Summary of Chinatown
Two main streets run the length of Chinatown. Grant Avenue is the most famous, but Stockton Street the most authentic. Locals crowd Stockton Street’s sidewalks from curb to storefront, carrying fat, plastic shopping bags filled with bok choy, jasmine rice and cloud ear mushrooms. Shops display bug-eyed fish, bloody eels and glistening ducks. Dried lotus roots and bitter melons, durian fruits and dried shrimp sit side-by-side on sidewalk stands, along with brocade mary janes and bamboo flip-flops. Pharmacies offer herbs from bins, and a lottery seller hawks tickets from a window. Cantonese is the street language, and the singsong of Chinese pop tunes is on the radio. And in the background, the hot-oil smell from woks wafts out of kitchen windows. Grant Avenue is more aimed at tourists, with its souvenir and gift shops, but still its wares come from the other side of the Pacific Rim.. You’ll find kitschy souvenirs — flimsy fans, back scratchers and cricket cages — but also some lovely jade and gold bracelets, embroidered table linens and lacquer trays. A visit to Chinatown ought to include a dim sum brunch or dinner. Go for the modest places, maybe Yuet Lee, House of Nanking or R & G Lounge.
You can contribute to the development of the Chinatown page by writing a review or blog entry, uploading photos, and using the Gusto Grabber to share your favorite sites associated with Chinatown. This page, like all Gusto pages, is constantly evolving, so be sure to grab it using the Gusto Grabber and start tracking contributions made by other Gusto members.
