Episode 3 of this season’sAnthony Bourdain : Parts Unknownfinds our fearless leader in Sichuan province , roaming around Southwest China , and recruit into a veritable culinary pissing contest with his French doppelganger , celebrity chef and owner of the prestigiousLe Bernardin , Eric Ripert . The daring twosome are on a quest to sample all ofSichuan ’s spiciest , be active from fiery peppercorn to scorch blistering chili and back again at every opportunity . Here are the high spot .

This ain’t no Chinese takeout

The episode kick off with classic Bourdain snark . Tony tells his audience he ’s delirious to bring Ripert , who ’s never been to China , along for the ride , if for no other reason than because he enjoys torment the poor glutton . " His discomfort , " Bourdain says with a brandish , " can be exquisite . "

Aside from recite the impossibly polite Ripert that have a bun in the oven Chengdu to seem more like New York ’s Chinatown than a posher - than - thou 5th Ave was " some racist motherfucker , decent there , " the boy appear to be get along smoothly . Their first hitch : Noodletown ( OK , it ’s not called Noodletown , but there sure are tons of noodles , and they all look delicious ) . Ripert come down even farther down on Bourdain ’s shit list by intromit that he ’s not respectable with chopsticks , but then redeems himself by suggest they wash their breakfast bowls down withcold beer … at 10 am .

The men are apparently on a mission to kill themselves , and as they walk through a lively outdoor marketplace , they discussthe joys of MSG(who knew there was MSG in breast Milk River ? ? ) . Bourdain chalks up the chemical ’s regretful rep to plain racialism , an evocative and pretty spot - on point .

sichuan food

Courtesy of CNN

Ripert gets his fill

Next up is is a dinner party with Go Sa , the conservator of the local Sichuan Cuisine Museum . The three guzzle laager and down pickled chicken foundation with gusto as Ripert ’s spice tolerance acquire a serious beating .

" The dish , in practical terms , is a secret plan of regain the bits of chicken in the sight of ass - incinerate good , " relishes Bourdain , key an brim over crustal plate oflazi ji(literally , " spicy wimp " ) . " It ’s play for the whole family . "

This scenario is reduplicate many prison term over . Course after course , eating house after restaurant , food cart after intellectual nourishment cart , survival is tested and spiciness - induced hallucinations become 2d nature . Bourdain push around his buddy into hot and hotter dishes like a sadistic version of Andrew Zimmern , upping the ante with each diaphragm .

sichuan chicken feet

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Bunny brains?

We also learn that the the great unwashed in Sichuan like to eat bunny heads . Yes , bunny rabbit heads . Bourdain also happens to enjoy this street - food treat , going into detail about how great hare brains savour while blab out a perverted version of " Peter Cottontail " and threatening to make the dish next Easter . After , there ’s more offal , more spice , and more admirer . Bourdain , Ripert , and their dinner - mates crowd around a spicy pot and pamper menage - style as , once again , Ripert quietly want to pall . Even Bourdain ’s drowning himself in lager and heave for breath . And , unfortunately for their gastrointestinal tracts , the episode ’s barely 20 arcminute in .

The fancy stuff

The part open with Bourdain ditch the selfie - felicitous Ripert for a solo noodle adventure while Ripert continues to mirthfully get mistaken for Tony around town . Then we get a super - cool cooking montage that moves from a kid selling prawns in the street to a chef rove out noodle old schooltime - elan in a gorgeous , wood - laden kitchen . A fine - dining restaurant switch the face of Sichuan cuisine serves as the sequence ’s highbrow nod and the food – hand - snub noodles with duck’s egg ball yolk , delicate palm of marinated carrots , braise beef cattle shank with chili oil , all plat and served with a sentiency of graceful simplicity – looks incredible . For once , Ripert ’s right at home base .

The weird stuff

Just like the previous installment ’s bizarre nosedive into aNashville cryotherapy clinic , the guy cable decide to hit up a professional ear clean-living at a nearby park . Then Bourdain forces Ripert to attend a cooking seminar at a nearby culinary schoolhouse . After course , the guy cable go head to lead in a hard - hit , techno music - fueled preparation affaire d’honneur . The unimpressed teacher reports that Tony ’s center is overdone and Eric ’s is cut too thick , which Bourdain , of track , parlay into yet another dick jocularity .

Drinking like the locals

" Drinking cultureis very of import here , " Bourdain tells his companion . " If we go to a formal repast , your power to drink leads to a number of assumption about you : your ecumenical manliness , penis sizing , your Charles Frederick Worth as a human being … "

" I ’m comfortable with my size , " Ripert flaming back with confidence . Touche , Frenchie .

later on on , wholesale sight of a Sichuan still take over the screen while Bourdain explains the importance of the realm ’s signature beverage : baijiu , a spirit routinely take up at formal occasions . At dinner party , the drink rituals commence and thebaijiuflows free than the   Yangtze River‎. Several minutes of continuous snapshot - taking commence and Tony and Eric have a brotherly goner . It seems with a little liquor , even a heating system - happy sicko like Bourdain can be forgiven .

bunny head

Courtesy of CNN

“Bang/Marry/Kill”

Our journey ends with the guys head into the countryside , bickering over geartrain bathroom etiquette and elitism . Once at their legion ’s mansion , more soused liquor and saute meat are in club , this sentence revel while drop Sichuan ’s unagitated farmlands . The chefs perfectly confuse their poor friend by playing a foreign adaptation of " Bang / Marry / Kill " involve Anderson Cooper , Wolf Blitzer , and Dr. Sanjay Gupta wear Speedos . And then , of course , they have a beer - chug contest .

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drinking in sichuan

Courtesy of CNN

eric ripert in sichuan

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