North America&rsquos oldest Chinatown is to be found in San Francisco. Enter this historic section of town through the ornate gate located on Grant Avenue. Walk right past the kitschy, tourist-ridden stores hawking plastic Buddhas and postcards, and head straight to the locals-only restaurants serving dim sum &mdash small meat dumplings and nibbles consumed for breakfast with hot tea. The not-so-easy-on-the-eyes, but very-easy-on-the-wallet Dol Ho serves up an incredible siu mai (meat dumplings filled with crunchy bits of vegetable) and steamed pork buns filled with sweet barbecued meat. For a more refined dim sum outing, head to Hang Ah Tea Room, located in a tiny alley. The specialities at the city&rsquos oldest dim sum house include shrimp dumplings and sticky rice with pork.

Where
Dol Ho, 808 Pacific Ave (at Stockton St), San Francisco, CA 94133 415-392-2828.

Hang Ah Tea Room, 1 Pagoda Place (at Sacramento St), San Francisco, CA 94108 415-982-5686