Asian Food Channel’s (AFC) most loved and popular celebrity chef Martin Yan recently held an intimate dinner in Manila to introduce his new show, Martin Yan’s Taste of Asia. His latest show in AFC is currently airing with its first 26-episode series “Taste of Vietnam,” where he explores the landscapes of Vietnam, relishes on its colorful history, and discovers how its people create their best-loved dishes.
“The new show is not just about cooking; it’s about my personal journey to the countries we visited and will visit in Asia. In Vietnam, what I did was to travel from the mountain, to the planes, to the ocean, from the North to the South, and we stayed as guests in somebody’s house,” Chef Martin shares. “We worked with restaurant chefs, and other hotel chefs, and learned how they cook their food professionally, but also how they do it in the home. So, along the way we also discover life stories and their personal struggles. Basically, it’s a personal journey and I travel to shoot real people and learn from them,” he adds.
Chef Martin beams with excitement as he narrates the adventures of his travels in Vietnam. “When they cooked, I also learned how to cook, not just watch, but cook,” he says. “And I learned not just how to prepare the dish but also understand the way they live, like the fisherman and the people who live in the mountains. I learned about the food they eat, the history, culture, lifestyle, arts and craft, food – and this is what we share on the show – my personal experience,” says Chef Martin.
During the intimate dinner, he did a live demonstration and prepared Asian-inspired flavors that were an upshot of his visit in Vietnam: Hot and Sour Pineapple Fish Soup, Trio of Seafood Fresh Rice Rolls with two Dipping Sauces and Chargrilled Chicken over a bed of mixed greens. He also entertained the guests with his impressive knife skills.
He says that his personal experience while doing the first part of Taste of Asia was exhaustive and he actually lost about seven-and-a-half pounds in two months. But he states that the journey is a lifelong experience because he knows he may not be able to go back again.
“I want to introduce that to the world,” he adds. Their team is done with “Taste of Vietnam,” and they are still just finishing up “Taste of Malaysia.” The next one will be the “Taste of the Philippines.”
“The Philippines is a very unique country,” he excitedly says. “To me, it’s more international, more global than Thailand, than Vietnam because Vietnam and Thailand are very rich in tradition. In the Philippines, you have the European influence, Spanish influence, then you have the Chinese influence, as well as the local influence.” He explained that as more and more Filipinos migrate to different parts of the world and come back home, they also bring certain things to the market, that is why the Philippines is so vibrant.
“Right now the Philippines is growing economically and growing so fast. So, everybody wants to eat, and you have more tourists. The show hopefully will be able to promote all of these, and then hopefully more people from all over the world can come and visit the Philippines,” he adds.
Catch Chef Martin Yan every Friday until the 27th of November every 7pm on AFC. Four episodes will be aired back to back every week. Tastes of Asia’s other country lined up for the show are Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan. For more information, visit www.asianfoodchannel.com/celebcheftours.