The Hairy Bikers’ Asian Adventure
In their most adventurous road trip yet, the Hairy Bikers tour the birthplaces of favourite Asian cuisines.
The Hairy Bikers’ Asian Adventure
Episode previews
About the show
A taste of Asia
The Hairy Bikers take to the road for their most adventurous culinary trip yet.
In their most adventurous road trip yet, the Hairy Bikers tour the birthplaces of favourite Asian cuisines.
First of all they are in Hong Kong, where they discover the secrets of wok chi at one of the city's street food stalls, and cook with a grandma in her tiny kitchen.
Breakfast reveals a surprising legacy of British rule, and the bikers are sent on their way with a traditional Chinese good luck ceremony.
The Hairy Bikers travel to the beaches of the south and the mountains of the north to discover how Thailand's multicultural history and its place at the heart of the spice trade has created a rich and varied cuisine. They meet a coconut-picking monkey, head out to sea during the monsoon for what turns out to be a rather nerve-wracking fishing expedition, and they cook their own jungle curry for a remote hill tribe.
Next, the bikers head off into the heart of traditional Japan to find out about the historic roots of Japanese cuisine.
Dave puts his Strictly fancy footwork into action, kneading noodle dough the artisan way. The duo then take an awe-inspiring bike ride to see Mount Fuji, spend a night at a Buddhist temple and are entertained by one of Kyoto's geisha, complete with traditional drinking games.
Gallery
Hosts
Si King and David Myers
Unbeknown to many, Si and Dave – aka The Hairy Bikers – never had their sights set on culinary fame.
Hailing from North East England, Si carved a profession as a first assistant director and locations manager for film and television, and can boast credits for working his magic on the award-winning series of Harry Potter movies. He has always loved grub, a passion that was nurtured from an early age by his father – he would bring back exotic ingredients from his voyages with the Royal Navy.
Born and bred in the Cumbrian town of Barrow-in-Furness, Dave studied fine arts at London’s Goldsmiths College, specialising in egg tempera and the work of the Old Masters. After graduating, he joined the BBC as a prosthetics make-up artist and worked on such hit series as The Lives and Loves of a She Devil, Prime Suspect and Spooks.
The duo met by professional chance on the set of the 1995 The Gambling Man, a TV adaptation of a Catherine Cookson novel. They bonded over their love of tasty bites and bikes, and indulged their mutual passions by riding and cooking together in their spare time. Eventually, the winning formula prompted them to risk turning their back on making TV to chance becoming motorised TV cooking stars in their own right. Their first series, The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook, broadcast in 2006 and was an instant success.
A decade on, the Hairy Bikers have travelled the world in the pursuit of great food, created haute cuisine dishes with Michelin-starred chefs, published a library of bestsellers and are the UK's third most popular cookery book writers after Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. Their first calorie-conscience title – The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight – even toppled the saucy 50 Shades of Grey from the top of the bestsellers charts when it was released in 2012, and held the number one spot for an impressive six weeks.
Si and Dave are best friends in life, work and ink – both have a tattoo of Che Guevara on their right arm.
Get it on...
South African audiences have access to five BBC TV channels: BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Knowledge, CBeebies and BBC World News.