The Hidden Chinatown of San Francisco

While most people may have heard of Mr. Jiu's restaurant at 28 Waverly Pl, few may have heard about the "pop-up" bakery that also operates out of the "Kitchen" right next to it, called Grand Opening .  Operating as a pop-up since 2019, Grand Opening was operated by Melissa Chou, the star pastry chef that helped three different restaurants earn a Michelin star. She used to be opening pastry chef at Mr. Jius, and Grand Opening was supposed to be her first solo venture. She took a break at the beginning of 2020 to visit family back in New Zealand, but had to stay much longer due to COVID. Her return in late 2021 means she's ready to make Grand Opening a dedicated venture.  Keep in mind that Grand Opening is a pop-up, which means you need to pre-order off the website, unless you want to come on Sundays to Mr. Jiu's, where you may find Melissa at the window with a selection of what's available, and this is more about what she wanted to make instead of wha...

Eastern Bakery, at the corner of Grant and Commercial, is the oldest bakery in SF Chinatown, having operated continuously since 1924, originally by the Lee family. The current owner is Orlando Kuan, who can be seen peddling made-in-house items through the limited operating hours, roughly 12-4.  Eastern Bakery is best known for three things: genuine lotus mooncakes, authentic coffee crunch cake, and Smackles, the original "cow ear cookies", all of which can be seen at "front door" table.  Moon cakes have been around China for thousands of years, but it was probably most famous for its use to hide messages to coordinate a revolt against the Mongol occupiers on August 15th, which lead to the founding of the Yuan Dynasty. Before that, they were used as "sacrifices" to the moon goddess. President Clinton tasted some mooncake when he visited Chinatown back in 1995 and took a box home with him, according to photos in the store.   Photo of President Clinton's ...