Something to chew on

He has not put this story in the documentary, but is planning to do so in season two.

"Without them (his family), many chuan'er bar owners would think I'm a fraud because they would not believe that people would come and film them.

"They were never paid attention to or interviewed by filmmakers before."

Zhang Yueming, the producer and director of the third episode, gained a lot of weight after exploring and filming all the chuan'er restaurants. So did all the other directors and camera people.

The most difficult thing for camera people working on the documentary was capturing the smoke, light and fire.

Each day, Zhang and his team would start to film after sunset and finish at midnight or even later.

"We did not interrupt the business," says Zhang.

The documentary focuses on chuan'er eateries across China except Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Jiangxi province.

"We didn't film in major cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, as we wanted to focus on chuan'er flavors that are hidden in small villages," Wang says.

The voice in the documentary is another feature of the film worth noting, says Wang.

"We wanted the voice to feel like a chat on your balcony, or when you are eating outside at a chuan'er bar."