One of the "must-stops" in SF Chinatown is the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in Ross Alley. Founded in 1962, the place is about to hit its 60th anniversary later in 2022. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory courtesy author Feel free to watch them make some in front of you, and get a taste of the unfolded ones, which are miles better than any of those wrapped (censored) you get from (censored). They are often still warm off the circulating multi-griddle. And yes, the fortunes are placed manually. You can also get fancier versions, like dipped, flavored, and so on, or even giant ones. But did you ever wonder where it came from? Turns out, it's not Chinese. It's actually Japanese. The origins of fortune cookie can be traced back to a Japanese "fortune" (tsujiura) that a temple would offer in a rice cracker (senbei) for a small donation. It is a bit larger than the modern version, darker, and made of sesame and miso. Let's just say, they are fist-size...
An exploration of San Francisco Chinatown typically NOT covered by tours