A Bite of China 舌尖上的中国 🏆 Best Chinese Food Show Ever!
A Bite of China Review 舌尖上的中国: The Chinese Food Culture Sensation
Love Chinese food? Interested in Chinese culture?
As you’re here, you’re probably going to say yes to both of those! Luckily for you, we found a show you’re guranteed to love: A Bite of China.
There are 3 seasons for A Bite of China. In Mandarin, it’s called 舌尖上的中国 (shéjiān shàng de zhōngguó). This literally means “China on the tip of the tongue”.
The name alone caused a buzz among Chinese people and the show itself was extremely popular.
If you even know just a little about Chinese culture, you will understand why.
A Bite of China || Season 1: The Most Loved
A Bite of China || Season 2: The Most Cultural
A Bite of China || Season 3: The Most Controversial
A Bite of China || Watch on Youtube
A Bite of China || Chinese Food Culture
A Bite of China || 陈晓卿 & CCTV
A Bite of China || FAQ’s
A Bite of China Review: Season 1
The TV show team behind A Bite of China played a blinder with the naming of the show. It turned out to be very successful and hugely popular.
A Bite of China 舌尖上的中国 (shéjiān shàng de zhōngguó) is a food documentary Chinese TV Show with three seasons and 23 episodes in total.
Season 1 is ranked the best out of all of the three seasons.
It became hugely popular when it was first released in 2012.
A Bite of China season 1 has 7 episodes, with each episode lasting about 50 minutes.
The first episode is called “The Gift From Nature” and covers the four seasons of the year, showing the stories behind delicious food sourced from nature.
China has a large population and one of the most abundant and diverse natural landscapes, plateaus, mountains, lakes, and coastlines in the world.
The second episode is about main courses 主食（zhǔshí）
From the natural cereals people depended on to stave off hunger in ancient times, to the hearty, mouth-watering dishes on people’s tables today, a colourful and varied world of main courses is presented.
The second episode focuses on depicting stories about main courses in different regions, different ethnic groups, and different styles.
It shows people’s pursuit of diversity in appearance and taste of different dishes, along with the knowledge of processes and the deep feelings Chinese people have towards food.
Our favourite episode? Episode 6: Harmony of the Five Flavours, 五味的调和 wǔwèi de tiáohé
In China taste is regarded as the ‘soul’ of Chinese food. Different raw materials, different condiments, different cooking techniques, and different seasoning make food even more delicious. Each kind of cuisine uses careful Chinese cooking techniques to present different flavours.
In episode 6, you will explore the different seasonings used in Chinese cooking to create various flavours. The episode shows the rich production techniques of seasonings and deciphers the amazing seasoning technology used in Chinese cooking.
In the episode there are ten stories covering the four basic cuisines of Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong and Huaiyang and also representative regional cuisines such as Xinjiang and Yunnan.
By showing a variety of culinary cultures, the show tells the real life stories of Chinese people today and expresses their rich and complex relationship with food.
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A Bite of China Review: Season 2
Season 2 of A Bite of China, released in 2014, was generally considered to be second best (pun intended) to the original season – but we’d still say it’s worth a watch!
Season 2 has eight episodes lasting about 50 minutes each. The eighth episode is a special behind-the-scenes episode about the team behind the show.
As a documentary that explores the relationship between Chinese people and food, the show uses food as a window to understand China and its culture through food.
This season depicts Chinese people’s cultural traditions, family concepts, life attitudes and hometowns by showing the multiple aspects of people’s daily lives related to food.
You’ll follow Chinse people as they harvest, preserve, cook and produce food.
The second season of A Bite of China tell the story of Chinese food from seven angles: seasons, footsteps, words and deeds, secret environment, family style, meeting, and three meals.
What was your favourite episode? Let us know in the comments!
A Bite of China Review: Season 3
Whilst season 2 was slightly less popular than season 1, people had even less nice things to say about season 3 following its release in 2018!
This season of A Bite of China also has eight episodes, with each episode lasting 50 minutes.
Despite its lack of popularity, this season is still full of interesting food, people, scenery and culture.
We don’t want to spoil it too much for you, so why not take a look at the trailer and see if season 3 looks tantalising enough to draw you in!
A Bite of China: Watch on Youtube
- You can go to CCTV纪录’s official channel on YouTube to watch the English version of Season 1.
- You can also go to CCTV纪录’s official channel on YouTube to watch the Chinese versions for all three Seasons.
A Bite of China is not only a great way to gain knowledge about Chinese food culture, but also good for hearing lots of different Chinese dialects.
A Bite of China: Chinese Food Culture
After watching the three seasons of A Bite of China, we’re certain that you’ll be just as amazed at Chinese food culture as we were!
民以食为天 mín yǐ shí wéi tiān is a very famous Chinese sentence. This means that food is the most important thing for people.
In China we relate everything to food. If we are partaking in a festival we eat special food, for example during Mid-Autumn festival we have mooncakes (月饼yuèbǐng) and during the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) we have dumplings.
As for Chinese weddings? These are also always about the food!
A Bite of China: 陈晓卿 & CCTV
Chen Xiaoqing (陈晓卿 chén xiǎoqīng) is the director of the first two seasons of A Bite of China.
He joined CCTV in 1989, right after he graduated. He then left CCTV in 2017, one year before the release of the third season of A Bite of China.
Now he works as a Deputy Chief Editor at Tencent Video.
What was the most memorable Chinese dish you’ve ever eaten? Let us know in the comments below!
A Bite of China: FAQ’s
Where can I watch A Bite of China?
You can go to CCTV 纪录’s official channel on YouTube to watch it for free.
How many seasons of A Bite of China are there?
There are 3 seasons of A Bite of China, with 23 episodes all together.
How do you say A Bite of China in Chinese?
In Chinese, A Bite of China is called 舌尖上的中国 (shéjiān shàng de zhōngguó) which literally means “China on the tip of the tongue”.
Who is 陈晓卿 Chén Xiǎoqīng？
陈晓卿 Chén Xiǎoqīng is the director of the first two seasons of A Bite of China. He has since left CCTV and now works as a Deputy Chief Editor at Tencent Video.
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