| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
VERY Informative
|
| Sun, Jul 5 10:00 AM |
Msan914 |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| There were a total of 5 guests on this walking tour - which made it very personal.
The downfall was that when questions were asked, the guide seemed obligated to answer. The tour itself lasted about an hour longer than scheduled, which was okay with us.
The tour was VERY informative, giving much history about the area.
However, what was lacking for me was information about the current shops, stores and restaurants. I would have liked to have stopped and had time to look/shop/purchase. Instead we were instructed to take a business card and return later. However, when our tour was over - we didn't know how to get back to that alley (and which alley was it??)
The lunch at the end stayed away from the traditional Dim Sum items and included Americanized food, such as chicken wings. The food was good, but we had been hoping for the traditional Dim Sum food and items that we normally do not get at our local chinese restaurant. |
|
Loved it!
|
| Sat, Jul 4 10:00 AM |
karenctom |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| We were greeted by Shirley Fong-Torres herself. She was extremely personable and informational. The tour made us fall in love with Chinatown and it's people. We ended up going there almost everyday because of the great food and good prices for souvenirs. My husband and I went 16 years ago on this same tour which we loved so we wanted to bring our kids this time. |
|
|
excellent tour that my whole family loved
|
| Fri, Jul 3 10:00 AM |
ekuhn11 |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| My whole family enjoyed the tour. It was very interesting and entertaining. |
|
Wok Wiz Un-Wonderful
|
| Fri, Jul 3 10:00 AM |
nykoreana |
Female |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| With the exceptional amount of reviews here, I really expected this to be quite fantastic. It was, after all, rated number 15 on "Trip Advisor" as a must do in San Francisco. Having said that, I was, unexpectedly, severly disappointed.
About myself: I am korean-american, raised in NYC, moved to LA, visiting SF for the first time. My bf, being chinese and never getting a good look at the famous Chinatown in SF, wanted a tour that took an in-depth look at the oldest Chinese area in America. So, I booked it, without dim-sum. (So I can't vouch for that, as I read the reviews here and it didn't sound so great).
We met at the Hilton lobby in the financial district. There were two groups, Shirley and Lola. We wanted to go with Shirley but since we got there 1 minute before the designated 10am, we had to go with Lola, who was very friendly herself, born and raised in SF.
The tour:
-gave us 2 red envelopes, a $.06 cent value.
-brief chinese SF history - 3 minutes
-Chinatown's park, 2 minute description
-showed Chinatown's phone directory (that, actually, was interesting) 2 minutes
-Chinese colors, red, green, gold
-Chinese wedding
-Man in barber shop playing Chinese instrument
-She went grocery shopping (ok, it was only tofu, but we all went in the store while she bought her condensed bean curd... WHAT IS THAT?!!?! what does that have to do with anything!)
-went on a street, and 30 minutes later, went back on the same street, on the other side (SO INEFFICIENT!)
-tea ceremony: interesting, by blossom tea company, she had nothing to do with this, however.
-didn't get to do half the things that were advertised
It was more about chinese culture tidbits rather than the town itself. Honestly, you could read this stuff in about 8 minutes from the internet. I don't know why they call it the walk and eat tour. I mean, there's food everywhere, but that's just street food, and you don't stop to buy some. If you walk around NYC, and you buy a hot dog, does that make it a walk and eat tour?? I highly doubt it.
Overall, I don't recommend it, especially if you are of asian descent, because you probably know all this from your friends or your asian association from college. We seriously covered like 5 blocks in 2 hours. (the last hour is for dim sum, which we did not participate in).
We did walk to our own dim sum place, however. It was called CITYVIEW and it was pretty solid dim sum, but don't go there either. It was $40 for the 2 of us. That's super expensive. Should have noticed by the lack of chinese locals and having the dim sum people actually speak english. (always expensive if they speak english!) Listen, dim sum should be $8 a person for a full amount of food.
Well, good luck. Whether you do this tour or not, SF's awesome. And this is coming from a New Yorker (we generally don't like anything else besides our own city!) Enjoy your visit! |
|
|
Super interesting tour with insights to daily life
|
| Thu, Jul 2 10:00 AM |
mluplau |
Female |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Very interesting tour - the history told and the every day stories coming from a person who have lived there gave a very real touch and insight to the history of SFO and the everyday life of Chinatown. The most interesting event in our 6 day stay in San Francisco. At the dim sum dinner afterwards we had a very interesting talk across countries and cultures which gave us as Scandinavian a better understanding of American every day life. |
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|
Great day in Chinatown
|
| Tue, Jun 30 10:00 AM |
GayleFarber |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| I was with my sister and our 14 year old niece. We all found the tour fun and informative. We loved learning the facts about Chinatown, how it was settled, touring the alleys, the Buddhist temple, the fortune cookie factory and the tea tasting. Our guide Chuck grew up in Chinatown so it was fun hearing his perspective about what it was like growing up in the tenements, attending Chinese school,etc. The lunch after the tour was huge, delicious and very filling. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking in and out of the shops and had a great day. |
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|
Lively, informative tour!
|
| Mon, Jun 29 10:00 AM |
TDellinger |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| Dorothy was our tour leader on 6/29. She's very friendly and informative, and gave us a great insight on the history and culture of Chinatown. The lunch afterwards was delicious and gave us more time to discuss the things we saw and learned on the tour. I particularly enjoyed hearing from Dorothy what it was like to be born and live in Chinatown, and the changes she's seen throughout her life. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting San Francisco. |
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|
A Lively Introduction To Chinatown and its History
|
| Mon, Jun 29 10:00 AM |
trishroesser |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Dorothy ? was our tour director. Her insights and historical knowledge were relevant, lively, and very interesting. Two of our group were locals who were amazed at all the fun facts she had at her grasp. The various merchants we visited were interesting as well. We especially enjoy the tea stop. This was recommended to me by my friend Tish Heflebower who took the tour a couple of years ago and remembered it with appreciation. The price was well worth the tour and the delicious lunch. We had two vegetarians and the restaurant was most accommodating of their needs. |
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|
amazing
|
| Fri, Jun 26 10:00 AM |
bchance85 |
Female |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| chuck was a perfect host! |
|
|
It's worth it
|
| Fri, Jun 26 10:00 AM |
KathrynHoop |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| My wife and I really enjoyed the tour. We had been through Chinatown a few times previously on our own, but didn't get near the information as what our guide, Chuck, provided. He grew up in Chinatown and gave us a great deal of history. |
