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Food vlogger Mike Chen has had many memorable meals – from an all-you-can-eat lobster buffet in Las Vegas to a huge 5.5 pound gyoza dumpling in Tokyo.
As a "Strictly Dumpling" host, Chen, 38, has nearly 2.6 million subscribers and regularly attracts millions of viewers. Every month, videos show he's trying out dishes all over the world, from the legendary ramen to Japan to McDonald's in India or Vietnamese street food.
Chen, who started creating videos on food on YouTube six years ago, currently runs six different YouTube channels, with over 5 million followers, including "Beyond Science," where he explores "the food, news, Chinese culture and mysterious phenomena ".
Born in China but raised in the United States, Chen is a former Morgan Stanley financial badyst who stepped down after a year in 2006. He now works for the non-profit media company NTD Television, where he is responsible for the digital strategy. , according to his LinkedIn page. Chen told CNBC Make It that he had started making videos on food on YouTube in 2013, "because food is the love of my life".
"I've always thought that the best way to explore a new culture is to take a bite," Chen said. "All over the world, food is both historic and modern and embraces the people, the land and the essence of its cultural identity."
Recently, Chen met CNBC Make It to talk about his favorite hacks to find good food on a trip, and the best "most expensive food" day of his life in 2017, when he had spent nearly 1,000 $.
CNBC Make It: What's the best meal of your life?
Mike Chen: It's the best meal I've ever had, that's just because it's the first meal of this dish that I've ever had. And it was so good. I will never forget the day when I had an A5 quality Wagyu steak in Kobe, Japan.
I mean, I had this thing for lunch and it changed my life. It changed everything. I mean, my soul is different now, because the Wagyu have done miraculous things. And after lunch, I said, "You know what? For dinner, I also want Wagyu."
That day was the most expensive day of my life when it came to food and I have no regrets, because every bite of this thing was like sticking in my brain with a bag that said it was delicious . And to this day, every time I think back to my best day of restoration, that's all.
When traveling, how do you know the best places to eat?
When I travel abroad, I do not rely on clbadic evaluation sites such as Yelp.
I contact local sources each time before leaving. I mean, that's what I believe …
Why?
I remember going to Paris and using Yelp to find what he said was the most extraordinary French restaurant. And I was sitting there and suddenly, the couple next to me said, "Oh yes, we are from Brooklyn." And I say, "Hey, I'm from New York too!"
Then, suddenly, the third table reads: "Where, I come from New York too!" Then a fourth table is: "Me too!" Everyone came from New York because everyone was using Yelp … to find this "authentically French" place.
Now, before I leave [somewhere], I always ask locals "Give me your top 10 places." And I'm asking this to several people for a good list and research … I'm really trying to find places that are not just tourist traps or something like that and try to find Authentically delicious places.
Or if I really can not, there are gastronomic tours everywhere, run by locals and often very good. So, these are things that I support.
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