We will be going to SF in late February. I was interested in taking a walking tour of Chinatown thinking that hearing a bit of the history and having a chance to get oriented to the area might make the visit more fun. (I'm usually not a fan of anything so structured as a tour.) It appears that there are several available both for charge and free. I would love to have recommendations from those who have gone on them before. Which is best in terms of overall quality of the experience?

As I wrote in my recent trip report from our S.F./Napa vacation, I can't recommend the two-hour "All About Chinatown" walking tour highly enough. Linda Lee, who runs it and is the tour guide, is very engaging and interesting. She takes you to a Buddhist temple, markets, an herbal store, an alleyway with a fortune cookie factory, etc., and tops it off with a delicious (an optional) dim sum lunch. Two thumbs way up from my wife and I. www.allaboutchinatown.com

djdave -
Did you see the tea demostration? Also, what did you think of the dim sum? I looked at the website but did not see the cost of the tour. It does look like fun, though!

We did not see the tea demonstration, nor the painting demonstration. But the rest of the tour was so fascinating we didn't feel cheated. It's $25 a person, but we used a buy-one-get-one-free coupon from an Entertainment coupon book(www.entertainment.com). We got ours for just $9.95 online, but I'm not sure if they have a 2005 version listed for your purposes. With or without the coupon, it's worth it.

The dim sum lunch is $15 per person, and, as I said, optional and separate from the tour cost. We thought it was delicious, although it was our first and only dim sum meal, so we have nothing else to compare it with. You certainly won't leave hungry.

We took a tour with City Guides (www.sfcityguides.org) and it was terrific. Our guide was very knowlegable and entertaining. We went all over Chinatown and heard lots of history, legends, and tall tales. It was terrific. I've been to Chinatown more times than I can remember, and it was really great to learn more about the history of the area. After the tour, we got a sheet with some recommendations for dim sum and other chinese restaurants in the neighborhood.

This tour was free and the guide asked for donations at the end if we enjoyed the tour. We gave $5 each, which seemed to be about what most people gave.

J Correa -
Did you try out any of the dim sum places? Any to recommend?

I don't know what the sheet listed, but I can tell you that the best dim sum in the City is to be found at Yank Sing's -2 locations-one at 49 Stephenson Street, (off of Market St.) and the other at 101 Spear Street. Spear Street is located in the Embarcadero area, and the restaurant is just off Steuart Street- which is itself filled with hip restaurants.

I took the Wok Whiz Tour with Shirley Fong-Torres and had a wonderful time. It was pouring rain (in Feb) but that didn't stop us. I'm a SF native and I learned lots of new things about Chinatown. Tour of back alleys and produce stores, etc. Lunch is included.It wasn't cheap, but we got our money's worth. Feb. is Chinese New Year so the area will be vibrant! Wok Whiz Chinatown Tour
San Francisco, CA
(415) 981-8989
sorry I don't have a website for them.

Yank Sing is the best Dim Sum, imho.
However, if you miss the Breakfast Lemon Souffle Pancakes with fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce at the Stanford Court Hot (CA and Powell) you'll miss the very best.
M

We took the same walking tour of Chinatown that J_Correa took. Very nice and informative, and it was free. Led us thru all the districts, and a tour of a fortune cookie factory. We also gave a donation at the end of the tour.

They have another Chinatown walking tour that meets nearby where the Free Tour meets. We almost got hooked into that one. I think they wanted around $40, which included lunch. We didn't take it, so I can't compare the two.

We went to New Asia on Pacific for dim sum after our Chinatown tour. Our family has been going there for years and it's always good. We were going to try another place on the list, but we ended up going with tradition. My husband and I stuffed ourselves for about $25.

On another trip to Chinatown, we went to Grand Palace on Grant. We heard it was good, but were disappointed. Maybe they had an off day. I don't know. It was ok, but they did not have the selection or quality of New Asia.

Lately we have been going to a place called Hong Kong Seafood over on the west side of SF - on Noriega and 33rd.

I've never been to Yang Sing, although I've have heard from several sources that it is good. It's too pricey for us though. We like to find places that have really good food for not much money.

J_Correa, the Capital Restaurant in Chinatown meets your criteria. I ate there twice a few weeks ago. It has a diner-type atmosphere and is clean and busy. Food is delicious--fresh and piping hot and service is great.

I adore Chinatown.

I cannot read the name "Yank Sing" without my tummy growling. Yummmmmmmm....... *Homer Simpson gurgle*

2ndtimer - thanks for the tip about Capital Restaurant. We will have to check that out.

My co-worker and I are heading out the door in 5 minutes to check out New Asia! It's a twenty minute walk from here!

Hi crazy4Hawaii,

I was a Chinatown walking tourguide, so I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to hear people say good things about the neighborhood.

The Chinese Cultural Center, which is in the Chinatown Holiday Inn, offers walking tours for $17/adult. http://www.c-c-c.org/act/walk.html
in addition to a $40 tour which includes dim sum lunch at Four Seasons.

Like any tours, it really depends on your tour guide-- although the alleys of Chinatown are tough to navigate on one's own. Herb shops, tea shops, and temples are always featured stops.

Yank Sing is definitely a top restaurant with impeccable service and quality of food. Another clean and local place is City View on 622 Commercial street, if you like bigger and more affordable portions.

One attraction that most Chinese tours miss is the Pacific Heritage Museum, built on the site of the original US branch Mint.
http://www.sfstation.com/museums/pacific.htm

a walking tour will definitely be fun! and don't forget to bring a sweater or sweatshirt, it can be quite foggy and cold.

San Fran's best kept hotel secret: the Chinatown Holiday Inn! Spygirl will stay at no other place! And if people want to know where Spygirl is, they know if they go to Grant Street, she'll be there, day or night!

Word to the wise: dim sum is typically an early afternoon affair. Don't show up at 4pm expecting a late day snack! Also, when you show up at New Asia and they turn you away, don't then turn around and march into that tourist trap House of Nan King. Cross Pacific and go to Brandy Ho's.

I am a dim sum novice but can't wait to try it! I understand that at most places, carts are pushed around and selections are chosen as they pass. Other places may actually have little menus that you mark. When it's the cart method, are the dishes labeled? Are there a wide selection of hot teas to choose from? Any tips to keep me from looking like a complete dummy would be appreciated.

Dimsum is great! yes, they push carts around and open it and you nod either yes or no. however, most don't speak english so the carts may have some unusual chinese delicacies such as chicken's foot or heavy-in-the pork category. i usually go with the following menu below. ASK for it and if they shake their head, ask, "later? is it coming later?" and usually they will nod and point. it should NOT be a separate item. once you order, they will stamp some area of your card. if you are a novice, i highly recommend Yank Sing, where the service (in English) is excellent and they serve more of the items I personally like.

1) tsui mai ("Su-My") pork or chicken dumpling
2) har-gow, shrimp dumpling in rice wrapper
3) bbq pork bun (should be white and red in the middle) steamed is better than baked
4) chinese broccoli in oyster sauce
5) any shrimp or scallop dumpling. including shrimp balls or shrimp fried on a sugar cane stick.