Fabulous Finds Friday: The Happy House Seafood Restaurant

Coming from a Filipino family, it's almost predetermined in your DNA that you will grow up a "foodie" AKA person who doesn't eat to live, but rather lives to eat! HOLLA!!!! (Please note: this excitement for food also comes with 10 pounds that I will always need to lose, lol.) So of course it was only apropos that I marry a man whose family is equally devoted to the splendor of food :)

Tommy and I love a lot of the same things, but one thing that was stamped in permanent ink from the moment we met was that we both lurrrrved good food. And you can only imagine my delight the first time I ate at his parents house and realized his mom can put her foot in it when it comes to making anything and everything!!! Case in point the most recent "care package" she sent home to me via a Tommy visit.

Ahhh yes Internet, that is an entire pan of coma-inducing-because-it-taste-so-good Mac-n-Cheese and lick-your-fingers-to-savor-the-taste Maryland style crab cakes (tons more crabmeat than breading) a la D. Walden!! And yes Internet, it was even more delicious than it looks ...

So after sharing many a meals together, about a year into our relationship, I introduced Tommy to dim sum at my favorite local Chinese food restaurant ~ The Happy House Seafood Restaurant (formerly known as Ten-Ten Restaurant).

For those unfamiliar with this delicious Chinese treat ... dim sum is a dining experience that normally occurs in the late morning to early afternoon where tons of quick little dishes are served on carts throughout the restaurant. Think of it as fast food on wheels, but 100 times better!!! The concept of getting food served to you in less than a minute, instantly captured Tommy's heart, kinda like watching his first sporting event in HD -- a momentous occasion that made his eyes light up like NY's Times Square. And when he tasted the yummy goodness of some of my favorite dim sum dishes and then saw it was only $1.99 to $3.00 a dish -- he was sold. Like, $100 for a brand new Lexus sold.

Some of our favorite dim sum delights include: the Shrimp Hargow, Seaweed Eggrolls (a must-have), Seaweed Salad, Shrimp Wontons (my fav), and the Pork and Shrimp Shu Mai.

And what makes it even better is that they also have discounted weekday lunch prices for their wonderfully vast selection of entrees, including our personal favs -- the Salt and Pepper Squid (AWESOMELY ADDICTIVE!!!!), Chicken and Broccoli (great if you're trying to eat healthy), Beef Lo Mein, Beef Chow Fun, Crispy Chicken Noodles, Mongolian Beef, Garlic and Crab with Sauteed Garlic and Scallions, and Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce.

One dish that was recommended to us by their manager, Ed, is their Cubed Beef Filet with French Mushrooms -- it's the most tender/melts-in-your-mouth beef served with mushrooms, carrots and snow peas topped with the most delectable sauce that is flavored with a twinge of salty and sweet goodness. This is sort of our splurge dish, something we eat when we're starving and have had a good and productive work week :) So it's kind of like a deep tissue massage for our bellies, lol.

I can honestly say that everything we've had here has left us pleasantly satisfied and of course their great lunch and dim-sum prices can't be beat. Tommy, Chey and I can feast for about $20-$25 during their weekday lunch hour and still have lots of leftovers!

And while their food is incredibly good, this place also has the nicest staff -- some of whom my entire family considers friends. Since our first experience at Happy House, we became regulars to the point that Ed and our favorite servers -- Ken and Sergio -- come and talk to us about life, work, the Lakers and always hook us up with either a dim sum dish, desserts or drinks on the house.

 

The wonderful staff sitting down for lunch during the afternoon lull.

One time Ed even prepared a special pot of Chinese tea for us, which apparently cost about $100 a kettleful in China. So you can imagine how we slurped it up with utter delight and thanked him profusely for his generosity. Their staff has also watched Cheyenne grow up through the years, so whenever we come in without her, they immediately ask "where's my girl?" It's the cutest thing :)

Needless to say, we love this place for its food, atmosphere and people. But also because this is where Tommy dropped to one knee during a late night dinner on Dec. 23, 2006, and proposed to me. Obviously, I said yes with tears streaming down my face and to my surprise our families and a some of our closest friends came from behind a private room and congratulated us. Chey was not in on the surprise so she was crying buckets just like me. We then had a wonderful dinner full of our favorites and Tommy's late grandfather even serenaded us over dinner. Ed and the entire staff made sure our evening went off without a hitch and it was truly perfect. Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures because the camera that was used was later lost :( But we will always gave our happy memories!!!

The table where Tommy proposed, except it was round and had a white linens that night, lol.

  

Happy House will always be special to us, but it will always be one of our favorite restaurants because of their great and reasonably priced food, friendly staff and lovely atmosphere and ambiance.

So the next time you're in the mood for some dim sum or simply looking to indulge in some wonderful Chinese food, check out "The Happy House" in Artesia ~ after just one visit, you'll leave with a smile on your face and realize that that this place really does live up to its name!

Ok maybe, not this corny of a smile, lol.

 

The Happy House Seafood Restaurant

18868 Norwalk Blvd.

Artesia, CA 90702

(562) 402-2428

*dine-in or order to go* 

My Valentine for the 11th time

We met each other in an AOL chatroom in January of 1999. I was "Sam007562" and he was "WuJunior." Of course neither one of us would have ever guessed those late night instant messages between us would slowly fertilize the soil of what would eventually grow into an 11-year relationship.

After chatting online for about two months, we both inexplicably changed our screenames. I became "MSam007562" and he, "WuJuniorX." And yet we managed to find each other again in a world of a million usernames and thousands of chatrooms. And though we hadn't communicated in about a month, the $hit talking between us picked up right where it had left off.

I should have known then, it was meant to be ...

Over the weekend we celebrated our 11th Valentine's Day together, nothing flashy at all. We spent the day relaxing at home, watching the NBA All-Star game and made dinner together. He reminded me it's been his tradition to make me dinner on Valentine's :) He grilled NY steaks and made some Cheddar and Broccoli rice while I sauteed some veggies. I know it sounds so simple and boring, but it was truly perfect. And it's the only way I would have wanted it.

I don't think you need a day like Valentine's Day to realize how much your loved ones mean to you, but seeing all the "Be Mine" candies, "I love you" bears and red-adorned decor everywhere does make you reflect on all the love you have in your life.

So in honor of this "holiday" that celebrates love ...

 I love my husband for knowing me better than anyone else and in spite of all my flaws and faults ...

... he still loves me unconditionally, or at least he acts like it :)

I love that we save our goofiest moments for each other.

And even when we're borderline idiots, we're still attracted to each other.

 

In fact, he totally thinks I'm at my prettiest during moments like this.

Thousands of IMs later, millions of minutes on the phone, tons of "You Got Mail" alerts, and millions of text messages later, we still talk, share everything with one another and listen to each other. Well at least he fakes like he does :)

Eleven years later, Tommy is still my best friend and makes me laugh everyday.

I love him and he loves me ... it sounds so simple, and that's just the way I like it.