We decided to ring in the 2016 Chinese New Year at one of the largest celebration outside of Asia, in San Francisco’s Chinatown!

If you are looking for some interesting sights and sounds and tons of great food, stop by Chinatown for a visit!

We entered Chinatown at the infamous Dragon’s Gate, located at the intersection of Grant Ave and Bust St.

We wandered down Grant Ave admiring all the red decorating and popping in little shops selling all type of Chinese themed goods. It was around noon so we decided to grab some lunch at Hunan Home, I had the delicious seafood fried rice.

Chinatown is situated in the middle of San Francisco’s Financial District leaving you with views of the towering buildings, the Transamerica Pyramid here is the tallest building in San Francisco at 853ft.We decided to wait in the 35 minute line for the prized egg custard tarts from Golden Gate Bakery. Talking the the local in line is well worth the wait. This hours here vary drastically, so always call ahead. They were so worth it, fresh out of the oven – so warm and flaky!

There is an abundance of great food in Chinatown especially bakeries, I could not believe there was a Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco. It is a small space and you do not get a tour, they are just there to sell you different types of fortune cookies. Though there is large machines pressing out the cookies and then they get pressed into a round mold for folding. We took a final stop for coffee and mooncakes at Eastern Bakery and then headed to the parade!

We saw the start of the parade at the cotton candy sunset was setting on the City. It was a beautiful day and Chinatown is always a fun spot to explore!

Happy Year of the Monkey!

Take Care,

Lucia