The best means of truly peeling back a city’s hidden layers is to simply walk the same miles as its locals. Such is the drive behind A Taste Of The World Walks, a one-woman educational/thematic guided tour service that has been offering insight into Hogtown since 1993.
Created by owner/tour guide Shirley Lum, A Taste Of The World Walks’ navigational circuit highlights some of the various culinary, literary and supernatural hotspots across our fair city. The idea spawned from Lum’s desire to forge a company motif around the means by which her own global explorations unfolded circa 1988.
“(The various stops on A Taste’s tours are) an extension of how I travelled for the first time,” she smiles. “I’ve always had a passion for hunting nooks and crannies connected with food and literature.”
Looking to offer revelations about the same hidden gems many area residents keep closely guarded, Lum researched various interesting aspects of Toronto, organized progression between destinations and set about offering up a series of now highly-popular metropolitan walking/eating excursions.
Currently, trips through select Chinatown, Kensington, Rosedale and Broadview restaurants give ample options to her diverse clientele at varying rates. A three-plus hour Foodies Walk (food & non-alcoholic drinks) are under $50 while Ghost/Literary Detective Walks (two-plus hours/snacks) come in below $30 for adults. Senior and children discounts are available.
