Organization
Happy Asian Fast Food
Happy Asian Fast Food is a Cambodian and Chinese counter-service restaurant in the 72nd Street shopping plaza in Tacoma, Washington.[1][2] The sign on its front reads "Chinese and Cambodian Fast Food," in letters larger than the restaurant's name.[2]
History
The shop opened in late June 2021 in Tacoma's South End, as a new shaved ice and boba tea shop in the plaza that is also home to WinCo Foods.[1] By 2026 it was a five-year-old business run by a small family team of women. That August a server named Rosa said she was buying the restaurant from its retiring owner.[2]
Food
The front of the shop is set up with chafing dishes of Chinese American takeout: chow mein, fried rice, sweet-and-sour chicken and barbecue pork.[2][1] The Cambodian dishes are cooked fresh to order from a separate menu, which diners ask for at the counter.[2]
That menu includes Cambodian beef stew with bread (ខគោនំប៉័ង, kaw kho), made with chuck roast simmered for hours in a base of tomato paste and coconut water with lemongrass, galangal, star anise and cinnamon, and served with French bread.[2] Marinated beef skewers (សាច់ចង្កាក់, such chong kak), often called beef sticks, are thin slices of steak marinated in lemongrass paste and grilled over fire, served five to an order with pickled carrot and daikon.[2] There is also lot cha, chewy rice pin noodles stir-fried with scrambled egg and green onions; banh chao, a crisp egg crêpe tinted with turmeric; beef lok lak, a lightly seared steak; stir-fried student noodles; Khmer noodles with chicken curry; mekathung; and fried catfish.[2][1][3] In 2026 the stew came to the table with a small pot of spicy red kroeung, a sauce of chilis, lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime leaves, turmeric and garlic.[2]
Visiting
It stands next to LA Fitness in the plaza.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The News Tribune, Engine House No. 9, My Philly Tacoma, UP Pho & Teriyaki open (August 2021)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Weekly Volcano, homestyle Cambodian comfort food in the WinCo strip mall (August 2026)
- ↑ The Infatuation, Happy Asian Fast Food review (October 2023)