There are many herb shops in SF Chinatown. Some of them have traditional chinese doctors in them. You describe what has been ailing you. The doctor feels your pulse on you wrist and looks at your tongue. A prescription is then written for you to give to the clerk which they fill. Going to each drawer and container with a scale and measuring the proper amount of each herb. Then dispensing onto a sheet of paper on the table. It is wrapped and you then take the herb home and cook it according to their instruction.

When I was a kid, I looked foward to getting the small packet of yellow raisins to counter the bitterness of the herbs.

I can't forget the time I almost got ripped off from this lady at this herb shop on Washington Street...I don't want to mention their name...Dai F*ng Woh...she attempted to keep my change when I purchased some Po Chai pills. She tried to catch me when I was unaware, but good thing I remembered. She thought she was gonna get some yum cha money from me.

This illustration gave me the most trouble...I am still not satisfied with this one. I dunno...maybe it's because of that Lo Paw Nah at Dai Fung Wo. Or maybe it's the thought that some herbs can actually do more harm than good.

HOME | A-Town Graphics | 415.673.0546 | e-mail: atowngraphics@yahoo.com