{"id":4940,"date":"2018-09-11T17:36:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-11T17:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.littleadventuresinhongkong.com\/?p=4940"},"modified":"2018-09-11T18:33:27","modified_gmt":"2018-09-11T18:33:27","slug":"how-to-choose-a-food-tour-in-hong-kong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.littleadventuresinhongkong.com\/how-to-choose-a-food-tour-in-hong-kong\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Food Tour in Hong Kong-and Everywhere Else"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

How to Choose a Food Tour in Hong Kong\u2014and Everywhere Else<\/b><\/h1>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Choosing a food tour in Hong Kong, or in any world city, can be a challenge. Ten years ago, there were usually one, perhaps two companies in each city. But today, thanks to the explosion of interest in food tourism, big foodie cities like Hong Kong, New York, and Rome may have dozens of foodie tours on offer.<\/p>\n

How do you make sure that the food tour you choose will be the right one for you? Our director at Little Adventures in Hong Kong, Daisann McLane, draws on her ten years of experience running food tours in Hong Kong to share the following five pieces of advice:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

1.Select the food tour that fits your level of interest and experience.<\/b><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Before you start researching, ask yourself some questions to determine what type of food traveler you are. Are you a serious foodie? The kind that is the first in line to try out every hot new restaurant in your city? Do you collect cookbooks, watch Anthony Bourdain, and spend your weekends walking through local neighborhoods looking for unusual or interesting bites? Is food your first priority whenever you travel?<\/p>\n

If that profile sounds like you, then you probably won\u2019t be happy on the average middle of the road food tour that\u2019s so common around the world. We\u2019re talking about the tours that squeeze a lot of short tastes into a few hours. The group size of these walking tours is fairly large, usually 8 and sometimes as many as 15 persons. The group leaders are career tour guides, students on gap year, or out of work actors, not food experts. (NOTE: These tours often take place in the afternoon, the time between lunch and dinner. That\u2019s the only time that large groups will fit into most busy restaurants, but it is also the time when the food coming out of the kitchen is the least fresh and attractive!)<\/p>\n

Serious food travelers should consider the extra expense of booking a private food tour. That way you’ll be sure of a small group size. And you will have the opportunity to customize your program around your interests.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you are NOT a dyed in the wool foodie in need of an expert-led Bourdain-style experience. You like food and eating, but it\u2019s just one of many things you are interested in doing on your travels, along with checking out museums, seeing famous sights, appreciating architecture and shopping. You\u2019re quite okay with an overview of the local cuisine led by an entertaining tour guide. In fact, that sounds like exactly how you\u2019d like to spend a few hours during your next trip! If that\u2019s the case (or if you are traveling with someone who sounds like they fit this description), then by all means, book a standard group food tour. You\u2019ll have a few bites, learn more about your destination, and have a lot of fun too![\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

2. Choose a food tour that offers quality over quantity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Beware the food tour company that promotes their tour by telling potential customers they will \u201cfeel so full they won\u2019t have to eat dinner\u201d when it\u2019s finished. Or that advertise an impossibly high number of tasting stops in a three hour walking tour. When we see that kind of marketing or testimonial, we run the other way!<\/p>\n

Why? Well as food tour operators we are privy to a secret of our industry: the food that you eat on a food tour represents the LOWEST expense of our business. In many cases, a tour operator is getting your food for free! That\u2019s right, lots of operators partner with restaurants to give out sample tastes for free, or close to it, for promotional purposes. That means you\u2019re not necessarily tasting food at the best restaurants in the area. You\u2019re eating at the ones who have made a deal with your food tour company. (NOTE: At Little Adventures in Hong Kong we never, ever do that. We choose restaurants because we like them, not because they cut us a break).<\/p>\n

If you are the kind of traveler that enjoys overviews, rather than deep dives, then a tour padded with lots of stops for cheaper items like cookies, pastries and other starchy dishes may be right for you. But if you prefer to have a tour with fewer, but higher quality items on offer, then steer clear of the food tours that promise to \u201cfill you up\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

3. Check the itinerary. Make sure there is more to your food tour than just eating.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]We have been on food tours around the world that consist of three or four hours jumping from food stop to food stop. At each restaurant, cafe, street food stand or bakery we learn the name of the owners, how old the establishment is, and perhaps we\u2019ll hear one anecdote about each place. Wash, rinse repeat.<\/p>\n

Frankly, we find these types of food tours boring. Food is a door to the culture and history of a place, and it\u2019s such a pity to just eat it! That is why we recommend examining your food tour itinerary. Does it include stops at local groceries or (even better) open air food markets? Will you be making any non-food related stops at interesting, off the beaten track places?<\/a> Will you be meeting a food artisan or getting a demonstration of a traditional cooking method? These are all signs that your tour company has done its research and is interested in giving you a rounded experience that includes food, but also communicates a sense of place.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column]