David R. Chan isn’t your typical Chinese food enthusiast. He can’t speak Chinese, he doesn’t use chopsticks, and he grew up barely eating anything Chinese. But the Los Angeles native has over his adult life, obsessively eaten at over 7,000 Chinese restaurants, mostly in America, and has them all methodically… Continue Reading Obsessed: This Guy Has Eaten at Over 7,000 Chinese Restaurants

Hangzhou, once the capital of China, is considered one of the country’s most beautiful cities, with a scenic lake, ancient pagodas, and refined street food. Locals keep dishes light and fresh, with flavors erring on the sweet side. We picked out five things you must try in Hangzhou. For more… Continue Reading 5 Street Food Dishes You Must Try in Hangzhou

In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, hole-in-the-wall eateries are called fly restaurants because they have customers coming back like, well, flies. They’re often hidden and have questionable hygiene, but they offer some of the best home-cooked street food. Writer and chef Jenny Gao takes us on a food crawl of… Continue Reading Sichuan Food Crawl: The Best Mapo Tofu, Chili Wontons, and Noodles

The food of northern China is comfort food at its finest—greasy, salty, and very hearty. Dishes include deep-fried dough sticks, pork buns, and noodles with fermented bean paste. But why is the food so heavy? One of the reasons is the weather. This is the 11th episode of our 13-part… Continue Reading Why Northern Chinese Food Is the Best Comfort Food – Eat China (E11)

If you find your shumai in Houston, Texas especially authentic, you have Hoi Fung to thank. He is the first chef who brought authentic Cantonese cuisine to the city in 1982 after moving from Hong Kong. Now, his own daughter is carrying on the family’s legacy of cooks, with her… Continue Reading The Hong Kong Chef Who Brought Cantonese Food To Houston

Who influenced the flavors you love today? For chef Zhou Yongle, it was his grandmother. In this video, Zhou traces his roots to China’s Hunan Province and rediscovers the spicy flavors of his ancestors. 0:00 ‘Every dish has its own genes’ 1:10 A childhood filled with spicy food 2:07 What… Continue Reading A Chef’s Search for the Spicy Flavors of His Ancestors

Think about your typical Chinese restaurant in the United States. What’s on the menu? It’s likely wonton, chop suey, and lo mein. These dishes all come from one part of China: the Cantonese region. But even Cantonese food is more diverse than what you might find in the States. Seafood,… Continue Reading What Is Cantonese Food? – Eat China (S1E2)

Sichuan is known for its love of spice. It’s the birthplace of mala hot pot, mapo tofu, and dandan noodles—all made with copious amounts of chili and peppercorn. How did this region come to fall in love with spicy food, and what are the core ingredients? This is the fifth… Continue Reading How Did Sichuan Fall In Love With Spice? – Eat China (S1E5)

Chinese food is much more than just stir-fry, noodles, and dumplings. In this video, we break down Chinese food into roughly four schools—north, south, east, and west—and explain what makes them different. This is the first episode in a 13-part series on Chinese food (we know, it’s a lot). Stay… Continue Reading Chinese Food 101: North vs. South vs. East vs. West – Eat China (S1E1)