The Amazing Race:  San Francisco

Make Your Way

Make your way through San Francisco's Chinatown. You will eat Dim Sum, go down Ross Alley, and explore Chinatown's 'real' shopping thoroughfare: Stockton Street.

Route

• head up Washington, looking for Wo Chong
• from Ross alley, cross the street and go left up to Stockton

Goals for this Leg of the Race

Locate as many of the following items/locations as you can. So The Operator can track your progress, make sure to use the Flickr iPhone app to post a photo that includes at least one of your teammates and the item/location in the shot.  If the clue has a question in it, type the answer in your photo's title or comment field.

• Have Dim Sum -- take some Dim Sum to-go from a bakery (not a sit-down restaurant).  An additional photo eating a Chinese 'donut' earns a bonus.
• Laundry drying.
• Fortunately, our old friend Jin's Family Society is located next to a factory that bakes up the future.  You'll find it for sure if you're a smart cookie.  Step inside and buy something.
• After leaving Ross alley, buy some unusual fruit you've never had before, eat it.
• Se a cucumber at Nam Hai.
• Wo(ah) Sam!  Switch that.  Reverse it.  Strike that, with Edsel Ford Fong, Woe to the diner.  They are out of business, but not because they employed the "world's rudest, worst, most insulting waiter".
• Snap caps or some other novelty that makes noise (purchase and keep)
• Tchotchkes
• Alive now.  Dinner later.  Even you might have to swim upstream (against a human tide) to get inside for a pic.
• Have someone on your team who has never had "Bubble" or "Pearl" Tea get one at Ten Ren
• Think you're going at a snail's pace?
• Po' Lee probably needs a drink.

Pictures for you to Re-Take

Sprinkled throughout this leg, you might see the following things.  For extra points, take your own photo (with a team mate) and upload it to Flickr.

(look inside here)

Suggested Time Limit for this Leg of the Race

It is recommended that you complete this leg of the race in 45 minutes or less.

Pit Stop

The pit stop for this leg of the race is one of the intersections where Chinatown meets North Beach: the corner of Grant and Jack Kerouac. Once you reach this location and Tweet a photo and location, you will receive the URL for the next leg of the Race.

Ross Alley

Ross Alley is San Francisco’s oldest alley. Back when covered wagons were wheeling westward in search of gold and a better life, ships full of Chinese immigrants carried similar hopes into our harbor. Immigration strictures and Chinese customs kept most wives and families on the other side of the sea, making the Chinatown of the frontier a society of bachelors and de facto bachelors. Ross Alley was known for the brothels, gambling houses, and opium dens that sprang up to cater to the frustrations of men far from home

Stockton Street

Stockton Street in Chinatown is a place where locals go to buy the freshest and cheapest produce and meats. The stores also offer live seafood and dried herbs. Some shops located on Stockton Street include the Hop Hing Ginseng Company, the Kowloon Market, the Luen Sing Fish Market, Louie's Produce, and Fruit City.