonably priced meals served with a warm smile in a homey atmosphere. Fish filets float in a sauce of scallion oil that compels people to reach for another scoop of the self-service rice. Cabbage comes rustically stir-fried in large pieces, available “plain” or spiked with vinegar, and the stir-fried green beans pack the punch of ya cai (a type of preserved mustard green). Especially popular are the braised pork intestines, cut large for extra chewiness and mixed with meaty king oyster mushrooms, cooked to the requested level of spiciness." - Jay Friedman

"Run entirely by a single chef, this quiet spot in Little Saigon has some incredible dishes. She goes by Chef Ye to her regulars, but her full name is Aifang Ye. The Happy Food owner hails from Taizhou, a coastal town in Zhejiang Province, and she brings a variety of dishes she ate in Taizhou, prepared with her own spin. The menu is simple and understated, with dishes like stir-fried green beans, fish filets in house-made scallion oil, rustically stir-fried cabbage, braised pork intestines with King oyster mushrooms, and doughy delights like pumpkin mantou and dumplings. The restaurant has a home-style vibe, the food is reasonably priced and served with a warm smile." - Jay Friedman