Last weekend we visited the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in SF's Chinatown. Did you know that the fortune cookie we all look forward to at the end of a Chinese meal was invented in San Francisco? So when we got a chance to do a quick walk through - I was most keen!
As we walked to the factory we passed all the shops and restaurants all getting ready for the Lunar New Year Celebrations - that culminate a a big parade on the 19th of February to celebrate "The Year of the Tiger". The parade is the biggest parade outside Asia! As we passed families of shoppers, it was good to see people out and about gain, but it wasn't too crowded so we felt distanced enough.
Outside the factory there was a small queue so we waited a couple of minutes for our turn. Once in we realized it was just us in there, guess COVID restrictions were in place. Its a welcoming place, all visitors are offered a warm cookie while you watch the cookies being made. They hand make over 10,000 cookies there each day - baked on a baked fresh on a cast iron rotating griddle wheel and fortunes added in by hand before folding and cooling. They have various flavors and filling and you can even request custom notes instead of fortunes for special occasions.
We bought a small bag of cookies - who can resist! But they also have t-shirts and bags if you're looking to carry away a souvenir. It was a great start to our day and am hoping we can go back to see some more of the Lunar New Year celebrations! Kung Hei Fat Choy!
