Spend a morning in Vancouver’s Chinatown with an off-duty chef on this food and cultural walking tour. With the help of your expert, taste delicious barbecued crispy duck and other savory delights, as you learn about Chinatown’s historical landmarks and local cuisine. Drink tea, enter cookware and herbal medicine shops, and visit the tranquil Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. A dim sum lunch is included in this small-group tour limited to 10 people.

Relax in the urban oasis of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Taste sweet and savory foods, and enjoy a dim sum lunch
Learn about Chinatown’s history and culture
Small-group tour limited to 10 people ensures a more memorable experience

What's Included

Walking tour that includes food samplings, tea, and dim sum lunch

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
578 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5K2, Canada

Start time

11:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

4 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
The Tour requires a minimum of 2 persons per booking. If less than the minimum, the Tour will be cancelled
Wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Please indicate if there are any food allergies / considerations
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Jacqueline_P

Wonderful day in Chinatown with our friendly & knowledgeable guide Bob Sung! We highly recommend this tour! Beginning with the beautiful Chinese gardens, Bob shared tons of history & stories & walked us through Chinatown, tasting as we went, and topped it off with an amazing dim-sum lunch, then on to a tea tasting! Very complete Chinatown experience. Thank you, Bob!!

Reviews

5.0

297 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 297 reviews

Chinatown culture and food

Angela_A, May 2023

The Chinese Garden was lovely - but even better with your guide’s insights! This tour is one of the best we’ve ever taken, complete with culture, history and amazing food! Well done, Bob. Truly worthy of a 5 star rating!

Response from Host, May 2023

Angela: Thank you for your review. Great to meet you & your Family!!! So glad you enjoyed yourselves. My pleasure to showcase my culture & heritage to you all!!! Regards from Bob!!!

A fantastic experience which gave a great insight into the Chinese culture

emmabradleynz, May 2023

The Chinese Garden was so tranquil and peaceful. Really enjoyed the tea ceremony along with the other food tastings. Our guide Kenson was very knowledgeable and friendly

Response from Host, May 2023

Hello Emma: Thank you for your review. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourselves. I will let Kenson know of your comments. Regards from Bob Sung

Best food tour ever!

Elizabeth_H, May 2023

Bob does not simply speak and you listen — he manages to encourage and facilitate genuine discussion (and discovery) of the food & history of Vancouver’s Chinatown. If you love food, you can’t miss this!

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks Elizabeth for the review!!! I really use food as a medium to meet a wide spectrum of. people. Please stay in touch. Regards Bob

Great cultural and good tour

Jennifer_S, May 2023

We had an excellent tour with Bob. We really appreciated his depth of knowledge about the cultural history of the area. His guiding through the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and the Storytelling Centre were particularly good. The food was delicious. We learned a lot while having fun and full bellies! Thank you very much.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks for the great review, Jennifer Glad to hear you had a good time. Please stay in touch!! Regards from Bob

Fun way to spend the morning in China Town.

Azelda_P, Apr 2023

I loved to hear the history and cultural aspects of China Town. The tour was a wonderful mix of activities and experiences.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

30/April/23 Hi Azelda: Thank you for your kind review!! Happy to have you all to WOK AROUND CHINATOWN with me!! Good to know you had a good time Regards Bob

Awesome Tour

Paul_G, Apr 2023

Excellent tour with many great stops! The tour guide was fantastic, fun and extremely knowledgeable! I would recommend checking it out!

Response from Host, Apr 2023

16/April/2023 Hi Paul: Thank you for your review. I enjoyed showing you around Chinatown. Hope you had a good stay in Vancouver.... Regards Bob Sung

Book it, you won’t regret it! :)

Marie_S, Apr 2023

Highly recommend. We spent 4 days in Vancouver, ending our time with this tour and it was worth the wait. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and we were blown away with how much Chinese culture there is in Vancouver and the stories of many immigrants. Very interesting and was a great mix of history, food and laughs. Was pleasantly surprised at how much we covered and also, our tour guide went above and beyond for us, even recommending a wonderful donut shop at the end in his own time. Thank you and if you’re reading this, don’t hesitate to book :)

Response from Host, Apr 2023

16/April/23 Hello Marie: Thank you for your kind review!! It was fun showing you around Chinatown. I KNOW your stomach was full at the end of the Tour ....LOL. Regards Bob Sung

Highly recommend

Vanessa_T, Mar 2023

Bob was very informative and conscientious of the needs of the group. Lots of fun! Better than expected.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thanks for your great ! It was fun showing you around Chinatown. Please contact me should you need any information

Fantastic tour

Mary_C, Mar 2023

The gardens were lovely, the food delicious, the tea experience amazing, but my favorite part was all the history & cultural information shared by our guide, Thomas. Highly recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello Mary: Thank you for your kind words about the Tour and Thomas. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourselves I will forward your comments to Thomas Kind regards Bob Sung

A diverse and packed experience

Liz_S, Feb 2023

Bob was a passionate and knowledgeable host. The tour was much more extensive than I expected. The food and history were my highlights. I learned so much more than I expected.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Hi Liz: Thank you for your great review. Great to hear I made a difference. Please stay in touch Regards Bob

If you do one thing in B.C. make sure it’s this

Ezra_H, Feb 2023

The description does not do this tour justice the most unbelievable bang for your buck eye opening beautiful experience, Bob is truly a wealth of knowledge that feeds your mind with amazing stories from the historic Chinatown but also your stomach with the most amazing authentic meals around each location vibrant and alive with color and pleasant aromas and the tea house and the end was like the cherry on top, if you’re visiting Vancouver this is an absolute must. 1,000/10 amazing amazing amazing

Response from Host, Feb 2023

24/Feb Hello Ezra: Thank you for the great review!! Glad to know I made a difference for you in visiting Chinatown. Please stay in touch if you need more info on Chinese Cuisine, Culture & Customs!!!! Regards Bob

Good but Needs Some Improvements

Robert_T, Feb 2023

Bob knows his stuff but there were a couple of problems. One-the area is dodgey and there are a lot of homeless people around. Second, the guide asked personal questions of everyone including job and ethnicity which were irrelevant. Third, he took home the leftovers from all the food stops which I thought was rather sketchy. I hope he can make some changes and also make this tour more fun too.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

12/February/23 Hello Robert Thank you for your response 1. At the Tour start, I did make mention that Chinatown is adjacent to a tentative area of the Downtown Eastside 2. When asking for ethnicity & careers, I want to make the narrative relevant to each person...to compare my narrative with everyone's background. This is to encourage dialogue within the group 3. As I do not believe in waste, the food was packed up to give to a person in need on the street. I do not believe in food going to waste. Hope you can understand about this point. I'm sorry you & your sister did not enjoy the Tour. Should you ever come back to Vancouver, I would be pleased to have a dim sum lunch with you Sincerely Bob Sung

Great tour!

Lan_W, Feb 2023

Bob is a very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. The garden is beautiful. The narratives of the Chinese Canadians’ history, culture and traditions are amazing. The foods are tasty. We enjoyed very much.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Hello Lan!!! Thank you for the kind review! Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself!! Regards Bob

Découvertes dans le quartier chinois de Vancouver/ Dicovery in the Chinese quarter in Vancouver

Hans_D, Jan 2023

Some History, culture and food tasting along the way. Not only you discover the history of this place but you discover also several aspects of Chinese that you might not know it feel like a school tour but with a more chill vibe. We also go to taste some specialities of the Chinese quarter . Un peu d’histoire de culture et de gustations. Non seulement ont nous apprends l’histoire de la communauté chinoise local mais aussi nous apprenons les valeurs et la culture chinoise, tout celà en allant dans quelques endroits pour déguster quelques spécialités chinoise.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Thank you for your kind words..especially in a bilingual sense!!! Please contact me if you need any further information. Best regards from Bob

Was a great foodie/cultural tour!

Dan_R, Dec 2022

A fantastic tour. Bob has been doing this for sixteen years and it shows. Great food and excellent knowledge of the local area. Bob has a fascinating connection to our home as well. Every stop was worth it and it was fantastic addition to our Vancouver trip. An intimate and personal foodie/cultural tour.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

23/Dec/22 Hello Denise: Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you had a good time with me. Again, please use me as a resource for Chinese culinary & culture. All the best for a Happy Holiday and a good 2023 Regards Bob Sung

Great day in Chintown!

Jacqueline_P, Nov 2022

Get to know your city better !

Andrea_D, Nov 2022

We had an amazing time, the whole experience was just so personal and down to earth. We really feel like we got to know a new part of our city. And all the food was just genuinely fantastic. 5 Stars!!!!

Great, Highly Recommend

Keelee_R, Oct 2022

Great experience. The tour guide Bob was very friendly, and knowledgeable; you could tell he really enjoys his job. The big lunch at the very end was the best, along with the tour of the garden. We received more than expected and this tour is a must during your visit to BC.

Excellent!!

lynda_d, Oct 2022

So much history shared during the tour in addition to tasty food samplings! Highly recommend! An enjoyable four hours.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

23/Oct/22 Hello Lynda: Thank you for your comments. Glad you enjoyed the Tour!!! Best regards Bob Sung

Food and cultural

Stella_W, Oct 2022

We went for a food tour around Chinatown and learned how the Chinese were oppressed during the early 40s and frown upon. It was both an eye-opening and a humbling experience. The next stop is to a medicinal hall. It was really interesting seeing the vast variety of food on display. We saw dehydrated Gecko used for medicine purpose! Mind blown 🤯! Off course, the highlight of the tour is food. All of us agree unanimously that the roast pork and char Siew is the best we have ever eaten! Both the roast pork and char Siew are juicy and tender and sure enough the pork has a crispy layer on top. We had Apple pie, the skin is buttery and flaky and the filling is not sweet, it was lovely. My in laws went back for more after the tour ended but all the pastries were sold out! 🫠 We went to a Tea house and the host is a tea connoisseur, she serves us their in house tea, teaching us to appreciate good tea with our senses. It was a great way to cleanse the palate before the dimsum. The dimsum portion and variety is huge. Overall this tour is value for money, both hosts, Bob and Thomas are friendly and eager to share their knowledge about Chinese culture and history in Vancouver while filling our tummy with good food!

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Wow!!! Thanks for the great review. Glad your tummies were full at the end of the Tour. Regards from Bob

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