Best Chinese Grocery

The great thing about Clement Street -- the foggier, more pristine, latter-day Chinatown -- is the hustle and bustle and colorful produce of the original model, reinterpreted for the semi-suburban melting pot of the Richmond. The May Wah outlet on Irving is sunnier and more expansive, but the Clement venue makes you feel like you're shopping for dinner in some exotic Pacific Rim bazaar (which, of course, you are). Out front is a dazzling display of fruits, vegetables, and herbs from all over Asia (the owners are Vietnamese); inside you'll find sharks' fins, candied ginger, soft-shell turtles, and live frogs; really fresh seafood in every variety; and shelf upon shelf of cookies, fruit drinks, spices, and other larder necessities. Wheat gluten steak, cloud ears, and tiger lily buds for everyone!