i like sichuan. man, i love the food here. you know what else i like? torturing my friend eric ripert. i don't know why, maybe it's because he's so damn nice. you high, man? you look high. >> eric: i am. but i liked it. >> man: yeah. >> anthony: you can pretty much tear his toenails out and he'd still find something nice to say about you. he's so polite, yet, if you look closely, and i do, his discomfort can be exquisite. >> eric: he's the devil. look at him. ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha la la la la sha la la la la la ♪ ♪ sha la la la la sha la la la la la la ♪ >> anthony: it's the spicy, sensualist heartland of all the things i love about china. the collision between very, very old and very new. an exploding middle class. a lot of history. and food that can burn you down to a charred, smoking little stump. sichuan province, located in the southwest of china. over a thousand miles from beijing. a region so fer

, it's not just about chili and sichuan pepper.ke french sauces. >> eric: yes. >> fuchsia: and there's one of them called -- strange flavor. >> eric: strange flavor. >> anthony: yeah. because it's a mixture of sweet, sour, salty, spicy, numbing, and nutty all together. and this is strange flavor noodles. so, it's just like a real traditional sichuan dish but done in a very refined way. then some soup. a rich, slow-simmered chicken and pork stock, a raft of chopped meat floats on top to clarify the broth. a small bundle of impossibly thin hand-cut noodles made with duck egg yolks, a western sichuan specialty. [ chef speaking chinese ] >> fuchsia: okay. [ chef speaking chinese ] >> fuchsia: okay. so he's saying, um, first have a smell of this and then a taste of the broth. >> anthony: oh, that's beautiful. >> fuchsia: and just gently press the noodles and then lift them up and eat them. >> eric: yeah, very refined. >> fuchsia: you know, some of these dishes, the character is very similar to what you'd get on the street, but it's just

and i figured, if i'm going back to sichuan, i should bring a friend.heat commonly found in the heat here. someone whose never been to china before and is unused to its ways. i'm talking, of course, about chef eric ripert, such three-star restaurants in new york. sew welcome to china, eric. >> thank you. >> first time to the land? >> yes, there is a prize about what i see in the city here. it's like canada. gigantic china town in new york. >> that's some racist stuff right there. >> very surprising, the streets, very clean, just almost -- >> the air quality, maybe you've noticed that haze. >> yeah, it's like -- >> that's not good. >> but i'm definitely out of my comfort zone. >> really? >> for sure. good. i'm hungry. you hungry? >> yeah. >> noodles. that's where you start around here. sichuan is famous for spots like this named after a beloved noodle snack. >> oh, yeah, now we're talking. >> i've never been good with chopsticks. >> really? >> never. this is not bad. i can grab it. kind of. >> oh, yeah. that is awesome. >> spicy. the peppers get me. whoa

they were brought here from sichuan province. they are the first giant pandas to live in this part of china in over a century. before long, they will be plucking bamboo shoots themselves in the forest. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. >> euromaxx highlights. and here's your host, carlos mcconnie. carlos: welcome, my friends. thanks for tuning in as usual. our week just wouldn't be the same without some highlights. so let's get this show on the road with a quick preview of today's subjects. success story. a russian animation series has won kids' hearts the world over. oktoberfest options. our own linda bethke dives headfirst into munich's famous beer festival. shark shots. a belgian photographer and his love affair with the ocean's predators. as the outdoorsman that i am, i used to think that bears were dangerous and scarsp

i like sichuan. man, i love the food here. you know what else i like?end eric ripert. i don't know why, maybe it's because he's so damn nice. you high, man? you look high. >> eric: i am. but i liked it. >> man: yeah. >> anthony: you can pretty much tear his toenails out and he'd still find something nice to say about you. he's so polite, yet, if you look closely, and i do, his discomfort can be exquisite. >> eric: he's the devil. look at him. ♪ i took a walk through this

i like sichuan. i love the food here. you know what else i like? torturing my friend rick ripert.ce to say about you. he's so polite but if down look closely and i do, his discomfort can be

he says to the sichuan province of china. >> you order a whole bunch of ingredient, meat, vegetables,dles, fish, whatever you like. a lot of different ingredients and feed them into the pot. >> we should throw them in. >> that will take a long time. throw the tripe in. >> it's called thousand layer stomach. >> all going in there, man. the inner ring is a more neutral broth, the outer ring is the good stuff, the hard stuff. >> that's good, man, that's good. >> that was the first bite. >> awesome, right? >> yes. >> it only gets better, my friend. ♪ turn the trips you have to take, into one you'll never forget. expedia plus rewards. earn points on over one million hotels, flights, and packages. you made with your airline credit card.these purchases hold on...you only got double miles on stuff you bought from that airline? let me show you something better. the capital one venture card. with venture, you earn unlimited double miles on every purchase... not just...(dismissively) airline purchases. every purchase. everywhere. every day. no really! double miles on all of them! what's in your

i like sichuan. man, i love the food here. you know what else i like?now why, maybe it's because he's so damn nice. you high, man? you look high. >> eric: i am. but i liked it. >> man: yeah. >> anthony: you can pretty much tear his toenails out and he'd still find something nice to say about you. he's so polite, yet, if you look closely, and i do, his discomfort can be exquisite.