| No place else in San Francisco offer such exotics sights and diversions as Chinatown. San Francisco's Chinatown has the largest population of Chinese people outside of China. One way to start your walk through Chinatown is to start at the Chinatown Gate at Grant and Bush Streets on the edge of the Union Square area. Walking down the colorful Grant Street towards the bay, you'll be tempted to go into almost every store along the way to feast your eyes on everything from beautiful jewelry to fine linens to kitchenware to fine art to inexpensive, but fun souvenirs. You feel as if you actually might be in China here, because of the Chinese architecture and everything is styled in the Chinese manner, from lamp posts to telephone booths. There are many restaurants to choose from. A popular dining experience is dim sum (pronounced "deem sum"), a Chinese smorgasbord of bite-sized appetizers that you can select at random from carts rolled around by the waiters. Lots of fun! New Asia on 772 Pacific Ave. (415-391-6666) is just one good suggestion to try for dim sum. For cheap late night bites, Sam Wo's up three flights of stairs has long been popular with bargain hunters. On the other end of the scale, Tommy Choy's caters to the high society crowd with "haute cuisine chinois". There's something for everyone in Chinatown regardless of the budget.
In the jewelry stores, you can often bargain with shopkeepers to get a great price. If you express an interest in something, and then start to leave, you may be offered a better price, which may get even lower as you demur again! I love the Chinese art supply stores. The Chinese food markets are also quite interesting, although not exactly appetizing!
Parking is difficult, to say the least, in Chinatown. It's probably best to park at the Sutter Stockton Garage in Union Square and walk through the Chinatown Gate on Grant Street to explore Chinatown. Or if you prefer to start at the part of Chinatown that borders North Beach, there's a reasonable garage on Vallejo Street. This side of Chinatown has more of the Chinese food markets, while the other side bordering the Union Square area has more of the specialty stores, for jewelry, linens, kitchenware, etc.
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