Happy Family offers flavor appeal

Why: Happy Family Restaurant, which serves Chinese and American cuisine, broadened its reach with the opening of a second location in November in the former Firkin and Frog Restaurant and Pub.

Happy Family’s owner, Patricia Chan, said the restaurant’s Pong Pong Chicken sets it apart from other Chinese restaurants in the area. American dishes are limited to burgers, sandwiches, salads and Chicken Fried Steak.

Atmosphere: The decor is largely unchanged since Firkin operated the restaurant, but Happy Family has added some of its own touches, such as artwork. The dining room features red-velvet seating with extensive black trim. The white embossed walls and ceiling are perfectly suited for the new fare, and the bar remains a main anchor of the restaurant. A few large-screen TVs offer a modern flair.

What I tried: I tried the Pong Pong Chicken with the Crab Puff appetizer. My dining companion had the Vegetable Lo Mein with the Sweet & Sour Chicken appetizer. Both of us selected Pork Fried Rice and Egg Flower Soup to round out our combination lunches.

The soup arrived before our entrees and was the least inspiring part of our meal. It was made with peas, carrots, tofu, cabbage, water chestnuts and ground beef, in addition to the egg. It was very thick, as opposed to thin and brothy.

Although the Pong Pong Chicken is denoted as spicy on the menu, I found the level of spice to be limited to just a few parts of the sauce, which contains chili peppers. Diners can order extra heat or request that it be toned down. I found the dish to be very garlicky, with minced, toasted garlic throughout the dark sauce. Much to my delight, the chicken pieces were all tender. Too often, I find coated chicken unappetizingly chewy and hardly edible. In this dish, it’s coated with a flour batter, then deep fried before it’s glazed in the dark sauce. The batter was extremely thick, resulting in a ratio of about 4 parts breading to 1 of chicken. Even so, the exterior of the batter was lightly crisp, and the underside of the coating was soft without being gooey or greasy.

Three Crab Puffs were included with my appetizer. The deep-fried pastries were generously filled with a cream cheese and imitation crab mixture. Though they were what you’d typically find at a midpriced Chinese restaurant, they were good.

My dining companion enjoyed the Vegetable Lo Mein, which is made with plenty of noodles and a generous amount of crispy vegetables that include baby corn, bean sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, snow peas and water chestnuts.

The Sweet & Sour Chicken appetizer was more sweet than sour, unlike the Americanized version which tends to balance sweet with a vinegar-sour. The same sauce was served with my Crab Puffs for dipping. It added an appealing citrus flavor to both dishes.

Although we both ordered Pork Fried Rice, there was a marked difference between our servings. Mine was virtually absent of any add-ins other than very tiny pieces of egg; my dining companion’s included tiny bits of pork as well as a few carrots. The rice had a firm texture and wasn’t greasy.

Overall, the portions and flavors were a good deal for the price.

Other menu highlights beyond what I tried: Another specialty dish at Happy Family is the Crispy Garlic Chicken. Otherwise, the menu offers the dishes that one expects to find at a Chinese restaurant such as lo mein, chow mein and egg foo young. For those who want it, there’s also a senior menu and vegetarian selections.

Other observations: Our server was knowledgeable about menu items and their ingredients as well as friendly and attentive, offering water and tea refills. Our food arrived piping hot. The tall-backed booths provide an intimate dining experience.

Cost: Prices for some dishes are as high as $13.50, but most menu items are less than $10. The Pong Pong Chicken I tried was offered as a “create your own lunch combo,” which includes rice, an appetizer and an entrée with soup for $5.75.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. Bar hours are until midnight Monday through Friday, 1 a.m. on Saturday and 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Telephone: 360-253-7655.

Where: 2714 N.E. 114th Ave., Suite 3, Vancouver.

Health score: Happy Family Restaurant received a score of 15 on Jan 12. Zero is a perfect score, and Clark County Public Health closes restaurants that score 100 or higher. For information, call 360-397-8428.