Wok Wiz Daily Tour

The tour guide talked more about his own family than the history of Chinatown. We never got the promised cermonial tea. The best part of the tour was the lunch!

If I had never visited San Francisco's Chinatown I might have found this a fascinating and educational day. As a San Francisco resident, of course I have window-shopped my way through Chinatown many times before. A few years ago I managed to take a free City Guides tour, from which I learned a great deal. I was hoping to to add to what I had learned on that visit. As it was, I often felt I should have been leading the tour. Our tour was a ramble through our personable guide's rather vague childhood memories of growing up in Chinatown. Had our guide enlarged his perspective beyond his early memories, talked about Chinese culture in more depth, and added some local history, my guests and I might have learned a lot that day. As it was, I felt we spent our time listening to him point out the obvious. Finally we sat down to lunch, which had been billed as a dim sum meal. I enjoyed our meal because of the good company at our table -- our likeable guide, my guests, and other tour members. The restaurant was pleasant; however, there are more interesting places to go if one is particularly interested in dim sum. So, would I recommend this tour? Only if you have never visited Chinatown before and will be happy with a superfical view. On the other hand, you could take a City Guides tour where you will learn at least as much and save some money.

We had Dorothy as our guide. She thoroughly explained the history of Chinatown and added her own history along the way. She was captivating and the time flew by. The dim sum luncheon was superb and I can't wait to try dim sum closer to home, as I am no longer overwhelmed by the prospect. I have already told some of my friends about this tour, as they visit relatives in SF a few times a year.

Alberta was a terrific tour guide. She was informative and fun. We learned more about Chinatown than I thought possible. This kind of tour is a must for anyone visiting Chinatown, San Francisco

My husband and I enjoyed the sights of this interesting part of SF. We would have loved to have heard more about the history and people and a bit less of the personal stories of our guide. Our guided tour was pleasant and informative, for the most part. We really enjoyed the food!

Our guide, Bernice Fong, through her walking tour accompanied by warm personal stories & historical background, was able to really bring to life the past & present of Chinatown. We explored alleys & visited places such as a tea shop, herbal shop, a temple, and fortune cookie factory that we would never have visited on our own. The delicious family style meal was the perfect ending. I highly recommend this tour!

We have been to China Town several times on our own. This trip included our teenage kids so we thought a guided tour with a local expert would give us detailed information into the history and culture of China Town. We were excited to learn we would be in the group that the owner would direct thinking we had the most informative guide. Instead we heard a great deal about her life, her career, her writings, her family, and her celebrity. We only actually visited 3 spots and were not given much histroy other then the friendship between the owner of the tour place and the owner of the shop. We were very interested in going to a temple. While we visited one, we were again given little information about the practice or rituals. While it was interesting, it was not worth the hefty fee. Lunch was okay.

Our guide grew up in China Town so he was able to relate first hand experiences. He was also knowledgable on various historic aspects of the development of the area, early immigration, and culture(s). The multi-course lunch was a delicious ending to an informative and enjoyable tour!. My 16 year old son actually said it was one of the best parts of our trip. Wow....something we agree on.

The trip was an easy walk with a knowledgeable tour guide. Dorothy taught us a lot about Chinese culture, but her personal experiences dominated the talk (they were interesting); hence we missed a tea ceremony; the fortune cookie factory and other points of interest. People who had been on the tour before were a little disappointed. As for me, I was a first time visitor and the day was a perfect one so I had a nice time.

We enjoyed the tour very much. Our guide was maybe not as "dynamic" as others we have had, but he shared a lot of good information and really got us oriented to the area so we now feel comfortable to visit Chinatown on our own. The lunch that was included was great! In fact, we went back to the same restaurant a few nights later!