Angelika Everyone knows San Francisco's famous "Chinatown" neighborhood, either from television or because it's a must-see for every tourist. Even though much of this district, located right in the city center, now screams "tourist trap," vendors still offer exotic spices, fruits, and tea in all varieties, and the restaurants provide some culinary delights. However, true connoisseurs head to Clement Street, which is considered the alternative Chinatown among locals.
Clement Street is located in the "Inner Richmond" neighborhood, and since few tourists venture there, there are no kitschy souvenir shops with cheap San Francisco T-shirts or cable car memorabilia. The atmosphere is generally less hectic, and although the street is often shrouded in the infamous San Francisco fog, it offers a variety of restaurants, small grocery stores, a fish market, fabric shops, household goods stores, and the occasional upscale shop, such as "April in Paris," which makes and sells handmade leather products, between Arguello and Park Presidio Boulevard.
Although Chinese influences dominate, the neighborhood is more complex than the Chinatown in the downtown area. Here, too, roasted ducks hang in the shop windows, and vegetables and fruits are stacked on makeshift wooden shelves in front of the stores. You can also find restaurants from neighboring Asian countries here. For example, our favorite restaurant on Clement Street is a Vietnamese restaurant with the beautiful name Le Soleil Here, we happily slurp a fine noodle soup, and to start, we usually order Vietnamese imperial rolls, a type of crispy spring roll that is wrapped in lettuce leaves and dipped in sweet and sour sauce.
Then, there is "Schubert's", a pastry shop on Clement Street, founded by a German and still run by a German owner, has been baking delicious cakes and cookies since 1911 and selling them a the café. Their products have nothing in common with the sweet, cardboard-like food that American supermarkets sell under the name "cake," but are rather aligned with European standards.
Haig's Delicacies has homemade delicious hummus and Turkish delicacies, as well as Dutch products in its assortment. I actually found my favorite Dutch cookies in the store, which I always enjoyed as a child during our vacations in Holland. I could hardly believe my luck. The store even carries the Dutch chocolate sprinkles that you spread on bread like Nutella in Holland.
If you're into books, you can find Green Apple on Clement Street, one of the few remaining independent bookstores in San Francisco. It opened its doors in 1967 and is known for its great selection of used books. If you enjoyed Chinatown and are looking for even more exotic and, above all, authentic shops that even long-time San Francisco experts still appreciate, a trip to Clement Street is definitely worthwhile.