Netflix’s new show ‘Street Food: Asia’ which debuted on April 26, 2019 ventures into the street food culture and what goes on behind the scenes.
Season 1, Netflix’s Street Food: Asia will run for 9 episodes.
Each episode highlights one destination in Asia and select street food operators which Netflix refer to as ‘local heroes’.
Thailand was featured in the food show’s first episode while the Philippines will take the spotlight on the last (9th) episode.
‘Street Food: Asia’ is a spin-off of the long-running popular food show ‘Chef’s Table’.
The show mainly focuses on the personal stories of the owners of each featured street food from popular food stalls across Asia.
Here’s the list of episodes and participating subjects:
Ep. 1 – Bangkok, Thailand
- Jay Fai (crab omelette, tom yum soup, drunken noodles)
- Khun Suthep (hand-pulled BBQ pork noodles)
- Jek Pui (curries)
Ep. 2 – Osaka, Japan
- Toyo (tuna cooked with a blowtorch)
- Mr. Kita (takoyaki)
- Goshi (okonomiyaki)
Ep. 3 – Delhi, India
- Dalchand Kashyap (chaat)
- Mohamed Rehan (nihari)
- Karim’s (seekh kebabs)
- Dharmender Makkan (chole bhature)
Ep. 4 – Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- Mbah Satinem (jajan pasar)
- Leonarda Tjahjono (jajan pasar)
- Mbah Lindu (gudeg)
- Yasir Ferry Ismatrada (mie lethek)
Ep. 5 – Chiayi, Taiwan
- Grace Chia Hui Lin (fish head soup)
- Uncle Goat (goat stew)
- Li-Hua and Liu-Zhu (chicken rice)
- Tsui-Eh (tofu pudding)
Ep. 6 – Seoul, South Korea
- Cho Yonsoon (knife-cut noodles)
- Gunsook Jung (soy-marinated crab)
- Gumsoon Park and Sangmi Chu (mung bean pancakes)
- Jo Jungja (rice fried in a waffle maker)
Ep. 7 – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Truoc (snails)
- Anh Manh (pho)
- This episode will also focus on banh mi and com tam vendors
Ep. 8 – Singapore
- Aisha Hashim (putu piring)
- Master Tang (wanton noodles)
- KEK Seafood (chili crab)
- Niven Long (chicken rice)
Ep. 9 – Cebu City, Philippines
- Florencio “Entoy” Escabas (reef eel stew)
- Leslie Enjambre (lechon cebu)
- Ian Secong (tuslob-buwa)
- Rubilyn Diko Manayon (lumpia)
Watch the Philippines episode trailer below:
How Cebu was chosen
Award-winning author and chef Tatung Sarthou and veteran journalist Jude Bacalso, both Cebuanos were instrumental to the Netflix team choosing Cebu to represent the Philippines episode:
It was Jude’s article about Tatay Entoy’s Bakasi (reef eel) in the March 2018 issue of Smile Magazine that led to the production team contacting Jude. When Jude found out it was from the people behind Chef’s Table, she said she actually screamed.
Watch this video interview of Tatung and Jude who revealed how and why Cebu was chosen to appear on the Philippines episode of ‘Street Food: Asia’.
Leading Philippine newspaper Inquirer.net and InqPOP visited the town of Cordova, Cebu, to learn more about the “Bakasi” delicacy in celebration of Netflix’s newest series. Watch this video courtesy of Inquirer.net.