Chinese foodies go to extraordinary lengths for the perfect bite

Wang Sida's love of crab had taken him more than 5,800 kilometers from his home in Beijing to Iran's sixth largest city, Shiraz.

"The locals there don't eat crab for religious reasons. So they get very big, and they're very cheap," said Wang. "The locals usually just smash the crabs up to feed fish."

A 30-year-old gourmand who used to work in the finance industry, Wang had eaten his way across four continents and dozens of countries, including popular tourist destinations Thailand, Japan, the US and Italy. But his trip to Shiraz was his most intrepid food pursuit yet.

From Shiraz, Wang would still have to travel another 12 hours by road to arrive at Bandar Abbas, a seaside town off Iran's southern coast.

Without a second thought, he and his wife boarded a night bus. The bumpy roads did nothing to dampen their sense of anticipation. After arriving at Bandar Abbas, shortly before sunrise, Wang and his wife made their way to the harbor.

"We didn't speak any Persian. So I imitated the way that crabs walk sideways," said Wang. "An Iranian man understood it and took us to a fishing boat which just returned from sea."

The captain of the vessel to which Wang was taken was happy to oblige.

"Each crab weighed around half a kilogram. We took more than a dozen, which cost us less than 20 yuan ($3.27) in total," said Wang with a smile.

Wang returned to their hotel, and steamed the crabs in a pot.

"We didn't add any additional ingredients or seasoning. The natural flavor of crab meat is fantastic," said Wang, who boasted that he ate more than 10 crabs that day. "They even tasted better than the ones I ate in Alaska!"

A kitchen in Thailand

In September, during an official visit to the Maldives, President Xi Jinping made remarks urging Chinese travelers to sample more local cuisines rather than eating instant noodles.

One of the people who has heeded Xi's advice is 30-year-old Xu Er, who runs a food blog called Laifantang. On a trip to Thailand last month, Xu not only ate as much as she could of the regional delicacies, but even tried her hand at making them herself, by signing up to a local cooking class in Bangkok.

As part of the class, Xu was taken to a local market to learn about and choose her own ingredients. Afterwards, she was taught to make a few simple local dishes.

"I have a special interest in the ingredients and the gourmet cultures of other countries," said Xu. "And cooking is always a special experience."

Xu made a mango salad, fried noodles, and shrimp pad thai.

"All of the dishes were delicious," said Xu. "For the shrimp pad thai, the noodles were fresh and soft and the flavor of the shrimp was succulent and intense."

The best part of the experience, said Xu, was the bond she was able to make with people through cooking together.

"You are cooking with people all around the world," she said. "It's an opportunity to make friends and to meet people who share the same passion for food as you."