Documentary cooks up interest in Chinese cuisine

A Bite of China, a hit documentary focused on Chinese cuisine, is reaching out across the ocean and attracting fans in Japan.

Maiko Usui, a 35-year-old Japanese woman and former student of Mandarin, began publishing a series of blogs in late May. Her aim was to introduce the essence of the documentary, which was aired by China Central Television earlier the same month.

"I saw the documentary when it was aired the first time round and I read the news about it online every day. I was fascinated by that first glimpse into the magical world of Chinese culinary culture," she said.