Visit Chinatown’s Esteemed Ellision Herb Shop

Nestled within the 24-square blocks at the heart of San Francisco and boasting the second-largest Chinese community outside of Asia is Chinatown. This area and its captivating people offer a myriad of fascinating finds for any adventurous tourist.

Crammed with exotic fish and produce markets, bakeries and herbalists, jumbled alleys hold the most worthwhile stops in the area including the Ellision Herb Shop. In this area for 33 years, this always-busy, family-run business is Chinatown’s best-stocked herbal pharmacy where orders are still filled the ancient Chinese way using hand-held scales and abacuses.

Neatly labeled drug cases are brimming with a wide variety of dried bark, roots, cicadas, ginseng, a variety of teas and other staples, over 4,000 offerings in total with most originating from China in dried form. Clerks fill prescriptions from practicing Herbalists and offer advice for a variety of common ailments including remedies such as honeysuckle flower to cool the body and help irregularity, ginger for poor circulation or indigestion, chamomile for pain relief, or licorice root to detoxify, to name but a few.

Whether you’re mildly curious or simply seeking natural remedies, consider a visit to Chinatown’s esteemed Ellision Herb Shop for a unique experience.