| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
 |
I had a fabulous time! |
| |
Sat, Nov 4, 06 10:00 AM |
jmstant |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| |
Shirley Fong-Torres is absolutely fabulous! She's vivacious and and fun and a great story-teller. Chinese food has never been my favourite - until this tour. The food was wonderful. It's a great tour for people on their own, because the group is small. There were 7 in our tour.
I can't rave enough about it. I've already recommended it to all my friends. |
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I truly ate my way through China Town! |
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Sat, Oct 28, 06 10:00 AM |
buglet71 |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Other |
| |
My goodness, if I had known we were going to eat so much food I would have paced myself a little better. When we stopped at the first place for breakfast, a really funky, hilarious place full of character (don't be put off by the looks of the place as the food was great) I just stuffed my face. I think I became so delirious with overeating that I have forgotten the order we ate things in! We stopped for the most deliecious tea with an informative talk, we ate a sweet, warm custard kind of tart on the street, we had THE BEST crispy duck and pork on the street and all the time Shirley filled us in on history, customs, the food and answered our questions. By this time I could barely walk I was so full of delicious Chinese foods but we carried on for Dim Sum which we shared with our group standing outside the shop. I loved all that eating outside and it helped we had a friendly group sharing and chatting. We walked through crowded streets while Shirley continued to educate us on China Town. And then if you can believe we went and ate lunch. This was a sit downmeal in a nice restaurant where Shirley ordered the food and we ate and ate. We had some very interesting dishes, those that I knew nothing about and probably would never have chosen! The group had fun eating and chatting around the table. I seriously could not believe I ate so much. Come hungry, pace yourself and be prepared for a LOT of food and information. Shirley was great; knowledgable, friendly, funny and popular with the locals. I highly recommend this trip, just be prepared for a few little things out of the ordinary!!!!! |
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Entertaining adventure through Chinatown! |
| |
Sat, Oct 28, 06 10:00 AM |
suzi2326 |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| |
We had quite an enjoyable time with Shirley. She's very knowledgeable and really knows her stuff. We tasted everything from 100 year old eggs to chinese custard. Learned about chinese teas, and ate delicious food constantly. I highly recommend this tour - it is unlike any other. |
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Out of towners find tour well worth our time! |
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Sat, Sep 2, 06 10:00 AM |
Durrwachter |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
We thoroughly enjoyed eating our way through Chinatown! Witty and courteous, Shirley enthusiastically led the group with flair. She answered our questions and showed us interesting glimpses of the history and culture of Chinese people in San Francisco. The food selections were delicious! We especially enjoyed the opportunity to try so many new dishes. Our tour group was congenial and a pleasure to meet. Thank you, Shirley and group, from the Iowans. |
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Ms Fong-Torres was great fun. Food a bit plain |
| |
Sat, Sep 2, 06 10:00 AM |
rgraves |
Male |
40-49 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| |
Delightful company, but we expected more detail about the foods and more of the unique and special dishes of Chinese cuisine. Different regional styles might have been emphasized. The tour seemed more geared to the palate of a tourist from the Midwest than a person visiting from a large metropolitan area who has eaten Chinese food fairly regularly.
Where was the jellyfish, dried oyster, frog's legs, etc? The pork with salt fish and bitter-melon with beef were definitely along the right line. And the stories behind them, their culinary significance, were a treasured part of the tour. Add more of that sort of thing. Our expectation wasn't just to taste a lot of food, but to taste and learn about the really unique dishes that we would never know to order unless we spoke Chinese.
This said, I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting San Francisco who wanted to eat good Chinese food with the fun, exhuberant Shirley Fong-Torres. She is so worh the price of a ticket. |
 |
Totally overrated! |
| |
Sat, Aug 5, 06 10:00 AM |
llondon |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| |
While Shirley is a nice, friendly, energetic woman, she's a salesperson. There was a violent occurrence at the scheduled meeting point prior to her arrival and, when told about it, she seemed thoroughly uninterested, since it didn't affect her business. The tour got started more than 20 minutes late. Shirley told us we'd be moving from funky to elegant to questionable to fantastic. Why funky and questionable when I've paid $75? Breakfast was at a dive and was pretty vile. Our visit to a teashop was the highlight of the tour in that we were given a brief education about tea, had a tasting, and it was a lovely setting. We proceeded to the "street food" which was gummy, greasy, bland, cheap dim sum that we ate standing on Broadway. Then, the piece de resistance - our lunch. This was billed as a banquet that would fill you up for the rest of the day...at least that's what the reviews said. My friends and I were expecting quality, not just quantity. There was neither. We were taken to the Imperial Palace and told that it had been recently renovated. My friend used the bathroom and found it disgusting. The staff was unprepared for us when we arrived and Shirley had to get heavy with them. All this aside, the food was nothing I would eat if given a choice. We had some decent duck and a somewhat tasty prawn dish, but everything else was so dull that there were platters left on the table. No one was interested in a second helping. I overheard others on the tour talking about their disappointment as well. My friends and I feel ripped off. What saved the day was a trip to Mitchell's for ice cream right after this sumptuous feast! We were not full, to say the least. |
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OK |
| |
Sat, Jul 15, 06 10:00 AM |
sscheer |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
The info was interesting. The food was, mostly, not.
The Dim Sum and custard tart werr good. The lunch was not very good. I expected better. |
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DONOT MISS WOK WIZ TOUR |
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Sat, Jul 1, 06 10:00 AM |
wendyann |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
SPECTULAR WAY TO EXPERIENCE CHINA TOWN. |
|
Good but . . . |
| |
Sun, May 21, 06 10:00 AM |
marybeth |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| |
The food was pretty good and a good variety. There was some information about the food and Chinatown. We would have preferred much more information about both. Shirley was very energetic, very nice, and gave individual attention to everyone in the group. And it was a great group. |
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I can't believe I'm still full! |
| |
Sat, May 6, 06 10:00 AM |
richardc |
Male |
60-69 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| |
An excellent and informative tour conducted by the effervescent Shirley Fong-Torres. A great introduction to Chinatown for the out of town visitor, and a treat for long time residents. Tour includes humor, variety, and some great food. Thanks, Shirley! |
