For serious, traveling the world over and sampling its culinary delights for a living isn’t really a career by any typical description, it is rampant decadence. But love him or hate him, admire or envy him, you can’t fault celebrity chef, explorer, media personality and author Anthony Bourdain for having arguably the best job in the world.
The following is the synopsis of his Hong Kong excursion from Season 3:
Hong Kong is a wonderland of colors, lights, and speed. A marriage of modern and traditional. It is also a mecca of food in Asia, and Tony arrives in Hong Kong, ready to take the plunge into all things edible.
Upon arrival, Tony meets up with Hong Kong blogger and fellow food enthusiast, John, to indulge in some famed Hong Kong street food - hot fried rice cooked in steaming clay pots, a wintertime comfort food on the streets of Hong Kong. Noting Tony’s disinterest in the Chinese sausage accompanying his rice, John takes him to a place that is sure to strike a chord - a backdoor noodle shop owned by a trio of body building brothers! Tony and John enjoy beef noodle soup, before heading out to sample one more street food snack - fried intestine on a stick. The next day, continuing on their foodie quest, John and Tony indulge in a specialty of Hong Kong - roasted meats. Tony is in awe of the tradition involved in creating such exquisite treats. One man, two specialties, two absolutely delicious plates of steaming goodness - roast suckling pig, and roast goose legs. Not only are they in search of perfect meats, Tony and John also want to find the perfect noodle, so John takes Tony to witness the tradition, care, and recipe of an old-fashioned noodle maker, working out of a tiny home workshop. His ancient methods and simple ingredients make for the most wonderful noodles Tony has ever tasted.
Needing to digest before delving into another cacophony of Hong Kong feasts, Tony spends the next afternoon at the local racetrack. After losing the majority of his money on a bum horse, Tony runs into Frank, a Hong Kong chef. Frank offers to introduce Tony to a street food wonder of Hong Kong. His hunger tearing at his insides, Tony gladly accompanies Frank to Dai Pai Dong, an indoor, upstairs fanstasy land of loud patrons, cold beer, and dozens of food stalls. Chef Bobby, a famed street food cook, joins Tony as he samples some local favorites - mantis prawn in noodles, fish heads, squid balls and squid ink pasta. Tony enjoys the pig knuckles, an unexpected treat. After greeting some rowdy fans and having a couple more beers, Tony and Frank head out. The next day they trek to a typhoon shelter, a place for boats to remain safe from storms, to discover typhoon shelter crab, a traditional dish made with crab, hot oil, chili pepper, and lots of garlic. Their next stop brings them to Bo Innovation, home to Alvin Liung, “the Demon Chef”. His intense love of food fuels his gastronomic deconstruction. Meat and rice ice cream, Szechuan lobster in dumpling skin, gummies made from flowers, egg tarts, and passion fruit. Each dish amazes Tony more than the one before. Alvin Liung is a modern light in a world of tradition.
Taking a short break from the food, Tony checks-out the Hong Kong film culture, particularly special effects. Channeling his inner-Jackie Chan, Tony is hoisted into the air by pulleys and ropes and performs flips and stunts with none other than Jackie Chan’s own stunt team. Tony and the crew work-up quite an appetite and decide to come together for lunch. They enjoy a steaming plate of pun choy, an old delight. Filled with chicken, seafood, mushrooms, and other vegetables, it is exactly the satisfaction that Tony’s stomach was waiting for. Filled with Hong Kong flavor, Tony says goodbye and retreats to the hotel.
On his last day in Hong Kong, Tony is treated to a dim sum brunch by Denny, a tour-guide from Hong Kong, and Matt, a friend Tony met while dining at Bo Innovation. As steaming plates of beef dumplings, radish cakes, and pork buns whiz by the tables, with diners calling out orders and requests, Tony can’t help but relate this scene to Hong Kong as a whole. Small spaces, lots of people, bright lights and amazing food in every direction.
Interest piqued? A link to the torrent file for this episode can be got here.
And you will need an .mkv player (Matroska is an open source video format, fyi), which you can download for free here.