Boston Chinatown Market Tour

The tour was not lead by Michele but we had a blast any way. The food was really good and our guide made sure we weren't given anything too exotic. He explained them but told us we could go back and get the exotic items if we wished. It ended with Dim Sum and I enjoyed everything that was served to us.

This was such a fun informative tour!!! Jim, the tour guide is so knowledgable. The local shop visitations were a great experience. (The herbalist and the supermarket were my faves)The dim sum lunch was so great--without the tour guide we would have been too intimidated and wouldn't even know where to begin or what to eat. After Jim described wonderful Asian spring rolls, I was a bit disapointed when we didn't get to sample one.

I've taken a food tour of Seattle's Pike Street Market, and this tour rates slightly above that one. Chef Jim, our host, filled our heads with so much info that my mind is still swimming in Chinese knowledge five days later. You learn the history of the Chinese people not only in Boston, but also in the United States. The shops we visited were amazing, the people we encountered were extremely gracious, and the food we sampled were delicious. If you love Chinese food, or any food for that matter, you need to take this tour!

The tour was thoroughly enjoyable! Jim was great (as he was on our North End Tour) and his knowledge of the area and the Chinese customs and culture is superb. The food samples were delicious and now we feel comfortable going into many of the shops in Chinatown. In fact, 3 days after the tour we stopped into the Barbeque shop for take-out! Finishing up with the dim sum lunch is an excellent idea. We have already recommended this tour to friends.

Our guide was very knowledgeable about the food, customs and culture of the area. Getting to try the various baked or BBQ'd items was so much better than just seeing them.

Touring Boston's Chinatown with an enthusiastic chef would be good enough, but this chef knows Chinese language and culture from years in China. He also knows and loves Boston's Chinatown and wants to share it with you. Historical sketches of the area, notes on places to visit and things to try, tastes of local cuisine, and introductions to a variety of local shops culminate in a grocery store tour and dim sum lunch. We were not strangers to the area, but we ended the tour entertained, well fed, better informed, and ready to make more of our visits to Boston's Chinatown.

We really enjoyed the tour. It began with a detailed discussion of the different Chinese cuisines and the way that Chinese food came to the U.S.. Then we visited several food stores with various tastings, and finished with a substantial dim sum lunch (plenty of food - noone left lunch hungry). We were pleasantly surprised by how much there was to see in the relatively small area of Chinatown.

My husband and I spent a long weekend in Boston over Memorial Day 2009, and this tour was one of the hits of our trip. Our guide, Jim, was charming, eloquent, funny, and most importantly, both knowledgeable and exceptionally well prepared. He interacted well with the 4 quite disparate couples in our group, and with each of the shopkeepers we visited. Without the tour, we would probably have avoided this part of Boston altogether, but armed with the knowledge Jim gave us we enjoyed some wonderful meals there. Highly recommended!

Who would guess that there is so much to know about the few city blocks that make up Boston Chinatown? Although we'd visited the area several times previously, our eyes were opened and appetites filled. We credit our experienced, language-fluent guide who has made a strong commitment to present an educational and interesting tour.

Jim was our excellent tourguide for the Chinatown market tour. He is a professional chef and speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin, and very knowledgable. He gave us an overview of the different types of foods and cooking techniques in the various regions of China, brought us to a tea shop, a chinese herbal pharmacy (fascinating!), a chinese bakery, a chinese market, and lastly a wonderful dim sum lunch. I highly recommend the tour.