Wok Wiz Daily Tour

It started off terribly because the guide spent the first half hour standing in one spot, speaking to the children of the group almost exclusively, boring the rest of the group. It was like being on a children's field trip. It got better after we spoke to him privately. Don't expect anything like a "secrets of Chinatown" tour, but the stops at a temple, a tea shop, and the fortune cookie factory were interesting, and the shopkeepers will pay more attention to you as members of a recurring tour. The tea shop was by far the best stop, they did a whole tea presentation and tasting. The guide was born there and was knowledgeable but seemed distracted by the children too much, and the kids even looked uncomfortable with being the center of attention of a group of strangers while getting quizzed on history. The restaurant at the end was okay but nothing special. We crossed paths with another Wok Wiz group and the other guide seemed even worse, so I guess we got lucky in a way. It's a pleasant enough way to spend a morning if the weather is nice, but don't give up something better if you have to make a choice.

My college age daughter and I had a fantastic time on the tour. We live in the north bay and have been to Chinatown before but we learned so much on the tour and now have a deeper awareness of this interesting community. Our tour guide was fun and full of information on the culture, traditions and history of Chinatown. The highlights were the tea tasting and the fabulous dim sum lunch. Don't have a big breakfast and enjoy this fun tour!

Chuck's tales of growing up in Chinatown were so much fun! He's an awesome storyteller. He even kept the fidgety kids in our group engaged and asking questions. I learned so much about traditions, food, history, tea, prejudice, religion. This tour is a gem.

We endured an hour of this "tour" which consisted of walking around a park square right across from the Hilton Hotel. We saw no shops, no food being prepared, nothing. We just stood on the sidewalk. Our guide spent 20 minutes asking our names and finding out where we were from. She was just stalling so she didn't have to do anything or walk anywhere. I have traveled extensively and was looking forward to this tour but it was the biggest waste of money I have ever experienced. We left the group after an hour, after we stopped in front of a building and she asked people to take turns reading plaques out loud. Insulting. RUN AWAY!! DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR!!

Dorothy, our tour guide, did a great job of presenting the history of Chinatown, as well as various locales visited, in a unique and thought-provoking way. Rather than dragging us from one "photo op" to another, Dorothy really imparted a sense of what it was like to live and grow up in Chinatown. She explained some interesting aspects of Chinatown history as she showed us around the area. All in all, this was a GREAT tour!!

Dorothy was great.

I was expecting more depth and history to the tour. It was a bit superficial. But we did enjoy it overall. The walk was easy, only one hill. The guide was friendly and solicitous. We especially enjoyed learning about the foods - - why the chickens in the windows still have their heads, what happens to the duck tongues, why roasted pork from a bigger pig is cheaper, and what all those vegetables are. We walked down some alleyways which used to house bordellos and gambling dens, but this tour focused more on the shops than on the history. The guide gave useful advice on what to buy where. I learned the most on the tour during our stop at a tea shop. The brother-sister team who run this shop know their stuff inside and out (they took over from their parents after careers in finance, etc). We got a thorough overview of tea growing regions and info on how to select and brew teas, as well as a tasting of two varietals. A special highlight was meeting the "erhu" player who was so proud of being featured in the Will Smith movie "Pursuit of Happyness" - he played us a few songs. A real character! The meal at the end of the tour was in a restaurant with a great view towards the bay. The restaurant provided tasty food and a satisfying quantity (there were leftovers) - but nothing too adventurous, just better quality Chinese food. A nice plus was that Shirley Fong stopped by to say hello and sign her book. I've actually never seen her show, but other's on the tour had -- she is a personable woman and very welcoming. I recommend this tour as a great introduction to one of California's most unique communities - a real cultural heritage site!

We had a Alberta for a tour. She was spunky and very informative about Chinese life in general, life in China town, and China town history. Of course our favorite stop was the tea shop, just as she thought it would be. We have already recommended this to all of our friends and family.

Our guide, Alberta, was the best! We took other tours while we visited SF from Connecticut and by far, this is the one to take. She was friendly, knowledgeable, and took great care of us. She brought us to many places that we would not have been able to find on our own. She will take good care of you from beginning to end. My husband and I loved every minute of it!! The lunch at the end of our tour was superb! There was so much food. After our tour ended, she made sure to get us back on the right bus and street. She made this Chinatown experience so memorable. We will recommend this to everyone we know. Thanks for making our vacation so wonderful!

The Chinatown tour that we took taught my wife and me a great deal about the rich culture of the Chinese in San Francisco. Chinatown is really in the alleys, not just on Grant Ave. The tour left us wanting to learn more. Our tour leader, Dorothy Quock, was very knowledgable and quite expressive. This is a tour for anyone with an interest in a little-known part of California history.