Chinatown Food and Culture Walking Tour

Our tour guide REALLY knew his stuff - history, how to get along in Chinese culture, and what dishes to get in which restaurants. It was SO delicious - he took us to dishes that had remarkable depth and complexity. He was friendly, and took excellent care of us. I confess, I didn't have high expectations of walking around a Manhattan neighborhood, but he showed us hidden things and made everything a breeze. Well, everything except NOT eating too much.

We've heard so much about the Greenwich Tour, but decided (for my love of Asian food) to do the Chinatown Tour instead. It was a few dollars more than all the others, but well worth the cost. The tour lasted just over 3 hours. Very leisurely walks, but probably not recommended for someone in a wheelchair as there were stairs and, well, NY sidewalks/streets... Our guide, Raheem, knew so much about the history of the area and the cuisine. He was friendly and professional and really seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. We started at a Dim Sum restaurant and loved every bite. We had two children with us (7 and 9) and I was pleasantly surprised they loved the food, too. There was another young one in the group, probably around 13, and Raheem gave them all special attention and even some sweets/treats at different restaurants. Everything was explained in such detail, down to the history dish and its ingredients and the reasons they were prepared in that style in the first place. The side condiments also had a history, but honestly, the dumplings didn't need a thing. They were perfect as is! The Peking Duck was definitely a highlight of the trip. It was so well prepared, and again, the sauce was good, but it didn't need much. Watching the server break it down for serving was a site....very sharp knife! They even offered us the opportunity to take away the remaining duck (they only served the best portions for the meal). Since I wasn't local, I passed, but I sure wished I could have made a soup out of the rest of it! Again, learning the history of the dish added so much more to the experience. The tea shops and the tea served with the duck was pretty cool. The tea had one flavor if you had a sip before the meal, but after taking a few bites of duck, it had a totally different flavor...darker and smokier. True meaning of pairing drinks with the meal. I would advise having time in the days following to come back to Chinatown as there were so many other recommendations for specific items, like the best Ice Cream shops, "real" egg rolls (I never thought about the name "egg" before the trip, but it makes sense now...) and other interesting night spots. They gave us a guide so we could find our way back to places he mentioned during the tour. I'd do this tour again without question. It apparently changes a bit periodically, so you may get something different, but again, I'd try to schedule time either after to explore more of the area discussed. Oh, you'll be full, don't worry about that. Actually, by the second restaurant, I was a bit stuffed. Be sure to let them know ahead of time if you have any dietary restrictions. One of the ladies on the tour didn't eat pork...so she skipped a few items, but I overheard him say they could make accommodations, they just need notice. They will let you know everything in each bite anyway, but best to be prepared. Overall, a great tour and highly recommended.

The guide was knowledgeable and mixed comments about history, food and anecdotes. Always interesting. The tour was just long enough and kept us inside and in the shade despite a 93 degrees temperature. The food was OK, not the best I had but quite good. It was a very pleasant experience and I will certainly take another tour with the same company on my next visit to NY

This is my 3rd food tour with your company and EVERY GUIDE has been fantastic! Their expansive knowledge and love of food is wonderfully matched to their background in the history and lore of each area covered in the city. I have returned to many of the restaurants and other establishment featured in each itinerary and have been thankful that I learned of them through you. Please keep expanding your offerings and I am looking forward to my next tour. By the way, Bert seemed like he had led tours for a decade and I was surprised to learn that this was his first "solo!"

Enthusastic guide who knows his business made this a fun tour. We brought friends but for my wife and I, It was our second time around. Just as much fun the second time around. Looking for something unique with excellent food and lots of lore, this is a great tour.

fun to try new foods, learn their history and find places you would want to return to at another time. Rahim was a very knowledgable and enthusiastic guide.

Our very knowledgeable, friendly, and pleasant guide escorted us to several high quality establishments in Chinatown, all the while explaining the history and culture of the area. The restaurants that we visited provided outstanding quality food, dim-sum, Peking Duck, and other ethnic menu items. It appeared that our guide had personally eaten at these restaurants and that they were selected for our visit because of the quality of the food and attentiveness of the staff. We had ample food to eat and drink, including dessert, and it was doubtful that anyone on the walking tour went away hungry or unsatisfied. We loved it and highly recommend this tour to anyone who wishes to learn more about Chinese culture in NYC and Chinese food in particular. As an aside, the recommended parking facility (Champion Parking) which was just a block or two from the meeting place, had an early bird special on Saturday before 10:30am and we parked all day until 5pm for $17.00 which included tax. A great day all around!

Rajheem is a very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. We sat down at most of the restaurants we visited and had stood for a few (2?). The food was very good. We had dim sum, Pekin Duck, authentic fried rice, eggplant dish, and a wonderful dessert. He took us to the "true" Chinatown and told us a good amount of history. He also showed us an underground tunnel in Chinatown. He told us where to eat afterwards and showed us this club where they make mind altering drinks. Will definitely going there later in the future. He moves at a very good pace and you can definitely tell he loves his food.

We took the FNYTours Chinatown Tour on Saturday April 23rd, 2011. We had previously taken their tour of Greenwich Village (with their star guide, Kurt Upton) during Easter Weekend 2010. The Greenwich experience together with Kurt's brilliant guideship - is what brought us back - and based on another superb performance by Rahim (Chinatown) we know we will return again. FNYTours has provided us with the very best in service, hospitality, quality and behind-the-scenes education - far beyond anything that we could have acquired on our own. We thoroughly enjoyed every single aspect of the Tour - and will continue to recommend, without reservations of any kind, these Tours to family, friends and associates. We took the Greenwich Village Tour in classic, blue-sky, Spring weather. We took the Chinatown Tour in cool, breezy, over-cast, rainy weather. And - our experience dovetailed with the advice of the legendary travel writer, Paul Theroux, who wrote : "Only a fool blames his bad vacation on the rain" - meaning - weather does not erode, in any way, the professional care with which FNYTours conducts their business. Both of our guide's infectuous enthusiasm for their City made our experience most memorable. We already are planning for a return Tour.

I enjoyed the tour. Great balance of interesting and educational talking points, coupled with some delicious Chinese food! As a local who has considered himself an experienced Chinatown vet, I still learned a lot of things I hadn't known. The guide was well-versed in what he was talking about and seemed to really enjoy his job. I would recommend this tour.