The 11 Best Episodes of Bourdain’s Parts Unknown

1. 1.01 “Myanmar”

The very first episode of Parts Unknown set the tone for what the audience should expect from the series right from the outset. Bourdain’s first choice for a destination was Myanmar, a country that until very recently was off-limits to outsiders.

Bourdain dined on mohinga (fish soup with rice noodles), pig’s head salad with Kaffir lime leaves, and chicken necks, all while chatting to various local figures like the director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute U Thiha Saw and Burmese cookbook author Ma Thanegi. He also brought along Philippe Lajaunie, the former owner of Brasserie Les Halles in NYC — an early sign of Bourdain’s obsession with discussing unique cuisines in the same reverent tones that people usually reserve for Michelin-starred establishments.