Since my work moved to downtown Oakland, not only have I had the pleasure of taking in some thrifting on a regular basis on my lunch hour, but I also get to have the fantasticity that is Oakland Chinatown at my fingertips.

I love Oakland's Chinatown. I like it much better than San Francisco's. The difference is that in Oakland, Chinatown is a community where people live, work, and shop for their everyday necessities, and it is less of a tourist attraction.

Don't get me wrong, there are really great shops in SF's Chinatown, and there are plenty of people making their homes there, but it still has that tourist trap vibe. In Oakland there are no tourist attractions, just great food and great markets (and lots of designer knock-off spots). The closest nod to tourism would be the sidewalks, painted with lovely and colorful designs:















Anyway, since all of the shops are catering to residents, accordingly, you get all kinds of wonderful places where you can get wonderful things...

Tasty meats:















A plethora of fruits and veggies, super cheap:















And shops crammed with everything under the sun:



















But my favorite thing about Chinatown is definitely this little shop:















Cam Huong makes the best banh mi in Oakland -- so good that when my ex-coworker and I would go there for lunch, his Vietnamese wife who lived in San Francisco would always ask him to get one to bring home for her.

Also great for these lean economic times -- only $2.50!

Mmmmm, tofu and pickled and jalapeno goodness...



















I bought a grilled pork sandwich for Trevor, but he scarfed it before I could take a photo. They are that good!