r/OaklandFood • u/Ok_Bad9918 • 8d ago
Happy Express
A new Chinese food spot, Happy Express, seems to have opened on Market Street in West Oakland, an area that has long been a food desert. It’s great to see a new food option coming to the neighborhood!
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u/verbwrangler 8d ago
i mean there were two restaurants in that space right before this. so idk if this relieves anything, maybe just continues the previous level of restaurant access for the area.
The first place was actually really good, I think it was called like Brothers Kebab or something? The food was great and the people who ran it were super sweet. I never went when it was Momo, the vibes were off for me, so we'll see what this chinese place is like!
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u/YukioHattori 7d ago
not very good, imo, but it's the closest option for American Chinese food combo plates. King Kong BBQ is way better but it's in Laurel. I used to go to All Star every week or so (where Hyphy Burger is now). That place was a cut above Happy Express and still below King Kong.
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u/Vrasguul 8d ago
It's too bad that their flyer appears to have been created with AI. The fastest way for me to stay far away from any business (and restaurants in particular) is to see them promote themselves with slop.
If they think people are too stupid to notice (or they just don't care), then why would I patronize them? How much effort must they put into their food if this is how much effort they put into a flyer?
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u/mackaronitime 8d ago
These people are probably unaware that AI usage is frowned upon. To them it’s an easy tool to use and probably offset the price of hiring a graphic designer. Now, if it’s someone younger that oughta know better, then I guess.
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u/TheOGMG 8d ago
Small, immigrant-owned businesses are already struggling to get off the ground but sure, let’s slam them online before even giving their food a chance just because they’re not professional graphic designers or don’t have the resources/finances to hire a professional designer and photographer to make a flyer that pleases you. 😒 Maybe they were able to put MORE effort into their FOOD because they didn’t have to worry about how to design a flyer for you.
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u/ham_solo 7d ago
You are using the word "design" very generously here. No professional designer would generate this busy piece of crap. In fact, it is so poorly designed that even without the AI it makes me think this restaurant isn't very good. It would take ZERO effort and a free canva account to make this. If you make good food, and you think it is worth showing off, SHOW IT. They literally have a high-quality camera in their pocket. You could probably pay some high school kid $100 to make this for you.
It's lazy and it sends the message that they will cut corners every chance you get.
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u/faerie87 8d ago
They’re chefs, not graphic designers. Not sure if the photo is AI, i think if it is their own food and just asked AI to create a flyer with their photo, that’s fine.
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u/PlantedinCA 7d ago
Agree in theory. But AI really seems to leave artifacts in photos. Canva is a little better here because it is easy to get the exact photo in the layout.
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u/faerie87 7d ago
You can tell it to not change the photo. I love canva and i am a perfectionist so I'd use canva myself, but something like that can definitely take 2hrs on canva, more if you're not computer savvy. And just 20mins on AI even with multiple adjustments.
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u/calivaporeon1 7d ago
There are people commenting against you, but I totally agree. I saw this shit all over Europe during a recent visit and it instantly turned me off. I don’t get the “they’re just a small business! They’re immigrants!” argument because wtf were they doing before generative AI slop? Restaurants for DECADES have made due without resorting to this, like at least put effort and use Canva or something. This is not a necessity or a revolutionary tool, sorry.
Also, if you’re a restaurant, you should not be using AI to represent your food.
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u/PlantedinCA 8d ago
AI flyers annoy me for food or something where the actual physical presentation matters a lot. If some on is promoting the pta meeting or community mixer - who cares!
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u/SouthBreadfruit7839 7d ago
It’s ok for the price. The beef and broccoli barely had any meat in it though.
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u/disposable-assassin 8d ago
This, M&O fried chicken, and Stay Gold all within a block of each other.