New season of Anthony Bourdain's show opens with Manila episode

It is officially confirmed: The kick-off episode of the seventh season of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” will feature Manila.

The renowned chef and TV host will get to taste of some of every Pinoy household’s favorite dishes.

For the premiere episode, Bourdain explores the Philippines during Christmas season. It features Jollibee, halo-halo, sizzling pork sisig, adobo, and kare-kare. He will be joined by cover band “Keystone” in the episode.

Bourdain will also take part in the opening of a balikbayan box.

The chef once called sisig “divine mosaic of pig parts” and “one of the world’s best beer-drinking dishes”.

The Manila episode of Parts Unknown will air on April 24. The rest of the eight-episode season will feature Greek Islands, Chicago, Montana, Georgia, Cologne, Buenos Aires and Senegal.

Back in December, Filipino Bourdain fans got a big surprise when the chef-host-author was spotted at a Malate restaurant. He was then seen having merienda at a Jollibee branch in Pasay City. Cultural activist Carlos Celdran then shared a photo of the host wandering around his apartment. Finally, Filipino photojournalists and some medical students from the University of the Philippines-Manila got a chance to meet Bourdain at Oarhouse bar in Malate.

Last year’s trip was not Bourdain’s first in the Philippines. He visited Manila, Cebu, and Pampanga in 2009 for the fifth season of his old show No Reservations. —Trisha Macas/JST, GMA News