San Francisco Chinatown

It’s been awhile since my last blog, a few life moment along the way with the Thanksgiving Holiday. I just wanted to catch up on our visit to San Francisco. We got up early Thursday morning and headed to the cable car station. The smell of the fresh sourdough bread being baked at Boudin’s along Fisherman’s Wharf was exhilarating . A short 15 min walk and we were at the cable station.

We boarded the Powell & Hyde Street Cable car and descended through the streets of San Francisco After a 15 min ride we entered the heart of Chinatown.

Here is some of the history of San Francisco Chinatown. San Francisco’s Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia as well as the oldest Chinatown in North America. This neighborhood is famous for its lively maze of streets and alleys, bursting with dim sum restaurants and other traditional eateries. 

The first Chinese laborers started to settle in San Francisco in 1848. As immigrants, they were often faced with violence and many neighborhoods did not want them. After finding a safe place in San Francisco, the area evolved, and shops were built around Sacramento Street. Nowadays, it is easy to spend the day here browsing the shops, bakeries, and even karaoke bars. There are richly decorated temples in this district, including the monumental Tin How, and the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum.

With almost 95,000 people living in only 24 blocks, Chinatown is the densest as well as one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Francisco.

Once off the cable cars we started to walk down Sacramento Street, the shops were lined with so many vendors selling both fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood and meats. Many restaurants and food establishments lined the both sides of the streets , There were lots of items I had never seen before, and l some that had me do a few double takes. I found the vendors courteous but the shoppers were ignorant on personal hygiene. ( these fuckers, spit and smoked everywhere). Some of the markets vendors don’t have the same level of cleanliness as we do in Canada.

Produce Markets- Its no Freson Brothers but they do have a great selection of items, anything grown in California for the Asian Customers could be found in the shops and stores.

Fish and Meat Markets- Here is where I have some concern, we were there in late Sept on a cool morning. Some of the vendors didn’t have proper refrigerated areas. These vendors sold everything, from Fish to Turtles. The meat markets were better than the fish markets. If you have a weak stomach wet markets can be a bit difficult.

The highlight for me was all the little eating establishments. the different types of Dim Sum, the BBQ Houses. I just wish i could have more time to experience all the sight and sounds. If you are a fan of Asian Cuisine and History , San Francisco Chinatown is worth a full day to explore. Monica and myself walked most of Chinatown, weaving in and out of alleys and shops.

I big shout out to Monica for hanging out with me in Chinatown. Any local market always excites me, I can’t wait to come back and spend more time here. The Street Dim Sum was so reasonable priced even the bottled water was only a dollar. Just the history in the buildings and the rebuild after earthquakes and fires can’t stop these resilient people on building and sharing their heritage.