When Chinese television host Meng Fei arrived in Melbourne earlier this year to open his noodle shop, Mr Meng Chongqing Gourmet, he found a long line of people waiting outside under slate grey autumn skies while inside, mobs clamoured for autographs and photos.

Meng, who is just as genial off-screen as on, is the host of If You Are the One, a dating show watched by more than 30 million Chinese at home. It has a sizeable following in Australia, due to the frankness (read: brutal honesty) of its male and female participants, and the window it gives into contemporary Chinese culture.

Fond of Australia: Meng Fei, host of If You Are the One. Credit:SBS

Despite the frenzy at the opening, with fans (some screaming) chasing him around the restaurant, the show, now in its seventh year, had been lagging in the ratings and its broadcaster, Jiangsu TV, had demanded a radical overhaul. The first revamped episode had aired in China just before Meng's arrival in Melbourne: there were disappointed comments on YouTube and the producers had also spoken out in Chinese media that they were not happy with the changes. Meng too, was ready to voice his disapproval, which was slightly surprising given that in previous interviews he had deftly side-stepped contentious such as the sudden departure of charismatic co-host Le Jia.

"I know that Australian fans are concerned about the revamped show and personally, I don't like it," he said at the time. "But I am not the broadcaster and I am not in production, so I need to do what other people want me to."