In one of the more humorous errors ever in the history of CHS corrections, CHS neighbor hobbes84k reported that the new Chinese restaurant opening on 12th Ave was going to celebrate its grand opening with a line dance. Not quite.
Get ready for fireworks, drums and, well, lions. Chungee’s Drink and Eat celebrates its 12th Ave grand opening Saturday with a ‘lion dance’ celebration. Here’s the announcement about Saturday’s fun posted by Chungee’s owners right here on CHS:
Hello! At last we are opening Chungee’s!!!! On Saturday February 13th we will celebrate our grand opening with a Traditional Lion Dance (at 3:00pm) along with beating drums, firecrackers and Lion Dancers bringing good fortune to our new business. This should be pretty cool to watch, with this being the year of the Tiger as well!!! We hope to have lots of folks around and can’t wait to open up! (We will actually be open starting on the 8th but our official lucky Chinese opening will be the 13th) Hope to see you there!!! Tom and Wen
Chungee’s opened this week after replacing Esmeralda at the corner of Denny and 12th. Esmeralda’s owner Robert Abergel, who sold his equipment and lease to Chungee’s, said he hoped the Hill would support the new restaurant. “I’d like them to patronize these new people. The only food I eat out is oriental. There is an art to it and this woman is very, very talented,” Abergel told CHS.
‘This woman’ would be Wen Long. She and partner Tom Farrell are the people behind Chungee’s. Here’s what Farrell told us via the CHS comments:
I’ve worked on First Hill for over 18 years and to be part of a business is a dream come true! We can’t wait to meet more people and if the locals are any indication of how great the area is, then we have entered heaven!
Paul Constant over on the Slog sums it up nicely: “I hope Chungee’s sticks around. It’ll be good to have a late night (open ’til midnight) Chinese food joint with booze on Capitol Hill again.”
UPDATE:
Here’s a look at the day’s fun. I asked owner Farrell if they were planning any specials for tonight’s grand opening menu. “Specials? We’re open!” he said.
I had garlic string beans there the other night… very good stuff. Looking forward to trying some Ma Po Tofu next.
If this place doesn’t deliver – beh.
If it DOES, it will be so amazingly prosperous, it’s actually hard for me to articulate.
The hill NEEDS CHINESE FOOD DELIVERY.
I LOVE Chungees! I’ve been there twice (and watched the Lion Dance – totally cool); this is the perfect little neighborhood bistro for Chinese food. The owners are so friendly, food tastes good and is satisfying (good portions), and it just feels good to be in a positive space that has seen it’s share of failure on the corner of 12th and Denny. Good luck to the folks at Chungees! You’ve got me as a regular. :)