0:00:03 > 0:00:07Please note: we are currently unable to insert accents, etc, in the following subtitles.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26China boasts one of the world's most sophisticated and varied cuisines,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29and for the gastronomically adventurous it's paradise.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35In this programme, a taste of the huge diversity of food on offer
0:00:35 > 0:00:37from morning through to night.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39A look at how to order and say what you like,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43and a flavour of home cooking during the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53At this countryside B&B just outside Beijing,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56breakfast is traditional and filling.
0:00:56 > 0:00:57Breakfast.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Literally, morning food.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Corn porridge and rice porridge
0:01:08 > 0:01:09are the main dishes here.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19They are accompanied by pickles, beans, onion pancakes and spicy scrambled eggs.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30In cities, many Chinese eat a fast breakfast on the way to work.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Dough sticks. The top favourite.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39Fried dumplings.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Patties filled with meat and vegetables.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Sweet bean paste parcels.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55They all make tasty morning snacks.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Lunch.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Literally midday food.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07So important is eating to city dwellers
0:02:07 > 0:02:09that even canteen food can be excellent.
0:02:10 > 0:02:16Students at Beijing University are spoilt for choice, and quality.
0:02:19 > 0:02:20To eat.
0:02:22 > 0:02:23I like to eat...
0:02:26 > 0:02:28I like eating tofu.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Wo xihuan chi doufu, mifan, haiyou jirou.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Rice.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Chicken.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Wo xihuan chi biandou, bu xihuan chi bocai.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47I don't like to eat...
0:02:49 > 0:02:54Wo xihuan chi yangrou, haiyou shuijiao, bu xihuan chi mifan.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Wo xihuan chi Zhongguo jiaozi, bu xihuan chi yangbaicai.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07In Beijing, one of the most traditional lunchtime places,
0:03:07 > 0:03:12with much of its original character, is the Old Beijing Noodle King.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16As guests arrive, waiters shout out how many you are
0:03:16 > 0:03:17and rush to look after you.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23For ordinary people in Beijing, lunch is generally a hearty meal,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and chunky northern-style wheat noodles fit the bill.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30They're quite different from the very fine noodles of Southern China.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35Noodles.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41It's the multitude of sauces, pickles and spicy vegetables
0:03:41 > 0:03:43that make the noodles appetising.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46It all adds up to cheap and tasty family food.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Or even a convivial business lunch.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56One of Beijing's finest restaurants, the Quan Ju De,
0:03:56 > 0:04:01offers a wonderfully traditional setting in which to savour the city's most favourite dish,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Beijing Duck.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Ducks are force-fed before slaughter,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09so that they are plump and fat.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12They are coated in honey, water, and vinegar
0:04:12 > 0:04:14and roasted in wood-fired ovens.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18Roast duck.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24To order duck, you can say...
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Please bring one roast duck.
0:04:32 > 0:04:33The waitress asks...
0:04:35 > 0:04:38What would you like to eat?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Nimen chi dianr shenme?
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Qing lai yi zhi kao ya.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Nimen you shenme qingcai?
0:04:48 > 0:04:49Vegetables.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51They decide on beans and mushrooms.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Qing lai yi pan chao doujiao, yi pan mogu.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Please bring...
0:05:02 > 0:05:04A plate of fried beans.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Doujiao - beans.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12A plate of mushrooms.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Mogu - mushrooms.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Then the pancakes arrive,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22along with spring onions and sweet soy bean sauce,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24to accompany the duck.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Once it was only the city's elite who could afford this delicacy,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34now it's a popular choice for all kinds of people.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43When you're ready for the bill, say...
0:05:45 > 0:05:47The bill please.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Qing jiezhang.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58Yi bai, er bai, er bai jiushi wu yuan. Gei nin.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Xiexie.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07If you visit China on business you may well be entertained by your hosts in style.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11At the Grand Capital seafood restaurant,
0:06:11 > 0:06:16you'll be offered some of the most authentic Cantonese cuisine to be found in Beijing.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Seafood is one of the main ingredients of Cantonese food.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Canton's capital, Guangzhou, is a port,
0:06:24 > 0:06:28and many foreign influences have found their way into the cooking.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32The result, elaborate mixtures of flavours and textures.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35The haute cuisine of China.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43When the head chef arrived here,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46he brought his whole restaurant crew up from Guangzhou.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49He's been passionate about cooking since the age of 15.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14On a good day, there can be as many as 500 guests to feed at one sitting.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16But he relishes the challenge.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37If you're being entertained by Chinese hosts,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41they're likely to do the ordering and simply ask you for your preferences.
0:07:44 > 0:07:45Prawns.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48Fish.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Do you like to eat fish or prawns?
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Ni xihuan chi yu haishi chi xia?
0:08:00 > 0:08:01Wo xihuan chi xia.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Wo xihuan chi yu.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Ni xihuan qingzheng haishi hong shao?
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Qingzheng.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11Steamed.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Cooked in soy sauce.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Next they decide how to have their rice.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Women chi bai fan haishi chao fan?
0:08:24 > 0:08:25Bai fan.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27They choose...
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Plain rice.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Chaofan is fried rice.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Restaurants catering for business clients offer more seats in private rooms
0:08:39 > 0:08:40than in the open area.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43These formal lunches often turn into banquets,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45costing thousands of yuan.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49It's the done thing to offer guests far more than they can possibly eat.
0:08:53 > 0:08:54Chopsticks.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Designed, it seems, to make you
0:08:56 > 0:08:58savour every morsel.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Yen Ying is well versed in cultural differences.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05In China, guanxi - connections -
0:09:05 > 0:09:07help to oil the wheels in business dealings.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11And often these connections start over a meal.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49For many Chinese, a fun night out
0:09:49 > 0:09:52means eating good food in good company.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01At this Sichuanese restaurant,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04traditional hotpot provides the best of all worlds.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Sizzling spices and a friendly atmosphere.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15Most people order a double hotpot, yin and yang, mild and hot.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Beware of yang.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21The main ingredient is meat.
0:10:26 > 0:10:27Beef.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Chicken.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34You can also have fish and vegetables.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37Literally fish meat.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Mushrooms.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Lotus root slices.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49Greens.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55The process of cooking your own, the way you want it,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57is half the fun of hotpot dining.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Zhe jirou zhen haochi.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11The chicken is really good.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Everyone has their favourite ingredients.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Wo xihuan chi niurou, xihuan chi jirou.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Wo bu xihuan chi jirou. Wo xihuan chi yu.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29Wo xi huan chi niu rou. Wo bu xihuan chi qingcai.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Eating out on the streets is what many Chinese enjoy.
0:11:35 > 0:11:41In Beijing, people flock to snack street for the tastiest morsels in China.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48Grasshoppers, frogs, not everyone's taste maybe.
0:11:48 > 0:11:49But there's plenty to choose from,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and it's cheap, around five yuan a portion.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56To order you can simply say...
0:11:57 > 0:11:59I want...
0:12:01 > 0:12:04I want one portion of fried noodles.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Wo yao yi ge chao mian.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Wo yao yi ge mogu, liang ge xilanhua.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14A portion of mushrooms.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Two portions of broccoli.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Out in the countryside China's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is when
0:12:42 > 0:12:46families traditionally come together to enjoy the fruits of the earth.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Everyone expects a good spread.
0:12:53 > 0:12:54Cheers!
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Moon cakes are the centrepiece.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Rich, heavy pastries filled with fruits or meats.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09There are nuts, dates and plenty of other locally-grown delicacies.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Traditionally people gather and philosophise under the full moon.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20And there are poems extolling its magic.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40One legend has it that the moon is inhabited by a hare,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43endlessly pounding the drums of immortality.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48At his side is a beautiful woman, transported there with the help of a magic potion.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52She's achieved eternal life, but at a price.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Eternal solitude.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00When the autumn moon is full, she gazes out on the world she's left behind.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk