Karaoke Ch’i at the Yen Wor Garden
By Stephen Whitener
Hello karaoke goers! Stephen, the singing geek, back-atcha with a review of the Yen Wor Garden in north Seattle!
I am always looking for new and great places to get my singing on. For a couple months my friend Pete had been telling me of this great place called the Yen Wor. He loved going there for karaoke.
Well, I hadn’t been on a journey to Seattle in some months and decided it was time to pack up the van and head south an hour and a half or so.
Luckily traffic wasn’t bad for a Saturday night, so I arrived at the Yen Wor about 8:30pm. Pete had told me that the place tends to fill up quickly. I got myself a drink, and got situated with my girlfriend and a karaoke book. Of good size, there were thousands of tunes, old and new, in the book. I put a slip in and was glad I did, because this place filled up faster than Rosie O’ Donnell at an all-you-can-eat buffet!
Sean, aka: DJ Soul, got things started off with some Eminem, which really got the crowd going. The sound system here is great, everyone was constantly up and on the dance floor.
The Yen Wor is a smaller restaurant, but they do have a nice little stage to assure the singers are the center of attention amidst a large swarm of people.
Even if you weren’t singing that night, there were a lot of real characters in the crowd to amuse. One woman who stood out was wearing her hair in a messy bun with black rim glasses, acid wash jeans and matching jean jacket, decked out with Bedazzler jewerly!
There is a great variety of age groups here as well, ranging from people who just turned twenty-one to people who are card-carrying AARP members. We enjoyed the curiously named singers, including “Mullet” and “Vanilla Latte” who performed that night.
A bit later, several friends that I hadn’t seen in months walked in and joined the festivities. We had to yell across the table at one another because of the amount of people here. The Yen Wor was filled to the rim!
The one detraction from the night was the rotation. I got to sing two songs that night from 9pm to 1:30am in at least a 25+ rotation – crazy sauce!
The staff at the Yen Wor is extremely friendly and happy to accommodate.
DJ Soul was also very pleasant and kept a high-energy pace. Patient, despite a constant stream of singers asking when they’d be singing next.
My girlfriend and I enjoyed some almond chicken and egg rolls for dinner. The food was tasty, and just what I needed after a long drive on an empty stomach.
The Yen Wor Garden features karaoke seven nights a week with a couple rotating KJs.
Pete told me that the middle of the week is sometimes the best time to go because the crowds are down and you’ll probably sing three to four times.
If you work crazy shifts, like me in retail, then a mid-week journey here might be the best for you. I give the Yen Wor four out of five stars as a karaoke outting. It’s a great place to meet up with a group of friends and have a fun night out!
Yen Wor Garden is located at 8580 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA. Phone (206) 784-7422 – Cheers!
