Growing up, my family and I would go out for Chinese food and it was always an all family outing which included my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. We would try new restaurants every few months, but would always get the same dishes consisting of chow fun, chow mein, boiled chicken, white rice, steamed whole fish and a few other things. While I usually had no idea what I was eating (my grandmother would always order for the table), it was always delicious and looking back now, eating together with my family was comforting.Ā
As I got older, I wouldnāt order Chinese food other than dim sum for delivery or takeout on my own because after constantly eating it throughout my life, I craved other food. If I wanted to get food, I would order Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, or Italian because I always know that if my family wanted to get together for dinner, we would get Chinese. Even now that I work in Chinatown, I only get dim sum, Irving Subs sandwiches, or dishes from different restaurants in the area. Since the shelter-in-place order was implemented, I, like many others, wanted to help support local restaurants. I have gotten takeout and delivery from many different restaurants in the city, but lately, I wanted the comfort and familiarity of Chinese food. For Easter, my family who lives in the East Bay came to San Francisco to visit me and we ordered Dragon Beaux in the Outer Richmond. We hung out together in my living room eating squid ink fried rice, satay shrimp chow fun and a variety of dumplings, and watched Kung Fu Panda 2. Iāve seen my family twice since the shelter-in-place order happened and it was nice to hang out, eat food and laugh at a fun movie. Last weekend, my friends and I got together for lunch and ordered delivery from Z&Y Restaurant (aka President Barack Obamaās go-to restaurant in Chinatown). We enjoyed spicy wontons, cumin lamb, chicken with explosive chili pepper and fried rice while catching up 6 feet apart from each other. I think most people have realized during the shelter-in-place is that nothing is more important than human connection and connecting with others helps us survive. Nothing feels more connecting and comforting than eating Chinese food with the people you love.
If you are able to, we encourage you to support the local Chinatown community! Rose Pak Democratic Club has created aĀ list of Chinatown restaurantsĀ that are still open for take-out and delivery. You can also show support for San Francisco and Oakland Chinatown businesses with Made in Chinatown's Love Letters to Chinatown project.
