Bark Lee Tong

I took my grandmother to two other stores, but only Bark Lee Tong had what she needed. Also, my grandmother can be very high maintenance, but the herbalist remained very nice and helpful.
FYI, this is not a fancy-​looking store, but that’s Chinatown. Some of the best places, be it restaurants or herbal shops, focus on high product quality rather than aesthetics/​BS.

This is a hidden gem in a couple ways. First, another Unilocaler mentioned that this store is unlisted in phone books — true — and there’s no website. It also looks like absolutely nothing from the outside, just some cramped little store. That’s sooooo not true, though! They manage to fit seemingly every Chinese medicinal herb ever made into this shop. I asked for yan hu suo, and the woman behind the counter knew exactly where it was. Of course they had it, they have everything, and I was able to choose between multiple selections — they had roots, powder, and tablets.
The East wall of the store is full of dried roots, plants, and all kinds of medicinal teas, stacked floor to ceiling. This is where most of the natural remedies seemed to be. The front counter has more «modern» pre-​packaged tablets, pills, and capsules in small colorful boxes.
The woman who works there is so kind and helpful. She has a very pleasant personality and was happy to talk about the medicine I was buying, what it was good for, and how much to prepare for particular ailments. Since I was trying this herb for the first time, she cut open a pre-​packaged bag for me and repacked a smaller amount so I could try it out. It was totally unnecessary, but that’s just what this place is like.
Recommended if you want to pick up some TCM supplies in Chinatown.

Talk about off the grid. As far as phone directories go, this place doesn’t exist. Yet there they are. Selling ginseng, tea and herbs. Probably you can find magic cures for ailments here, and then it’ll be gone when you try to go back.