On Friday nights, you’ll find me feasting on Asian food in Seattle’s International District, locally known as “the ID.” With the company of four adventurous friends, we make up the “Jackson Five” – so called because the main East-West drag through the ID is Jackson Street.

The ID is a thriving, mixed ethnic neighborhood that has a shiny new gate, and a scattering of new buildings squeezed in between the ID’s old brick mid-rises – buildings that were home to Japanese general stores, flop houses, and benevolent societies. Hipster Japanese kids share the sidewalks with freaky people, hard luck cases, tourists, sports fans headed to or from the nearby stadiums, and residents who are there for the shopping.

The ID changes all the time – my favorite dim sum place is now something different and untried, and that tiny burrito counter now serves Vietnamese soup – so it’s impossible to get tired of the ID.

Here are a few of my favorite places in Seattle’s International District.

Kobo at Higo on Jackson sells pretty household items – vases, placemats, original artwork, books, a variety of whatever the Japanese word is for ‘chatckas.’ The merchandise is stylish, even the kids toys. Higo used to be a general store stuffed to the ceiling with flip flops, plastic kitchen items, soup bowls, cleaning supplies… During the shameful period when we interned our Japanese citizens, Higo was run by a Jewish friend of the family. He handed the store back intact when the family was released. The owners have integrated some of the traces of the general store into the current decor, hat mannequins, attractive shoe boxes, display cases, so it still has a touch of the old time about it. Kobo is at 604 Jackson Street.

The Teahouse at the Panama Hotel was built in 1910 and if you look through the floor – there’s a thick glass plate at the back – you’ll see into the basement where the Japanese bathhouse once was. The space is lofty and elegant and, like Higo, acknowledges the past residents. Go for tea. The Panama Hotel is at 607 Main Street.

The menu at Hing Loon isn’t just on the table, it’s on the handwritten signs that cover nearly every available space on the walls. The food flies out of the kitchen – country style pancake with shrimp, radish with fish ball, any number of things you’ve never heard of and can’t imagine. Their green onion pancakes are just about perfect and the salt and pepper squid is a personal favorite. Make no mistake, this place is dive with zero ambiance, but the waitresses are cheerful, the food is delicious and last time I was there, they handed out sesame balls with the fortune cookies and your bill. Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant is at 628 Weller Street.

I never get tired of Saigon Bistro, a little further up Jackson in a shopping complex with the world’s worst parking lot. Saigon Bisto makes terrific pho – Vietnamese noodle soup – and their crepes are some of the best I’ve had. These aren’t European style crepes – there are bean sprouts and shrimp and other yummy things folded into the batter, then they’re served on a big tray with lettuce to wrap your bites in. Get coffee, too, Vietnamese coffee is served with condensed milk so it’s thick and sweet and oh so delicious. Saigon Bistro is at 1032 Jackson Street.

Pam Mandel is a freelance writer in Seattle, Washington. She blogs about travel and other adventures at Nerd’s Eye View.