No Reservations Season 6 Episode 8: China
This week Tony visits the region of Harbin, China. Tony can’t believe how freezing cold it is, in fact, he says it is painfully cold. Apparently wool socks and foot warmers were important gear for the weather there. In the opening scene Tony is seen eating ice cream out of a paper cup. Tony starts his adventures with Alan Wong, a Harbin local and Tony’s guide for most of his trip. They meet up at Fox Pub, a local place to warm up with a shot of Jameson whiskey. In Harbin they serve their beer warm, its too cold to serve it cold. Tony tells Alan “anything served inside here is awesome” because he is so cold. Next they head to Zhang Fei Pa Rou Meatball and Pork Restaurant. Tony and Alan order pork, Tony’s favorite. A plate of pork meatballs, shreds of pork and a tofu noodle arrive at their table. Tony says “incredible flavors and textures, this is unbelievably good”.
That evening Tony and Alan dine at Zhao Ji Lao Pu, serving Classic Manchurian cuisine. Tony and Alan dine on deer tendon, pickled cabbage, special sweet and sour pork (not the same as our fluorescent Americanized version) and blood soup. Tony says its all wonderful, “great meal, good beer”.
Tony and Alan visit the eccentric owner of USA Bucks Bar, a bar that features American western decor. The owner dresses in western gear and the guy is far from shy. Tony and Alan snack on local sausages and beer, while their host sings karaoke and dances for their entertainment. Btw, Tony hates karaoke and has said so on a number of occasions.
In the next scene Tony is taking a train, a safe and interesting way to travel in China. Tony is heading to a ski resort to ski with the owners of the ski resort. Tony’s a pretty good skier and enjoys his first ride down the hill. On the way back up in the ski gondola, the resort owners offer Tony warm beer and caviar. Tony enjoys this indulgence while the gondola takes them back up the hill. Tony decides to try out their ski luge and ends up crashing into one of the film crew in front of him, only to be rear-ended by someone else running down the course.
Tony tells the camera he’s using Vicodin for the luge crash pain by the next scene. Tony and Alan go to one of Alan’s favorite places, Da Song Shui Jiao, to eat dumplings. Alan says the 24 hour restaurant is like mom’s home cooking. Tony and Alan try a number of dumplings, including the beef and curry dumplings with pickled cabbage.
Next up is Russian food at Around the World, where Harbin’s Russian locals dine. Tony’s guide Dimitri meets him without gloves, Tony can’t believe he’s not bundled up more. The Russian restaurant features Russian singing and dancing as you dine. Dimitri, two of his friends and Tony start the evening off with vodka and Russian caviar. As the evening progresses they eat sausages, pickled vegetables and drink copious amounts of vodka.
The next morning Tony is scheduled to film an ice fishing scene with Alan, the eccentric bar owner and his model-like girlfriend. Tony says “there’s a party inside my brain” after too much vodka the night before. A hungover Tony says “I’ve been praying all morning for God to kill me…an icy death sounds good right now”. As they film the ice hole fishing Tony cues the “stunt fish”, a pre-bought fish for when they don’t catch a fish from the ice hole. Filming shows the stunt fish pulled from the ice and then prepared by Mr. eccentric, who Chef Tony says does a good job of cooking up the meal. The fish stew goes down well for Tony who says “that soup may have just saved my life”. The vodka comes out and Tony hesitates but is prodded into imbibing again to stay warm. Mr. eccentric and his girlfriend blast karaoke music and dance on the ice for the camera.
In the final scene Tony, Alan, Dimitri, the ski resort owner and Mr. eccentric and his girlfriend gather at Lao Liu Sha Zhu Cai for a grand banquet meal. Pork is on the menu, first pig’s head, then pig’s liver, a tower of shredded pig lungs, pork marrow, cubes of pork in flower shapes and vegetables. There are copious drinks and toasts once again throughout the meal. Tony asks the diners how important fun is. Mr. eccentric says he lives like a kid, fun is first, then health, then business. Tony enjoys the meal and company. The final shot shows Mr. eccentric and his girlfriend dancing for the camera during ice fishing and Tony agrees fun is important in life.
