Sampling a Spectrum of Tea in Chinatown in San Francisco
From Ten Ren Tea, the largest manufacturer of tea from the Far East, to the Red Blossom Tea Company, just a few blocks from the district's famous gate, the busy streets of Chinatown in San Francisco are steeped in opportunities to taste an exotic array of teas. When you stroll into a shop, you'll smell the aromas of hibiscus, green tea, jasmine, genmaicha (brown rice), and much more. Many shops—several notable ones along Grant—offer free samples, with walls lined with canisters of fine loose teas, boxes of your favorite flavors in bulk, and beautiful ceramic teapots and sets. Forget coffee—in this neighborhood, tea is more hip to sip.
If you could take just one photo:
Chinatown in San Francisco
Day Trip to San Francisco
Pier 39 in San Francisco is a world-famous destination. For those of us who are fortunate enough to live in Northern California it becomes a day trip with a little careful planning. The first half of the trip ends in Vallejo at the ferry terminal. You cruise by ferry stopping first The Port of San Francisco and then on to Pier 41, at that point you are a short walk to Pier 39 and a myriad of places to eat and things to do. In conclusion, leaving the car and taking the ferry is a relaxing and hassle free way to enjoy a trip to Pier 39.
From anywhere in San Francisco you can get on the city bus and hop off in China for $1.50. Yes, yes loads of tourists come to Chinatown every day, but there is a true living, breathing community that calls this area home. Enjoy the endless shopping, art, music, cuisine, a fortune cookie factory, and many generations of smiling Chinese-American faces. For less than a cup of coffee you can transport yourself to the other side of the world and get a glimpse into Chinese life.
You wander the crowded streets of Chinatown, its shops full of kitschy paper lanterns and exotic herbs, and pass countless Chinese restaurants. But when hunger strikes, you head down a different culinary path—you search for pho. Eating Vietnamese when you're in Chinatown? Sounds silly when you have dim sum and clay pot joints calling your name from every corner. But if you seek pho in this 'hood, you won't be sorry. There's the popular Golden Star restaurant at Walter U. Lum Place, next to a square where groups of old men chat and play games, and the cozy spot called Golden Flower, one of those rare Vietnamese spots that accepts credit cards. (For hardcore pho eaters, that's a plus!) While Little Saigon is a hotbed for pho, and Clement Street has its picks, the maze of Chinatown, too, has superb offerings for getting pho'ed up.
From Ten Ren Tea, the largest manufacturer of tea from the Far East, to the Red Blossom Tea Company, just a few blocks from the district's famous gate, the busy streets of Chinatown in San Francisco are steeped in opportunities to taste an exotic array of teas. When you stroll into a shop, you'll smell the aromas of hibiscus, green tea, jasmine, genmaicha (brown rice), and much more. Many shops—several notable ones along Grant—offer free samples, with walls lined with canisters of fine loose teas, boxes of your favorite flavors in bulk, and beautiful ceramic teapots and sets. Forget coffee—in this neighborhood, tea is more hip to sip.
Submit
Add a Comment
