Ivy’s Food & Trading

Ivy’s gets an extra star for having hichews*(1) right by the door. hichews satisfies an addiction that chewing gum, chewing tobacco and starburst can’t quelch.
Ivy’s ihas minature chinese pharmacy without the medicine man. all chinese over the counter meds, herbs, mixes are on display. this is a do it yourself/​fix yourself place.
for a professional, one can go down the block.
many dried food product (vegetable, fish, fowl, etc) also available. these are useful in making broths, lotions, soup that are useful in building up the immune system, etc.
grabbed a bottle of loquat syrup (4.99) for those days when a cough or cold may be coming on.
rating: 3.5 for convenience, prices may be a tad higher here than at the bigger stores.
*just got an hichew sample from a costco lady. a 10 pack/​$ 6.20

This place sells dry goods and ginger roots. They have some Asian medicine and healthcare stuff that is similar to Advil. Other than that, they have the following:
Dried fish maw
Gensing
Dried mushrooms
Beans and grains
Dried fish and scallops
Chinese sausages and bacon
Dried cuttlefish and squid
Dried sea cucumber
This is a store with dried goods for sure.

Once or twice a year we decide to take a trip to China by visiting Oakland’s Chinatown. It beats San Francisco’s Chinatown by not catering to tourists and not clinging to the past.
Ivy’s Food & Trading is a typical store/​street stall combo. All the items spill out of the store and ½ way into the street.
The ginger root sold here looks fantastic (see photo). Something about those narled roots that make you see all kinds of things. Alas no Mother Mary or bleeding Jesus, but I did think I made out a laughing budha!