Back in September I received an email from one of my favorite social media friends, Jacqueline Church. She wrote:
"I'm inviting you to experience my "Chinatown Experience" tour, which is the full tour including a bit of history about Chinatown's founding, its immigrant origins, Chinese/American food, and more.
We'll walk through Chinatown sampling some favorites, both traditional and modern; visit a traditional Chinese herbalist shop, taste fantastic barbecued pork and more. Finally, we'll enjoy dim sum at Hei La Moon."
As the guests for her tour group gathered at our designated meeting spot, I realized I would be touring with one new friend and a three men who have supported people and programs I care about over the past few years. Adam Castiglioni from Boston Hospitalilty and Tourism Industry Blog, Max Grinnell from The Urbanologist, Richard Auffrey from The Passionate Foodie, and Chanie from Life By Zen made up a fun group to enjoy this tour that proved to be very true to its title Food, Fun and Fables.
We gathered as a group of food lovers but, as anyone who reads BostonZest or our newspaper columns knows, I'm also an architecture, history, and Boston details fan. I'll never look at the Chinatown Gate again without thinking about all the little tidbits that Jackie fed our minds as she described its background and details to us.
I'll never visit this neighborhood again without appreciating my better understanding of its foundation, evolution, and continuing cultural traditions.
As we walked we learned about these tiles in the sidewalk as Jackie pointed a toe and translated some for us.
Why do some gamers in the park play alone, while others have a crowd of coaches? Jackie knows and she shares.
Now I know exactly where to go when I want fabulous Chinese barbeque pork, a whole roast pig with crackling skin, or a roasted duck that may be from the same batch that was delivered to area restaurants.
Don't worry about sticky fingers, Jackie has this magic bag of goodies that assures her guests have what they need when they need it. From toothpicks to snag a piece of pork, to wipes to clean your hands before eating pastries with them, to smaller cups to share a bubble tea – she has you covered! And, you don't have to take notes. She'll provide handouts with the highlights and some extra tips.
As bakery samples are passed around, they are followed by stories. You'll learn how each item is made, how authentic this example happens to be, how seasonal, and where it fits into this culture.
As a Tai Chi student, I realize how important Traditional Chinese Medicine is in this culture. I had been to Jackie's favorite herbalist before. She had taken me there when we met for lunch one day. I think she knew I was having problems with asthma and the shop owner, Patrick, recognized it right away and suggested a ready-made tea that would help.
On the tour Jackie explained how you would consult Patrick and his staff of traditional Chinese herbalists and how your prescription would be filled by the experts in front of their drawers of healing products.
Jackie is a fun person and our visit to a Chinatown grocery shop was filled with laughter as she tried to convince one member of our tour he might even like those lovely green things, if he would only give them a chance.
Along the way all of us learned that she chose this shop because there was more likely to be someone on staff who spoke English should we have questions. And, as we walked the aisles, she pointed out a few of her favorite items among the brands on offer.
Then came dim sum with our expert guide explaining the etiquette of using our chopsticks or pouring tea in a communal setting, ordering from the carts as they passed, explaining how the bill is tallied and how to pay it.
Jackie also divided large portions, gave details of the dishes selected, and made sure everyone was offered a taste of everything. (She even made sure a plate of greens was available for our reluctant produce eater, just in case...)
As you may have noticed, I didn't give you the details of the shops or the answers to the questions that you might have from the photos posted here. Those tales are Jackie's to tell and she tells them far better than I would.
If you have always wanted to learn more about Boston's Chinatown, I highly recommend you gather a few friends, click over to Jacqueline Church Central, and schedule a tour.
Or, if you find yourself in Boston for a day or two by yourself or with a friend, join a tour that she has already scheduled. This is something you can enjoy on your own or with a group. I asked Jackie about a shorter tour with dim sum that would accommodate a friend with limited mobility and she was happy to work with me to figure out what we could include.
As it turned out, that friend was so interested in the tour I had, we are planning to gather a group and enjoy the full three hour Chinatown Experience! She'll take her cane and her friends will help out as needed.
With the holidays ahead, you might consider giving a gift certificate for a tour as a holiday gift. It has been said that many of us today would rather have a great shared experience to remember than something that will add to the things in our lives.
What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny Cherubino ( I was Jackie's guest on this tour here is a link to our disclosure policy.)
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