My aunts live in Hong Kong and she tells me you and Bizarre

My aunts live in Hong Kong and she tells me you and Bizarre Food’s Andrew Zimmern are like Bono and Jagger in Asia. Why do you think that is?

I’m going to guess because they’re very food-centric and very proud in that part of the world. And they get a real kick out of Westerners eating foods that even they recognize as difficult. I think they like to see authentic dishes represented on TV, especially if we’re getting it right rather than going to the best restaurant in town. We’re doing the foods people like to eat when they’re drunk at two in the morning. I have a lot of Asian fans within the states and abroad, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that Andrew does as well.

Conversely, they get really pissed off if you miss the good stuff, or you didn’t get a real good version of the stuff. You put the wrong dumpling place on TV, they get really cranky about that. I got booed by 500 people once in Singapore. Someone asked me what’s my favorite chicken rice place – that’s the signature dish of Singapore – and I haven’t had it at the time. And 500 people booed at me, followed by arguments over which places I should be recommended. When “A Cook’s Tour” was on Food Network, they were so unenthusiastic about sending me out to Asia, and yet, out in Asia they loved the show so much. I was looking for an American company to underwrite me making television for a largely Asian audience. So it doesn’t surprise me and pleases me to no end that people in the very place I like making television most like me back. That thrills me