Visiting the San Francisco Fortune Cookie Factory

The Fortune Cookie Factory is a fun, little place to visit in San Francisco Chinatown. Make sure to get some cookies to take home with you!

We have gotten familiar with fortune cookies while living in California as you get some any time you order some Chinese food. We are always eager to crack them open and see what the little note inside says.

Many of the fortune cookies are manufactured in Chinatown in San Francisco where the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory is located. San Francisco Chinatown is the biggest chinatown outside of Asia.

The factory is open for visitors but I have noticed that many people don’t even know that it exists. Even though Chinatown in San Francisco gets over 2 million visitors per year, many of them have never heard of the fortune cookie factory.

We stopped at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory and this is what it was like.

What is a fortune cookie?

Fortune cookies are made out of flour, sugar and sesame seed oil. They are round and then folded into a half moon shape. Most fortune cookies are flavored with vanilla but there are also some that are dipped in chocolate or covered with sprinkles.

Inside a fortune cookie is a little note that usually has somekind of a phrase or prediction, or even some lucky numbers. Some people use the numbers for lottery.

Even though people get fortune cookies in a Chinese restaurants they are actually not from China. Chinese restaurants in California were the first ones to start the tradition and it then spread all over to United States, Canada and even to Australia. You will not find them in while traveling in Asia.

The origin of fortune cookies in not certain but some believe that the Japanese immigrants brought them to California in the 19th century or in the beginning of 20th century. So they might actually be from Japan.

In Kyoto, Japan they are still selling a cookie that is a little bit similar to the fortune cookie, and it might be somehow related to it.

Magoto Hagiwara is believed to be the first person to offer people some fortune cookies in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Many people think that that is how the tradition of giving our fortune cookies started.

During the years there have been few other people who claimed to have invented the fortune cookies. However, none them have been able to prove it to be true.

Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco

When we arrived to Fortune Cookie Factory there was a very long line to get in. We hesitated wether we should just skip the visit but we soon realised that the factory is tiny, and each person only spends about ten minutes inside, so the line was moving very quickly.

At the end of the round inside you can also purchase some fortune cookies and that actually takes the majority of people’s time in there.

So don’t be discouraged about the line! It is a fun little place, and the line will move fast.

At the Fortune Cookie Factory you can see how they fold the cookies and you can also buy some to take home with you.

In the beginning, all the cookies were made by hand but later “a fortune cookie machine” was invented in Oakland, California.

The Fortune Cookie Factory was opened in 1962 and it is owned by Franklin Yee. The factory manufactures over 10,000 cookies every day.

Among the traditional fortune cookies they had some chocolate covered cookies and some with different flavours. They also had some giant sized fortune cookies.

You can also buy a cookie and design your own note in it. What a great way to surprise someone that would be! Maybe even at a proposal!?

Visiting the Fortune Cookie Factory was a fun experience. And if you happen to visit during the Chinese new year, they have many great, free events at Chinatown that are worth checking out. My favorite is the Chinese New Year Parade that lasts for hours.

I got some chocolate covered fortune cookies to take home with me. My kids absolutely loved them! Especially the white chocolate ones.

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There is so much to see in the downtown San Francisco among the Chinatown but the Fortune Cookie Factory is something you should put on your list. You can even ride a cable car to get there.

And if you like Chinese food then Chinatown is where you want to have a lunch or a dinner as they have so many great restaurants there. And eating there is often cheaper than elsewhere in downtown.

If you are looking for a place to stay in San Francisco the this is our favourite hotel and it is in a walking distance from the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

If you are visiting San Francisco during the holidays, then make sure to check out some amazing light displays they have around the city. Many locals go around searching for holiday lights during the festive months as there are so many fun ones!

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