Lisa Ling Reveals The Most Delicious Food She Had On Her New Show Take Out - Exclusive
With years of television experience under her belt, including "The View" on ABC along with "This is Life" on CNN, journalist Lisa Ling is quite the veteran of telling good stories, and now she's bringing a new show for food lovers that are quite literally hungry for more. The new series, "Take Out With Lisa Ling," made its debut on HBO Max on January 27 and dives into Asian-American culture and history, all through the lens of food. "Take Out" also documents the many contributions Asian-Americans have made throughout U.S. history, all while Ling tries plenty of delicious food along the way, tempting viewers to learn more.
With so many dishes enjoyed throughout the new series, including both familiar foods and those perhaps less well-known, we were curious to learn which one she thought was the absolute best. In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Ling revealed her thoughts on the most delicious, stand-out food she tried while filming the first season.
For Lisa Ling, Bangladeshi food was the standout
Each episode of Ling's new HBO Max show "Take Out" takes a deep dive into Asian-American culture, showcasing stories from the communities of Chinese-American, Korean-American, and more. And while Ling certainly tried plenty of great food as she travelled to various locations in the U.S., there was one type of food that certainly stood out to her. "I had never had Bangladeshi food before," Ling said during a Mashed interview. "And I was shocked to learn [about it], because in some ways, this has been a tremendous learning experience for me as well, [to understand] that so many of the Indian restaurants in New York City and the surrounding boroughs are run by Bangladeshi people."
The show host noted that she was thrilled to have the opportunity to experience Bangladeshi food while also highlighting the important role that Bangladeshis have played in the thriving city. She also lamented the fact that this regional cuisine is often mistakenly lumped into the category of Indian food even though it's its own category. "The food is extraordinary and very, very different from Indian food," she said, noting the seafood dishes in particular are incredible because "Bangladesh is known as a country of rivers." Ling added, "In fact, one of the restaurants we featured, Korai Kitchen, they got Yelp to make a category for Bangladeshi food," Ling said. "Yelp didn't even have that category yet."
For more from Lisa Ling and director/producer Helen Cho, subscribe to HBO Max and watch "Take Out with Lisa Ling," which is streaming now.