Obama surprises diners at SF Chinatown eatery

SAN FRANCISCO - US President Barack Obama made a surprise stop at a local Chinatown restaurant on Thursday afternoon shortly after touching down at San Francisco International Airport.

Obama, with his sleeves rolled-up, stopped by the Great Eastern Restaurant at 649 Jackson St to pick up his takeout order, according to the White House.

The unscheduled stop, which surprised diners as well as restaurant owner Hekwo Lee, was made during Obama's fundraising events in San Francisco for his 2012 re-election campaign.

"He (Obama) came in at around 1 pm, ordered some dim sum, nothing special, when a lot of other customers were dining," Lee told China Daily in a telephone interview, adding that he had no previous knowledge about Obama's visit.

According to a tweet sent out by the White House Press Pool, the president's motorcade pulled up to the restaurant around 1:22 pm, where he jumped out of the car and ran into the eatery.

Great Eastern Restaurant is locally well-known and is rated 3.5 out of 5 on Yelp.com, a website for people to share their experiences at local businesses.

Wing Lin, the waiter who served Obama, said he was surprised when the president walked in the restaurant with an entourage to pick up the dim sum he ordered.

"He just showed up from nowhere, without any notifications beforehand," he said. Lin said the meal cost more than $100.

The president spent about 25 minutes working the room, greeting surprised diners and taking pictures, repeatedly saying "How are you? Good to see you!" while they shrieked "Obama! Obama!" according to the White House.

He also shook some hands before leaving with two large bags of food, Lee said.

Obama's two-day fundraising trip is expected to ring in more than $6.8 million, according to reports on Politico.

China Daily