This Week's Food News Is Less Happy and More Chamorro

Image: Jane Sherman
Hungry for news? Welcome to our Friday Feed, where we run through all the local food and restaurant news this week—and maybe help you figure out where to eat this weekend.
Sad Food: Just over a month ago, we added the Chinatown–International District’s Happy Food to our list of best Chinese restaurants. The restaurant’s fish fillet with scallion oil made our best bites of 2024. But an Instagram post this week announced that Tuesday was the restaurant’s final day in operation. Chef Ye AiFang’s superlatively wonderful renditions of the seafood-based cuisine of Zhejiang and her kind hospitality will be sorely missed.

Image: Naomi Tomky
Friendly Food: Someday, we’ll run out of pandemic-era pizza popups putting down roots and start getting new slice shops, but today is not that day. My Friend Derek’s, which specializes in Detroit-style pies, has announced that it plans to open its location in the former MKT space in Tangletown on January 29. Along with pizzas, the menu offers a Fishy Caesar, with two kinds of fish: anchovies and Goldfish crackers.
Tropical Feasts: On Wednesday, downtown Bellevue got a little more tropical: Pasifika Grill and Bar and accompanying lunch spot Pasifika Express opened inside Hotel 116, from the team behind Renton’s Más Pika. Both restaurants draw on the owners’ Chamorro (Indigenous people of Guam and the Mariana Islands) background to inform their wide-ranging Pacific Island fusion style: The empanadas come orange with Achiote as on Guam, the saimin evokes Hawai’i, and there are Samoan-style sweet breads.
Late-Night Eats: The dark of night just got a little brighter and tastier as Chamorikén Barbacoa settled into a fixed location inside a Capitol Hill bar this week. The Puerto Rican popup (with Chamorro influence, hence the name) now sells its empanadas, sandwiches, and barbecue plates from The Wash daily until the bar closes.
Morning Drinks: Yeobo Cafe and Bar, the gluten-free Korean American comfort food spot in the former Two Doors Down space, began slowly rolling out its menu in soft-opening mode. Starting today, it plans to begin offering breakfast sandwiches, with brunch to follow in February.
Oh, BTW, here’s what you missed last week.