Richmond: Huong Tra; restaurant review

80 North

Huong Tra  

12221 San Pablo Ave. #8/after MacDonald Ave., (510) 234-7428.  L-D M-Sat; $.  No reservations. 

Located in a strip mall, this formerly small place recently knocked out a wall and doubled in size.  Huong Tra continues to serve up large portions at bargain-basement prices but now without a wait line.  Tabletops are polished granite, chopsticks and forks are wrapped up neatly in a napkin, and beer glasses are chilled.

interior of Huong Tra in Richmond, California

Sure things on the extensive menu include the fabulous #5 Vietnamese crispy pork-and-shrimp pancake with fresh herbs (super messy and super good), 

Vietnamese crispy pork-and-shrimp pancake at Huong Tra in Richmond, California

 the #54 spicy chicken rice plate, 

spicy chicken rice plate at Huong Tra in Richmond, California

and the crispy prawns served atop a sort of onion-ginger salad.  

crispy prawns at Huong Tra in Richmond, California

Additional popular dishes include shrimp fried rice, lemon-beef salad with minced peanuts, and a cubed beef rice plate that is a version of shaken beef (bo luc lac).  Rice plates and vermicelli bowls are generally good, as are shrimp dishes.  Drinks include a good Thai iced tea, iced coffee, and boba smoothies.

More things to do in Richmond. 

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
updated 6-1-17

Richmond: Pacific East Mall; things to do + restaurant reviews

80 North

Pacific East Mall  

3288 Pierce St.   

The indoor Pacific East Mall features Asian restaurants, small shops (including several specialty tea shops), and a large supermarket.  When I come here I usually start with a foot reflexology treatment, then go to lunch, then shop the small stores and market, and top it off with a beautiful orchid from the open lobby stall. 

orchid stand at Pacific East Mall in Richmond, California

●99 Ranch Market  

#81, (510) 769-8899. 

The 99 Ranch Market dominates the mall and has a vast selection of Asian grocery items.  Rice can be purchased in 50-pound bags, and delicacies include dried black moss and pork blood soup as well as roasted duck and exotic fruits and vegetables.  A cafeteria-style Chinese restaurant operates in the back, which is also where you’ll find an array of live fish in tanks. 

99 Ranch Market at Pacific East Mall in Richmond, California

●Sheng Kee Bakery  

#C133, (877) 580-8000. 

Located across from the market check-out, the Sheng Kee Bakery is set up cafeteria-style.  With tongs, you select what you like and put it on your tray.  I like to pick up several hot curry beef crescent pastries (these are best eaten right away while hot, or heated later in an oven--not a microwave) to take home for dinner along with a few random pastries for dessert.  More description. 

●Golden Island Massage  

#M268, (510) 525-8288.  Daily 9:30am-10pm.  $25/hr. for foot reflexology treatment. 

Find this spot by heading inside to the back of the mall.  On the north side by the stairwell, look for the signs in Chinese and go upstairs.  The exceptional foot reflexology at Golden Island Massage is all business, with no frills or pampering.  You remain fully clothed--wear an old t-shirt and loose pants—and should expect your hair and any make-up to get mussed.  You’ll be in a dark, quiet communal room outfitted with a number of comfortable reclining chairs or perhaps a chair-table.  The treatment is done by a certified attendant and includes head, arms, shoulders, back, and, of, course, the feet and legs.  I sleep so blissfully well after.  Appointments are not necessary unless you want a specific person.  Most workers speak very little English, and most are very good.  Complimentary use of a sauna and steam room is included.  More traditional Western treatments and massage are also available. 

Golden Island Massage desk at Pacific East Mall in Richmond, California

●168 Restaurant  

#A109, (510) 588-9168.  L-D daily; $. 

Come to 168 Restaurant for Taiwanese-style Chinese cuisine.  Tasty lunch specials I’ve enjoyed include spicy eggplant, beef with yellow leek and dry bean curd, and a fresh papaya juice icee. The special comes with a bowl of soup, rice, and a choice of iced green tea or iced coffee.

spicy eggplant at 168 Restaurant at Pacific East Mall in Richmond, California

●Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant  

#A118, (510) 526-6800.  Dim sum M-F 11-2:30, Sat-Sun 10-3. 

The Asian Pearl Seafood Restaurant is the spot for dim sum, which here is ordered from a menu. The deep-fried stuffed taro and sticky rice in lotus leaf are very popular. 

●Mi Southeast Asian Eatery  

#B101, (510) 527-3788.  Cash only.  

With a new name and refreshed decor, this place has the same menu but has added beer and complimentary tea.  Mi Southeast Asian Eatery is always busy, but any wait is usually short.  Personal favorites are the soupy version of beef-broccoli with wide chow ho fun noodles (#30) and the Singapore-style fried vermicelli rice noodles (#32).  On my list to try in the future are shrimp chow fun with mixed vegetables (#37), a rice plate/platter with spareribs (#40) or five-spice duck (#41), and the signature fried fish cake.  Soups and vegetarian options are available.  The signature hot sauce and diced jalapeno pepper condiments are very good.  Prices are a tad high.

Mi Southeast Asian Eatery interior at 168 Restaurant at Pacific East Mall
in Richmond, California

●Pho Saigon II 

#A116,  (510) 528-6388.  L-D daily. 

Vietnamese noodle dishes rule the menu at Pho Saigon II.  Choose a soup version or dry version.  My favorite is dry thin rice vermicelli noodles with a barbecue-pork topping and the soup on the side.  I add flavoring to my taste from condiments on the table.  Fresh fruit smoothies are delicious and include the unusual—durian, jackfruit, cherimoya—as well as the more common.

vermicelli noodles with barbecue-pork topping at Pho Saigon II
in Richmond, California

●Daimo  

(510) 527-3888.  Dim sum daily 9-5; open to 3am. 

Located in a detached building outside and in front of the mall, this spot serves excellent fresh seafood and a limited selection of order-from-the-menu dim sum.



More things to do in Richmond. 

Dim sum photo gallery.

More places to explore in Northern California.

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers
updated August 3, 2015; September 13, 2017

Richmond: Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant (CLOSED); restaurant review

8 North

Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant

CLOSED  3150 Pierce St./Central Ave., (510) 559-9388.  Dim sum daily 11-3, D daily; $$.

dining room at Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant in Richmond, California

Though the name makes you think this is a Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant is actually named for a lake in China and is a Chinese restaurant.  The dim sum experience here is as I think it should be—it takes place in one gigantic room serviced by carts.  A glass-enclosed chef’s station and tanks of live seafood provide a sort of entertainment at one end.

rice balls dim sum at Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant in Richmond, California

Quality ingredients and an efficient staff plus fresh seafood and some unusual dessert items—sweet pastry stuffed with taro root, round puffs of hollow donuts sprinkled with plenty of sugar—make it worth the often long wait.  So get your ticket at the check-in stand and chill (I saw adults busy with books and kids with phone games).



More things to do in Richmond. 

Dim sum photo gallery. 

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Richmond, Pt. Molate Beach Park; things to do

80 North

Pt. Molate Beach Park  

on Western Dr.  Free. 

view of Richmond Bridge at Pt. Molate Beach Park in Richmond, CA

Long ago, the World War II fleet was fueled here.  Now city-owned and cleaned up, this quiet little bayside park is the perfect spot for a picnic (tables and barbecues are provided).  The expansive view from Pt. Molate Beach Park includes the San Rafael Bridge, Mt. Tamalpais, and Red Rocks Island—which was recently for sale for $12 million.  Keep your eyes open for harbor seals, wild turkeys, and osprey.  And though kids will enjoy playing in the sand, it isn’t recommended that anyone wade, swim, or fish in the calm water.  The area is famous as the location for the 1955 movie, "Blood Alley," with Lauren Bacall and John Wayne.  Continue on this road, which later becomes rustic and curvy like the road to Hana, to a former Chinese fishing camp which is now a houseboat colony. 

warning sign at Pt. Molate Beach Park in Richmond, CA

More things to do in Richmond.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Richmond, East Brother Light Station; hotel review

80 North

East Brother Light Station  

(510) 233-2385.  5 rooms; 3 stories.  Open Thur-Sun.  Unsuitable for children under 18.  Some shared bathrooms.  Evening snack, dinner, & full breakfast included.  No smoking; no pets.

East Brother Light Station B&B in Richmond, CA

After driving down a road that resembles parts of the twisty road to Hana (we saw a huge herd of goats cleaning up the hillside shrubs), guests enjoy a 20-minute, quarter-mile boat ride over to this still-operating circa 1874 Victorian lighthouse.  Then, having escaped the real world of TVs and radios, there's really not a lot to do on the 1-acre island that surprisingly is mostly paved over with concrete.  Most guests at the East Brother Light Station B&B just take it easy and sit around and exclaim over the magnificent views or try their skill at solving the game puzzle that permits access to a bottle of wine.  One room is inside the old fog signal building (it is the least expensive and most private) and four are in the keeper’s house that is part of the lighthouse.  An elegant, four-course California-French dinner served with wine is prepared by the innkeepers--who between them also act as waiter, dishwasher, and boat captain--and a full sit-down breakfast is served at a long dining table in the morning.  Note that October through April an automated foghorn sounds every 20 seconds around the clock.  Earplugs and plenty of wine are provided.  Because of a water shortage—the island collects and filters rainwater in the original 70,000-gallon cistern—only guests who stay two or more nights are permitted a shower.  The light itself is now a modified Frenel lens with no moving parts and LED light.

More things to do in Richmond.

More ideas for exploring Northern California.

image and videos ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Richmond: Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park; things to do + restaurant review

80 North

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park  

1414 Harbour Way South/Cutting Blvd., (510) 232-5050.  Daily dawn-dusk.  Free. 

Visitor Center
at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park
in Richmond, CA

Between 1941 and 1945, the four Kaiser shipyards here produced 747 ships (519 Liberty ships, 15 landing ship tanks, 142 Victory ships, 35 troop transports, 24 small Liberty ships, and 12 frigates)—more than any other location.  This unusual urban national park known as Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park is dedicated to the effort here during World War II on the civilian home front.  If you’re wondering why Richmond, the town has a deep-water harbor and a plentiful work force.  And it is interesting to know that the oldest ranger in the National Park Service— a 92-year-old woman, Betty Reid Soskin--works here.  

●Visitor Center  Daily 10-5.  Begin your visit by viewing “Home Front Heroes,” a short and extremely interesting film about Richmond during World War II.  Be sure to take a guess about what is in the Rosie lunch box at the check-in area.  Real life Rosies are sometimes available to chat with.  I had the good fortune to meet and hear stories from 90-year-old Rosie Mary Torres, who worked here as a journeyman welder from 1943 to 1945.

Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, CA

●Craneway Pavilion  

(510) 215-6000.  

Built in 1930, this immense building was originally part of the West Coast’s largest Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant.  It produced Model As.  During World War II, it was converted to assemble jeeps and Sherman tanks and to outfit military vehicles.  After the war, it went back to civilian production and closed in 1955.  Retaining its architectural integrity and offering walls of windows with expansive bay views, today Craneway Pavilion is one of the largest event spaces in the Bay Area.

A Celebration of American Rhone Wines is sometimes scheduled.  The Rhone Rangers is the leading national organization dedicated to promoting American Rhone wines. More than 90 winery members will pour.

Assemble Restaurant in Richmond, CA

●Assemble Restaurant  

(510) 215-6025.  L M-F, D W-Sat, Sat-SunBr; $$.  

Located in what was originally a boiler room, Assemble Restaurant keeps the industrial decor drama of the building’s natural bones with exposed pipes and high ceilings.  Expansive windows look out to the bay.  Produce from their Victory Garden, located on site is used in some dishes.  The menu changes regularly, but starters might include unusual spiced boiled peanuts or housemade barbecued potato chips.  The lunch menu presents items such as a wedge of iceberg lettuce with Green Goddess dressing, chicken pot pie with cheddar cheese crust, and a blackened catfish sandwich.  Dessert brings on German chocolate cake, key lime pie, and carrot cakes.  Cocktails, draft beers, and wines by the glass are available.

●Rosie the Riveter Memorial  

1401 Marina Way So., on site of Shipyard No. 2.  

Located in a waterfront park where the Kaiser Shipyards once operated, the Rosie the Riveter Memorial is a short, scenic walk along the SF BAY Trail from the visitor center.  The  sculpture depicts a hull under construction and includes Rosie images and history.  It measures 441 feet--the length of a Liberty ship--and honors American women’s labor during World War II.

Red Oak Victory Liberty Ship in Richmond, CA

●Red Oak Victory Ship  

1337 Canal Blvd., berth 6A, on site of Shipyard No. 3, (510) 237-2933.  Tu, Thurs, Sat, Sun 11-3, weather permitting.  By donation:  $10, seniors $4, under 5 $2; pancake breakfasts $6.  

This World War II transport and ammunition vessel was built in 88 days and is the only remaining Victory ship built here in the Kaiser Shipyard.  Officially a military and Merchant Marine Memorial Ship, the Red Oak Victory Liberty Ship served also in the Korean War as a cargo ship and in the Vietnam War as a mail ship.  Call ahead for a guided tour.  World War II films are shown in the evening monthly.  Fundraiser pancake breakfasts are sometimes scheduled aboard.  The thousands of new Hondas you’ll see parked in the the surrounding area are imported and transferred from this still-active port.

More things to do in Richmond.

A Rosie the Riveter story about my own family, centered on San Diego's World War II airplane factories.

More ideas for exploring Northern California. 

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers