On Monday, March 9, Gan Bei Bar and Eatery celebrated seven years of bringing hearty meals, flowing drinks, and endless nights of community and song to the Chinatown International District (CID). The beloved neighborhood spot held its anniversary celebration from 4 p.m. until closing time, decorating the space head to toe with gleaming streamers, garlands of hearts, and crinkling balloons.
Although this particular Monday marked a special occasion, Monday nights at Gan Bei are always a lively affair. They are the first of the establishment’s two weekly karaoke nights, running from 9 p.m. until closing, and on Thursdays, from 8 p.m. until closing. On the evening of the party, the space was, as per usual, jam-packed—pun intended—with regulars and newcomers alike singing a mix of heavy metal ballads, rousing duets, 2000s anthems, and more.
The celebration was headed up by Gan Bei’s owner, Yen Ma, along with the family of bartenders and kitchen crew who bring spirit and life to Gan Bei. Ma first took over ownership of the space at the end of 2018, after a few years of working at the restaurant—formerly known as Y & A Cafe—under her family’s collective management. Her mother had bought the restaurant from a friend in its original form of a traditional Hong Kong bistro. Initially, Ma’s family had decided to maintain the style and menu of the original restaurant under a new name.
It is common for many traditional Chinese restaurants to preserve a restaurant’s menu through a transition of ownership out of a desire to maintain customers and stability. When Ma took over the establishment, she seized the opportunity to reinvent. It was somewhat of a leap of faith, but it has paid off in the intervening years.
One of Ma’s most inventive decisions was to transition the establishment from food-only to an eatery and bar. While maintaining a menu of largely traditional Cantonese dishes, she and the kitchen staff at Gan Bei have developed and perfected their menu items, ensuring that there is something for everyone who visits Gan Bei—from vegetarians to meat-lovers, spice-averse to spice-fiend, solo passersby looking for a steaming comfort meal to large groups settling in for a family-style spread to share into the night. Gan Bei’s menu includes traditional items, classics with a twist, and completely unique and innovative flavor pairings, and Ma is open to dishes being revised or overhauled when new ideas come into play. Ma has also brought in a few items from her history working at other bars and restaurants, like Hello Kitty shots, a sweet and sharp combination of Calpico, watermelon, and rum, carried over from the first bar she ever worked at.
Another major development at Gan Bei in the last seven years was the introduction of karaoke nights. Ma first introduced karaoke to Gan Bei after COVID restrictions began lifting in 2021, an effort to reinvigorate the community in the CID. Karaoke nights were originally run by the bartenders at Gan Bei in a more casual manner, limited to regulars of the establishment. Toward the end of 2021, Ma looped in local Karaoke Jockey, or KJ, Hoden (also known as KJ Goldenhoden). From 2017 to 2019, Hoden previously hosted karaoke at the original Bush Garden, another iconic and cherished neighborhood establishment and gathering place for politicians, organizers, and other community members, and known to many as the first karaoke bar in America.
Karaoke at Gan Bei began picking up steam within six months to a year of Hoden’s initiation as a weekly host, and she has seen the karaoke community grow immensely since. Her favorite part of “KJ’ing” at Gan Bei is witnessing the community support, not only of her as a host but of each other. “[Gan Bei] brings people together,” she said. “The uniqueness of Gan Bei is that a lot of the old school people come in too, and there’s just a sense of respect for the community and its elders.”
Hoden hosted karaoke every Monday and Thursday for nearly five years, until KJ Tobias Huston joined the scene in November of 2025. Huston had walked past Gan Bei last winter and taken a photo of the exterior on a whim, drawn in by its dive bar energy through the window and vowing to return on another day. He came back for a Monday night karaoke session and instantly felt at home. “It almost felt like [Gan Bei] was saying ‘welcome back’ for the first time,” noted Huston, feeling a warmth and ease that reflected experiences in Asian countries and other spaces across the CID. Monday and Thursday night karaoke became a routine affair for the talented vocalist, and Huston was invited to begin KJ’ing at Gan Bei weekly on Mondays.
KJs generally carry the responsibilities of running music and equipment, but the KJs at Gan Bei go the extra mile. Both Hoden and Huston hold the gift of being able to jump into virtually any karaoke song, whether at the behest of nervous patrons looking for vocal support, or passionate singers seeking equally passionate duet partners.
The quality of jumping in for support without hesitation embodies the spirit of Gan Bei. Bartenders and patrons at Gan Bei show a constant willingness not only to quickly join in on karaoke songs, but to offer meal recommendations, small scoops of their own dishes to taste, captivating stories from their lives and days in the CID, and more, to regulars and strangers alike. These acts of hospitality and kindness speak to the uniquely communal and familial quality of Gan Bei that is key to its popularity and adoration. Bartender Cory Castagno describes the space as having grown to be a community “living room” of sorts for the neighborhood–a space where people can come at the end of a long day and unwind with food, drink, and conversation with whomever might be around. Huston described the feeling as being able to “take your shoes off,” in a figurative sense.
Over the years, the community has remained steadfast in maintaining the life of Gan Bei. When Castagno started working at Gan Bei, he was grateful for the way Gan Bei and its regulars were eager to help him through the learning process. His first experiences bartending were at Gan Bei, and the community did not hesitate to support his growth. “Regulars who had been coming here for years and had a drink order that wasn’t typical of our bar would teach me how to make [the drink]…they would walk me through it very gracefully, without any judgement.”
The spirit of community was in full display during the eatery’s seven-year celebration in the form of a fundraising bake sale, a spread of Rice Krispie treats, brownies, chocolate-covered strawberries, and more goods for sale. Funds are being raised by a team of the staff and regulars at Gan Bei in support of Blood Cancer United, working towards treatments and therapies for blood cancer patients. You can donate to the group’s fundraiser here: https://pages.lls.org/bigclimb/wa/bigclimbseattle26/team6pack
In the CID, security and stability are never taken for granted. The community has fought for survival long through its history, facing constant tribulations such as gentrification and displacement and requiring a strong sense of community support for survival and meeting basic needs. In addition, the neighborhood sees influxes of visitors during summers and times of increased tourism, which can interrupt the regular flow of life in the neighborhood. Em Halladay Ptacek Choi, a Gan Bei regular and expert on the nightlife and history of the CID, emphasizes the importance and value of maintaining spaces like Gan Bei that have been established points of return despite any fluctuation of surroundings. “It’s incredibly valuable to have a space we know is ours to feel comfortable and safe and have fun in.”
The cherry on top of Gan Bei’s seventh anniversary celebration was a toast from Ma, who poured a round of tropical shots and passed them around to the crowd at the end of the night. She thanked the lot for showing up to the celebration despite a lack of publicity for the event.
Arguably, there was no need for publicity. As long as Gan Bei continues to exist for the community, the community will continue to show up for Gan Bei. Invoking the establishment’s name—which literally translates to “dry cup,” “cheers,” or “bottoms up” in Mandarin—the crowd raised their glasses in celebration. Here’s to many more years of life and love at Gan Bei!
