The creators of the Netflix show Chef’s Table will soon debut a series dedicated to Asia’s heroes of street food to the network. When guests on our own street food tour first mentioned this show’s upcoming launch, it was hard not to feel excitement followed swiftly by— well duh, about time!
Watch the trailer for the show, which promises to take viewers to 9 destinations in search of Asia’s best street food.
Judging by the trailer this should soon be one of Netflix’s most successful food shows yet, and foodies will have a snack ready to watch when it becomes available April 26th. Short of rewatching earlier episodes of Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, there is a serious gap between documentary style food shows, and travel shows with cursory discussion of food. We hope Street Food, even if the show is set to the pace of Chef’s Table, will usher in more interesting content about delicious, approachable food.
Let’s be clear though, to be successful the show has to navigate beyond the pure novelty of street food and actually tell people’s stories. The promise to “Meet the Local Heroes” is the most promising aspect of the coming show— well, that and the youtube trailer subliminally suggests we should all be eating more chili crab at least 3-4 times. Cravings aside, food is the access point for better understanding a hardworking group of courageous folks who hit the streets without any of the investment, resources, and even the legal status traditional businesses enjoy.
Future seasons will also have to answer for the first criticism to be leveled at the trailer — hey where the heck is Malaysia? Viewers quickly noticed that the Chef’s Table team is definitely missing an episode featuring Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur’s (or more casually known as KL) absence definitely feels like a snub, but we’re confident the show will get there. Hopefully along with a few more eating trips to show off more of the culinary scenes in Japan, India, and, fingers crossed, Thailand too.
Hunting some scenes to savor until Street Food launches? Here’s the most notable mentions of Thai food on Netflix. You’ll certainly see why we’re craving more:
- Parts Unknown – S03E07
- Somebody Feed Phil – Episode 1
- Chef’s Table – Bo.lan Feature S05E03
Here’s the 9 cities where the Chef’s Table film crew ended up eating for the first season of Street Food:
Bangkok, Thailand
Jay Fai (Michelin starred crab omelet, tom yum soup, drunken noodles), Khun Suthep (hand-pulled BBQ pork noodles) & Jek Pui (khao gaeng curries)
Osaka, Japan
Toyo (tuna cooked with a blowtorch), Mr. Kita (takoyaki), &Goshi (okonomiyaki)
Delhi, India
Dalchand Kashyap (chaat), Mohamed Rehan (nihari), Karim’s (seekh kebabs), &Dharmender Makkan (chole bhature)
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Mbah Satinem (jajan pasar), Leonarda Tjahjono (jajan pasar), Mbah Lindu (gudeg),Yasir Ferry Ismatrada (mie lethek)
Chiayi, Taiwan
Grace Chia Hui Lin (fish head soup), Uncle Goat (goat stew), Li-Hua and Liu-Zhu (chicken rice),Tsui-Eh (tofu pudding)
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)
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Truoc (snails), Anh Manh (pho), and this episode will also focus on banh mi and com tam vendors.
Singapore
Aisha Hashim (putu piring),Master Tang (wanton noodles), KEK Seafood (chili crab), Niven Long (chicken rice)
Cebu City, Philippines
Florencio “Entoy” Escabas (reef eel stew), Leslie Enjambre (lechon cebu), Ian Secong (tuslob-buwa), Rubilyn Diko Manayon (lumpia)
Which are you looking forward to watching most?!
