In the early 1900s Angel Island in San Francisco bay saw 1 million Asian immigrants pass through and enter the US. Many settled right in the city and today it has one of the largest Asian populations in the country and the biggest Chinatown outside of Asia.
Start your tour by walking through the Dragon’s Gate [Bush St & Grant Ave., San Francisco, CA 94108] onto the densely populated Grant Ave dotted with oriental gift shops and restaurants.
The street art is perfectly aligned with the motif of the area.
Some old school kitsch put a smile on my face.
Stop for a free tasting at Vital Tea Leaf [1044 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133].
Midday it was hushed inside and I was treated to a personal mini tea lesson tailored to my body type.
Deviate from the main drag and head to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory [56 Ross Alley, San Francisco, CA 94108] and watch the fresh cookies rolling off of the machine. For over 40 years the establishment has been pumping out cookies, now 20,000 are handmade a day. Try a sample and you can purchase giant fortune cookies, make your own fortune cookies, and chocolate fortune cookies.
Next time I visit (with an appetite!) I want to try out some dim sum and grab an egg tart. I also want to enter the Tin How Temple [125 Waverly Pl, San Francisco, CA 94108] which was closed for renovations. It is the oldest Taoist temple in SF founded in 1910 dedicated to the Chinese seagoddess Mazu and there is a top floor balcony which gives a vista out into Chinatown!