When the high-rises shut their doors after a long day, Downtown
Oakland continues to offer plenty of reasons to stay and play. Within a
square mile, downtown encompasses Old Oakland and Chinatown — two
great reasons to eat, shop, and play through the day and night.
Grocery stores are as plentiful as restaurants in Chinatown, but
New Sun Hung Fat Supermarket (325 10th St., Oakland,
510-238-8618) ups the ante. Outside, piles of just-picked produce spill
into the streets while inside creatures swim and crawl in tanks and
boxes. Turtles, saucer-sized frogs, and soft shell crab clamber over
one another next to squirming mounds of snails and aquariums full of
snapper and catfish. When you’re browsing the noodle aisle and
recognize the chef who just served you lunch down the street, you know
you’re in the right spot.
All dim sum is not created equal. Tao Yuen Pastry (816
Franklin St., Oakland, 510-834-9200) forgoes some of the fanfare, like
whirring carts, but doesn’t compromise on the food. While a line of
people snakes out the door, the siu mai, har gow, and
buns filled with pork, dates, sweet taro, or red bean curd overflow at
every turn. Nothing more than a counter, the small shop doesn’t offer
sit-down service, but most items are under $1 and are perfect
companions for browsing the myriad of brightly colored stores that make
up the neighborhood.
As the baby boomers complain that video games have ruined our youth,
it’s refreshing to find a gaming store that relies on purely analog
enjoyment. Across the street from the Oakland Convention Center,
Endgame (921 Washington St., Oakland, 510-465-3637, EndGameOakland.com) has a wide variety
of games for all palates — Candyland and Dungeons and Dragons
share space with games imported from overseas. Best of all, there’s
plenty of room upstairs for a pickup game of canasta or Warhammer 40K
— it’s your call.
Art programs in schools are always on the chopping block, but that
doesn’t mean that creative outlets for our kids will cease to exist.
The Museum of Children’s Art (538 9th St., Ste. 210, Oakland,
510-465-8770, MOCHA.org) isn’t only a
place where kids can display their sculptures, paintings, and wacky
creations; the building also doubles as a studio space for budding
artists eighteen months and older.
