{"id":68422,"date":"2025-11-25T01:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/68422\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T01:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:10:10","slug":"oakland-gift-guide-chinatown-on-foot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/68422\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland gift guide: Chinatown on foot"},"content":{"rendered":"

We work for you \u2014 reporting on the stories our community needs. Our team is keeping you in touch with everything that\u2019s happening in our local food culture. Will you chip in today to support that nonprofit work during our year-end campaign?<\/p>\n

Chinatown is one of the neighborhoods in Oakland with some of the heaviest pedestrian traffic \u2014 likely because it\u2019s a place you can walk around to pick up nearly everything. If you\u2019re shopping for a foodie, or someone who likes cute, useful gifts, Chinatown offers some great options.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll see lots of people out and about during the day, mostly picking up lunch or shopping for groceries from the plentiful vegetable stands. Many of the shops are practical: think small produce markets, butchers and seafood counters, restaurants and tea shops, and pharmacies and social services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since the pandemic, when some residents feared going out and risking the prospect of anti-Asian violence<\/a>, there have been robust efforts to improve safety<\/a> and walkability<\/a> in the neighborhood, and to attract visitors through daytime festivals and evening events<\/a>, such as the past two years\u2019 popular night markets. If you see groups of people in colorful vests, those are volunteers patrolling for safety; the people in red shirts are cleaning up the streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"From the Heart Florist on Webster Street in Oakland Chinatown. Credit: Florence Middleton for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a living, breathing, community,\u201d Tony Trinh, director of Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council, told me.<\/p>\n

Most shops are only open during the day, so plan your outing to end by 4 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Handmade fortune cookies
\n\"\"A locally designed tote bag and fortune cookie gift boxes as Oakland Fortune Factory. Credit: Florence Middleton for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Start at Oakland Fortune Cookie Factory<\/a> on 12th Street, between Alice and Harrison streets. They are known for handmade, bespoke fortune cookies<\/a>. Cookies are baked fresh on site during the weekdays. It\u2019s best to pre-order and then pick them up, but you can also walk up. (If it looks closed, just ring the doorbell; they\u2019re most likely busy in the factory.) The factory recently launched holiday gift sets<\/a> (starting at $25). A set of a dozen fortune cookies can range from $15 to $32 or more, from a package of chocolate-dipped cookies<\/a> to to a batch in Tiffany blue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"A fortune cookie ornament at Oakland Fortune Factory and succulents at From the Heart Florist, both in Oakland Chinatown. Credit: Florence Middleton for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

The paper fortunes inside are customizable, so you can tailor them to your giftee. They also sell plain fortune cookies, as well as the flat, unfolded rounds.<\/p>\n

A canvas tote<\/a> designed by a local artist, Mengyao, at $30, also makes a cute gift \u2014 it\u2019s locally printed a few blocks away at Town Print. The tote features a\u00a0 colorful stack of teapots along with images of fortune cookies, of course. Factory tours for walk-ins are not available, but schools and groups can book tours<\/a> in advance ($12 per person).<\/p>\n

Open 10-3:30 weekdays. 261 12th St.<\/p>\n

Gifts for the plant lover
\n\"\"A variety of orchids for sale at From the Heart Florist on Webster Street in Oakland Chinatown. Credit: Florence Middleton for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Afterward, stroll two and a half blocks over to From the Heart Florist to pick up a plant or a bouquet of flowers. Enjoy walking diagonally across intersections on the colorful \u201cscramblers,\u201d installed decades ago to protect pedestrian safety and which just got a fresh coat of paint <\/a>in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shop always has mini succulents and rare plants on display out front, as well as a wide selection of orchid plants, plus lucky bamboo plants and money trees. A lucky bamboo set, at around $25, or an orchid plant, from $25 to $50, each work as a gift for a co-worker or a host gift when you attend a holiday gathering.<\/p>\n

Open every day except Sunday. 1016 Webster St.<\/p>\n

Grab shrimp dumplings or purple rice with mango<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re hungry for lunch, visit Ming\u2019s Tasty<\/a>. Ming\u2019s often draws a crowd, but it\u2019s worth the wait. (If you\u2019re too peckish to wait, head across the street to Pacific Renaissance Plaza and go upstairs to Peony\u2019s Seafood Restaurant for equally good dim sum.) It\u2019s a small restaurant offering a range of small bites such as shrimp dumplings ($6.45 for four pieces), specialized dishes such as stuffed bittermelon ($7.45), and soups such as congee or wonton noodle soup ($9.75 for a bowl).<\/p>\n

Open daily 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; closed Wednesdays. 940 Webster St.<\/p>\n

\"\"Teacup gift sets at Chanco Housewares & Restaurant Supply. Credit: Florence Middleton for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Or if you just want a treat, stop at UC Dessert<\/a>, which has some of the best Asian desserts in the area. You can sample a warm offering such as black sesame soup with mochi, or nab a Hong Kong-style egg puff. My personal favorite is their purple rice coconut with bits of mango. The small shop has booths, plus an Instagrammable wall.<\/p>\n

It opens at 11 or noon, depending on the day; open until 10 p.m. 388 9th St., suite 159.<\/p>\n

Darling dishes
\n\"\"A seemingly infinite selection of bowls and other dishes at Chanco Housewares & Restaurant Supply on 7th Street in Oakland Chinatown. Credit: Florence Middleton for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Last, but not least, walk a couple blocks to the other outer edge of Chinatown and look for the big, red awning. Chanco Housewares and Restaurant Supply is one of my favorite places to peruse. If you\u2019ve never walked in, you\u2019re in for a surprise. It\u2019s filled with rows and rows of plates, bowls, tea sets, and more. If you have ever dreamed of hosting your own sushi dinner, there are giant sushi boats. If you\u2019re on a mission to find a gift, I\u2019d suggest one of their tea sets or sake sets. A cute, monochromatic, modern tea set is $24. There are shelves full of traditional small tea pots and cups and numerous bowls, great for soups and noodles, ranging from modern styles to traditional Japanese and Chinese designs. There\u2019s free parking in the garage, but you do need to let them know or they will announce your car over the PA system (free parking is a gift in and of itself here!). The shop, now in its 11th year, made it through the pandemic and continues to supply restaurant gear for local restaurants and home cooks alike.<\/p>\n

Open daily 9:30-5 p.m. 410 7th St.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chanco Housewares & Restaurant Supply. Credit: Florence Middleton for the Oaklandside<\/p>\n

“*” indicates required fields<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We work for you \u2014 reporting on the stories our community needs. Our team is keeping you in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[13005,16157,143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-68422","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-chinatown","9":"tag-gift-guide","10":"tag-oakland","11":"tag-oakland-headlines","12":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}