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* 

So Blessed. So Thankful.

Every year my family and I -- at least 18+ of us -- gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a day guaranteed to fill our bellies with lots of food and drinks, and overflow our souls with love and laughter.

This year was no different.

The food was abundant, the drinks (my fruity concoction and Cassie's delicious cranberry citrus sangria) were delicious, and the company was perfect. The usual suspects -- the Sanchez's, Roque's, Manliguez squared, Requireme's -- were all in attendance but we also added our new families -- the Walden's, Harris', Harvey's, and Austin. It was a beautiful blend of cultures and humanity and a night flushed with lots of wonderful memories.

But unlike years past, our Thanksgiving morning was different.

That morning we took in feeding the homeless through a wonderful organization called www.gobblegooblegive.org . Through God's grace, I happened to visit my friend Mina's facebook page about two weeks ago and noticed she had posted an article about ways to make a difference during the holiday season. This organization was listed in the article and I immediately signed myself up along with Tommy, Chey, Angela, Joshua, Eugene, Mark and Cassie.

I stayed up late the night before to make creamed corn, a sweet potato casserole along with biscuits to bring to the event, which is made possible through potluck donations and volunteers. Along with our dishes we brought bags full of barely worn coats that were no longer being used, brand new toothbrush kits and an extra special care package sent by cousin Beulah who couldn't join us because of work. When we arrived at the event in Echo Park, we passed off our donations and immediately had our cars filled with boxed meals, clothes and personal hygiene products -- all ready to be passed out to out homeless brothers and sisters.

Seeing the long line of cars waiting to be filled warmed my heart.
Seeing the droves of people lined up to sign in and help the "conveyor belt" of organizers inside the center made me smile.
Seeing so many people walk up with homemade dishes and bags full of clothes made me realize there is still a lot of good in this fast moving world that often crushes those left behind in its path.

With three cars full, we set off with simple instructions, "find the needy."

I rode in the car with Tommy, Mark and Eugene and with eight eyes wide open we cruised through the downtown LA district in hopes to find the needy and brighten up their day.

Slowly we found them and learned what to look for, their appearances all so similar -- disheveled often stained clothing, uncombed hair, some looking through trash cans, some sitting silently on the sidewalk with glassy eyes, and many pushing their entire lives in a cart before them.

"Would you like a meal?" It was what we figured was the most appropriate way to serve them.

Initially, we came across some who were hesitant, likely because they had already been given one of the styrofoam cased meals or some with their minds lost to our words. But slowly, we found those who jumped at our offer.

We drove throughout L.A. that morning, passing out at least 15 meals, many pieces of fruit, several articles of clothing and tons of soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes and other products.  Gifts of simplicity that carried so much value. About 45-minutes into our trek, we dropped by Smart and Final and purchased a case of bottled water because it just didn't seem appropriate to serve these meals without a drink. We wanted "our people" to receive a full meal, a Thanksgiving meal.

Emblazoned in my mind was a Latina I came across that morning who was picking up pieces of glass off the sidewalk. Why? I don't really know. Perhaps she was picking up the glass to avoid hurting her feet, which were shoeless and only covered with worn down socks. When we offered her food she motioned for us to lay it on a nearby ledge, unable to speak English she only nodded her head.  When I looked at her picking up those pieces of glass, I wondered if she had a family, and if that family knew she was living on the street ... picking up glass, without any shoes. Watching her hastily pick up those shards of glass made my heart ache, and seeing her scurry away wearing only socks made me feel guilty for all the hundreds of pairs of shoes that sit in my garage -- many of them yet to be worn. This woman's face has left an imprint on my mind -- her piercing eyes filled with desperation intermixed with the spirit of fight.

That morning I learned how much in my life I take for granted -- the roof over my head, my closet bursting with clothes, the abundance of food in our house and the warmness of my bed every night. These are things that have always been there since I was little, but it never really occurred to me that these things that can so easily be taken away in the blink of an eye.

I am lucky.

I also realized that faith and hope will never die even in the darkest corners of life. I cannot count how many blessings I received that morning, but they were plentiful and I am so deeply grateful for every single one of them.

"God bless you."

"You are an angel."

"May God always be with you."

"Peace and blessings to you."

" I knew someone was coming today! You are spoiling us!"

These words came with the most beautiful smiles attached to sparkling eyes. It touched the depths of my soul to see their faces light up when we handed them a meal and received such sincere appreciation in return.

My eyes filled with tears so many times that morning and at one point I simply turned to Tommy and said ... "I'm sad." There really was no other way to put it. When you see people with so little, their entire life in a cart, a bag or simply on their person, it makes you realize how hard this world can be. It makes you realize just how lucky you are for every meal, every gift, every opportunity that comes your way.

We merely passed out boxed meals that day, but the thanks and blessings we received in return felt like we had just handed off a million dollars ... one at a time.

It is so hard to put into words what I felt that morning, but it encompassed lessons of love, faith, hope and charity. And I can honestly say, when I gathered with my family that night for Thanksgiving dinner, I was more grateful than I have ever been before.

This Christmas my family and I plan to volunteer at the LA Mission to help feed the needy on Christmas Eve, just like we did last year.

But this year, our Christmas Day will be different.

The Thanksgiving event has inspired us to organize our own rendition of gobblegobblegive. Through the donations of food, gifts, clothing and money we hope to receive from friends and family -- we are going to hit the LA streets once again with cars full of food and gifts. We honestly can't think of a better way to spend our Christmas morning. We hope and pray our event will be a success, and with God's blessing, it will be the start of a Christmas Day tradition that will continue for years to come ...

* If you are interested in participating in our Christmas Day event by volunteering, donating items, or contributing money toward our purchase of food, containers, hygiene products, etc., please send me a message. We greatly appreciate all the help we can get!