Each season is a different region and the episodes are pretty short.
Season 1 is Chaosan and I enjoyed more than the latter two seasons. I don't think you have to watch them in any order.

Anyone can learn how to cook another culture's dishes. Most of the sushi buffets here are owned and staffed by mainland chinese people (based on their accent). But to answer your question, I would suspect if they were from China, they'd likely head to the chinese enclaves first, then disperse outwards... so My expectations would be San Francisco, New York, Toronto and Vancouver before expanding. I know a university city (London, Ontario) didn't really have "chinese" restaurants until the university there started accepting a lot of mainland chinese students. I would expect Houston to have many as I've seen stories from lots of chinese there.

It's the flour and how it's processed. They use a different type of flour in the north (I forget what it's called but it's a scrawny type of wheat crop from what I've seen in the fields) They also process it differently. I suspect it contains a lot of gluten in it. And when you work on the dough, it's done different. Over here, it's more an automated process to get as much as you can done. You have the noodle press-thingie (yes, that's a technical term). In traditional chinese restaurants, they'd be pulling the noodles...

There's a noodle chain here called Magic Noodle that makes some pretty decent noodle dishes. The only automated processed noodles I've seen is a dummy chef that cuts noodles off a block of dough. But beyond that, it's all done by hand (including the la mian)

I didn't know there was a third season. I'll have to go see if I can find it. There's no requirement to see it in any order as OskiBear mentioned, but you should watch them within season since each season focuses on a region. This is the kind of stuff I try to download before going onto transit. Movies are fun, but shows like this can be broken down and you might learn something interesting/new.

Very glad they're still around; next time I'm in LA, perhaps I'll drop by and see if I can find one for old time's sake. In addition to the food, I always liked the variety of drinks.

Good idea! I should download it on my iPad for my upcoming flight to JFK. If I can't actually visit China, mind as well watch people actually doing so and enjoying the wonderful food.

Havta be pedantic here and mention that it's Chaoshan and not Chaosan. I remember that for two reasons-- 1st, a bus driver in Shantou (a city in that region) cursed at me, probably just for being a foreigner, and 2, I had a damn good 粉果 (fenguo: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_guo) in that nape of the woods.

I'd be curious to see if they had episodes on Hunan and Xinjiang.

I doubt it. However there are youtubers who travel those areas and promote food... try this guy... ah xin (at least that's what it sounds like)... he eats too much (especially spicy foods) but showcases a lot of places. NOTE: Not an english channel... usually doesn't have subtitles.

LOL...Ah, while only speaking for myself, given the extent I've enjoyed these "dining" threads, I'm probably guilty of that myself too!

Compared to Ah Xin, unlikely. I mean this guy orders a lot of food and eats a lot. I don't know if he wastes any of the excess food but if he does, it's reprehensible. There are a few chinese vloggers who appear to overeat... there are some english vloggers like that as well ahem...Mikey Chen....ahem.

Nice!

BTW, up in Toronto, what regional Chinese fare is en vogue these days?

Not sure to be honest. Over here it can change quickly, however, hotpot in general is still very popular with stick hotpot growing the biggest share. You've got haidilao and Happy Lamb opening branches here like crazy. Dumpling restaurants are still solid. So are Cantonese zichar places. Technically we're still under lockdown and mask mandates are still in place so most restaurants aren't really filling up. Most are surviving on takeout.

Ah, I'm not really up to speed on this new vlog stuff, and the prospects of spending time watch some dudes who "appear" as if they have the propensity for overeating ain't exactly my idea of fun. So, probably pass, and will just take your word for it!

I don't blame you. After watching a few videos to understand their content, I generally stop watching them as well. I'd rather watch the ones who really do contribute... Ah Xin is borderline as he does promote regions... At least for part of it, but it's usually if I am looking for regional stuff within China.

Yes, the saying does go something like that... Cantonese cuisine is good but I'd prefer to stay and eat in Suzhou/Hangzhou. It's all personal preference but I love Jiangsu/Zhejiang cuisine. Classic old school Sichuan is next for me (but not the modern how mala/麻辣 can we make each bite craze). And third place goes to Dongbei :D.

​​​​

​​​​

Several years ago, I still recall ordering a Sichaun fish course at the Pier F's dining room before my return flight back to the States. On the menu, it specified hot with that pepper symbol, but I thought to myself, "how hot can it be"? I mean, I've had PF Chang's "Sichuan" chicken with 4 peppers, and it was fine! To my shock, this was a spicy hotness I've never experienced in my life; my tongue was numb for several days with a tingling sensation. So, I can only imagine the real classic cuisine in Sichuan! Is it an acquired taste? Genetically predisposed to it?

Not too familiar with Dongbei, and would love to try it! But, alas, it's not as if I can take a leisure trip to China in the near future.

Sichuan/Hunan is very spicy. When I was younger, I'd often go for the spicier stuff. These days, I've mellowed out. I can still handle the spice (not the oily stuff, but if they say it's spicy I'm not too concerned) but my preference is to get other dishes that showcase flavour over let's see if we can make you swallow your tongue...

Dongbei cuisine... lots of dumpings? Celestial cows... suan cai tong... shredded potato salad!!! Lots of good stuff.

As for visiting China, I suspect at the rate relations are going, even if they lift their bans, it'd probably be better not to go...

Maybe I'll have dumplings for lunch tomorrow...

Sichuan is spicy but traditional classic Sichuan should not be so spicy that you can't taste additional flavours. And some famous dishes like fish fragrant shredded pork (魚香肉絲) are not really spicy at all. If in Chengdu, the original Chen Mapo Doufu has all the classic dishes done right.

And to add to the Dongbei list...the Dongbei Iron Pot with the little corn cakes...like this:
https://rachelgouk.com/chinese-food-...t-stew-yao-ji/

Had this in Beijing in Dec 2019. It's great winter fare. Sadly, that was the last time I was in China. Both my wife and I were there for work and stayed for a long weekend here with Hyatt points: https://slh.com/hotels/cours-et-pavillons Would recommend it for something different.

I miss it!!