| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
 |
Shirley made the tour! |
| |
Sat, Aug 18, 07 10:00 AM |
sdmerrin |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| |
Shirley was a fabulous tourguide. She is so knowledgable and enthusiastic! The tea shop, small art gallery, visiting the temple and lunch were all very memorable!
We never knew there was so much great history in Chinatown.
Thank you, Shirley, for sharing all of your tips! You are great at what you do!! |
|
Great way to see Chinatown |
| |
Sat, Aug 18, 07 10:00 AM |
SallyShapiro |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
I highly recommend the Wok Wiz tour. Our leader, Lola, was friendly, knowledgeable, and worked hard to make sure that everyone could hear her and stay with her as we toured. We had a much better understanding of Chinatown than we would have if we had just walked through ourselves. The dim sum lunch was great and we couldn't even begin to finish all of the food served to us. |
 |
learned lots and had fun |
| |
Fri, Aug 17, 07 10:00 AM |
Joelle56 |
Female |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
Great to walk through Chinatown with someone who grew up there...went to places, eg. Taoist Temple, tea shop and herbalist that I might not have entered on my own...Alberta was very knowledgeable and her stories were great. A family member who was with me had some trouble hearing on the busy streets....perhaps some accompanying written material would be helpful. Enjoyed the stop for a lunch at the end of the trip.,..food was good and a nice way to take leave of Chinatown. |
|
A glimpse into Chinese Culture |
| |
Fri, Aug 17, 07 10:00 AM |
buddah |
Male |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
My wife and I greatly enjoyed the tour. Our tour guide, Alberta, was very informative and really showed us the real Chinatown. Our favorite parts were the temple visit and the tea tasting.
Highly recommended! |
|
Chinatown 101 |
| |
Wed, Aug 15, 07 10:00 AM |
davidhdavis |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
If you have only one chance to see Chinatown or are just starting out, this is the place to begin. Our 73 year old Chinese host, born and raised in Chinatown, is a historic treasure in herself. She knows the neighborhood inside and out. Having been a school teacher (including English as a second language in China), she remembered each of our names throughout the tour. This sharp, 5'-2", animated, ball of energy had no problem hearing our questions and makling herself understood. She didn't just lecture but interacted on a personal level at each stop. She exuded pride and excitement from start to finish. By the time we were finished, we felt like we had been led around by an old friend.
The pace moves along we never felt hurried. There was always time to snap a picture. I took lots of them. See the places that you might hesitate to stop or otherwise miss. Always safe and fun.
I wish I had brought a tape recorder as well. |
|
Interesting |
| |
Mon, Aug 13, 07 10:00 AM |
ajackphd |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Individual |
| |
The tour was a lot of fun and very informative.
The restaurant food was mediocre. I would prefer an authentic, well-prepared dim sum experience. Also I missed having the guide at my table, because I wanted to ask more questions.
I really enjoyed the guide and the other places we visited. Tea tasting, temple, fortune cookie factory, grocery shopping and learning about the groceries and cemetary rituals. I would like to have stopped into an herb shop and learned about the various Chinese herbs and how they are measured and used. I saw a couple buying two identical packages of a small amount of various herbs that were measured out carefully, but I was alone and it wasnt comfortable to be so nosy as to ask. I would have liked to learn about chinese medicine, the games the old men were playing in the park and in the back rooms of guild houses and what the locals' day to day life is like and how they treat common ailments. I would very much like to go on another tour and see different things as there seems to be so much to see and learn about local customs and beliefs in SF's Chinatown.
I would like to attend a temple ceremony and learn about feng shui and festivals but we didnt get to that.
I really enjoyed learning about the history from someone who grew up there and hearing the personal stories about that from the guide.
Keep up the good work. It was a tour to remember and I will be back for another one. |
|
Good and educational |
| |
Sun, Aug 12, 07 10:00 AM |
sequoia8 |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
My parents and my wife really enjoyed the background information on the culture and the China town area. Guide was enthusiastic and very knowledgable. |
 |
OK, But Nothing Special |
| |
Sat, Aug 11, 07 10:00 AM |
wizzie2 |
Male |
50-59 |
Local |
Individual |
| |
Maybe I was naive but I thought being lead around Chinatown by Chinese-Americans, with backgrounds in Chinese cooking and a history in the neighborhood, would be something special. It wasn't. Our tour guide was friendly and enthusiastic but, frankly, dull. I wanted ancedotes about the Chinese struggle for equality or 19th century opium dens but there wasn't much of that kind of story-telling (though there was an interesting ancedote about Chinese schools). The meal was a disappointment, too. The restaurant was shabby and the food was good but ordinary. Nothing you can't get in any US city these days.
On the plus side, the tour was well-organized and I enjoyed the stops at a Grant Street tea shop and a Chinese temple. |
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Definitely worth your time and money |
| |
Thu, Aug 9, 07 10:00 AM |
eah39b |
Female |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
Our leader through Chinatown, Chuck, was excellent. We really enjoyed his sense of humor and found him extremely knowledgeable. I think my family will have a different lens for our next walk through Chinatown. We will know that the men we thought were playing games in the plaza are actually gambling. We will know what different vegetables are used for... I highly recommend this tour. |
|
Really experience Chinatown |
| |
Thu, Aug 9, 07 10:00 AM |
havanaduck |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| |
We could have wandered around for hours and thought Chinatown was just a bunch of tourist type shops. Instead, we got an insider's look at the area. The fortune cookie factory and the tea shop were fun to experience. The young lady at the tea shop did a great job explaining teas and giving us a sample. Chuck, our guide gave us a lot of history about the area that we would otherwise not have known. Well worth the money. |
