Chinatown

Cycling San Francisco’s Chinatown in the early morning hours, among its gritty streets and workhorse store fronts, buildings dressed with hanging signs and humming neon lights illuminate window displays. Life behind the neighborhood’s numerous grocery stores, restaurants, and souvenir shops bustle with trucks, dotting the usually congested streets, delivering whole hogs, palettes of fresh fish, and produce. Fresh laundry drapes fire escapes and cables stretch across alleys decorated with lanterns and flags. A symphony of sight and sound, neighbors greet each other with optimism, as prep cooks shout from below ground kitchens, above the banging of dishes being washed and clanking of bottles recycled from the previous evening’s service. 

Entering through the south entrance to Chinatown, I rode through its iconic Dragons Gate. Heading north on Grant Avenue, streets brim with dim sum joints, herbalist, bakeries, souvenir shops, dark cocktail lounges and karaoke bars, infused with hip new restaurants, clubs, and boutiques. Hungry and looking for something warm and delicious to eat, I head to ‘Good Mong Kok Bakery’ for breakfast, a neighborhood institution serving dim sum to-go, where bamboo steamers stacked high with har gao, siu mai, buns and more await the crowds. Tearing into my bag of goodies, I take a bite of the barbecue pork bun (char siu bao), a savory sweet mixture of roast pork wrapped in a fluffy white bun, instantly I’m comforted. 

With a full belly, wandering the neighborhood's maze of streets, Chinatown offers an experience unique onto its own. Feeling more connected to the community, I hit the road and continued to ride north of the bay.