“The best way to begin a journey is to stroll through Portsmouth Square, which, because many living spaces in Chinatown are very small, is kind of an outdoor living room,” says Shirley Fong-Torres, a chef and owner of Wok Wiz, a company that has provided walking tours and culinary experiences in Chinatown for over 25 years. While few visitors get beyond the gaggle of souvenir stores along Grant Avenue, a variety of group-friendly walking tours offer the chance to delve below the surface. “Whether it’s a walk through Chinatown or doing a special event at the Asian Art Museum, there’s a lot to choose from.”Īlthough its densely populated streets and alleyways are just steps away from Union Square and the Financial District, San Francisco’s Chinatown, the largest in North America, remains a world unto itself. “When people are inquiring about things to do in San Francisco, we always emphasize the Asian elements-they’re so much a part of the culture here,” says Katheryn Horton, senior director, conventions, events and services for the San Francisco CVB. If Hong Kong or Kyoto are not in the meetings budget this year, there is still plenty of Asian culture to enjoy on this side of the Pacific. And it’s not in Asia.Īll of these experiences-and many others-are easily available in San Francisco, a place where nearly a third of the population is of Asian descent and where dim sum and tai chi are as much a part of the scene as cable cars and sourdough bread. There is a place where visitors can browse through Chinese herbal shops, sample rare and fragrant blends fresh from the tea fields of Taiwan, enjoy a bowl of steaming Vietnamese pho, tuck into a platter of spicy Korean barbecued short ribs, wander through galleries of Indonesian art treasures and shop for fashions inspired by Tokyo’s pop art scene-all in the space of a few hours.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |