Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam
After decades of conflict Vietnam’s railway system was badly damaged and rebuilt post the Vietnam War. The Reunification Express railway line symbolises the coming together of the north and south of the country. In this 10-part series, Luke visits ten locations from the spectacular coastline of Hoi An to the majestic mountains of Sapa. In his own engaging style, Luke cooks dishes incorporating some rather unusual ingredients to challenge the most adventurous palate.
Type: tv
Season: 1
Episode: 1
Duration: 26m
Release: 2019
Rating: 0.0
Season 1 - Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam
2019-12-05
"In this first episode Luke digs deep to find the \u2018old\u2019 markets before they all start disappearing as the Ho Chi Minh landscape in District 1 rapidly develops.\n\nLuke visits District 11 where the people specialise in the local dish mi sui cao (similar to the wonton). He learns from the \u2018great aunties\u2019 about their secret recipe styles, after all they've been cooking mi sui cao for many years.\n\nLuke then follows his sweet tooth to Marou in search of great tasting cacao and delves into the history of Vietnamese chocolate.\n\nFinally, at Binh Thanh, Luke goes prawn fishing indoors - a unique experience where you can fish, relax, drink beer and cook."
2019-12-05
"Luke\u2019s next stop is at the popular tourist destination of Dalat, where he starts off in the most authentic fashion at the historic art deco Dalat train station built by the French in the 1930\u2019s.\n\nLater, in Thap Cham, Luke hops onto a scooter and rides around the Central Highlands to visit a father and son team of chefs and experience the unique bamboo fire cooking. Together, they create French-inspired dishes using frogs.\n\nLuke tries his hand at creating banh trang nuong (Vietnamese pizza) alongside a bustling restaurant that has been around for generations.\n\nLastly, Luke stops off at a restaurant called The Wooden House which has pioneered the farm to table movement in Dalat."
2019-12-12
"In this episode Luke boards the train at Ga Thap Cham where tonnes of fresh fruit are loaded like a produce market: but he has to be quick as the train waits for no one.\n\nLuke soon finds his way to Nha Trang, known for its diverse sea life and beautiful coastline. It is here he hand-catches his favourite seafood, sea urchin.\n\nBack on land, Luke explores the streets and discovers the smell of the potent tropical fruit called durian. He also tries the local dish 'banh can\u2019 which is prepared on tiny burners on the side of the road.\n\nHeading back towards the water Luke visits Luong Son fish market where he nervously awaits approval of his chargrilled calamari dish from the local workers.\n\nFinally, Luke visits a barramundi farm where they also harvest sea grapes which inspires his last dish."
2019-12-19
"Luke\u2019s next stop is Hoi An taking the train from Danang on a ten-hour journey in one of the train's sleeper carriages. While en-route Luke cooks wok-tossed beef in the train\u2019s kitchen carriage \u2013 a difficult feat.\n\nFirst up in Hoi An he visits a family who have been making chilli sauce for five generations. He watches closely as each chilli is handpicked and sorted.\n\nNext stop onto the iconic tourist attraction the Japanese covered bridge\u2019 built in 1719 where Luke prepares the dish chicken rice with the help of keen locals. He then visits Tho Village and meets fourth generation blacksmith Mr Thi who creates knives from old bomb shells dropped during the Vietnam War.\n\nThe end of Luke\u2019s time in Hoi An coincides with his mother in law\u2019s birthday so he cooks her favourite noodle dish, cao lau, unique to the area."
2019-12-26
"Luke approaches the halfway mark of his trip and arrives at Da Nang, a growing and bustling city located on the coast, west of the H\u00e0n River.\n\nFirst up he visits the spectacular dragon bridge, then heads to My Khe beach where he cooks a shrimp dish on the sand with locals looking on.\n\nMoving inland, Luke discovers a community vegetable garden that is nestled alongside the railway line - it\u2019s here he creates an authentic turmeric noodle dish using the local fresh herbs from the veggie garden.\n\nLuke stumbles across a tiny fishing village near the H\u00e0n river where restaurants are dotted along the foreshore. Luke is invited in by one of the owners to cook up a seafood-inspired dish.\n\nLastly, he visits the fresh produce Cam Le market where he cooks with a husband and wife team who run their own eatery."
2020-01-02
"In this episode Luke visits Hue; famous for its royal heritage, ancient imperial architecture and rich royal cuisine that inspires him.\n\nLuke visits Con Hen village where they specialise in the technique of swirling and de-shelling baby clams, a skill that goes back hundreds of years.\n\nNext morning Luke is up early searching for the best bowl of bun bo Hue, a spicy beef noodle soup, he ends up at the \u2018Bun Bo Me Keo\u2019 restaurant where the family who own the restaurant have been making their own local version of this dish for the past 70 years. Next, he tours a family business that produces and sells turmeric vermicelli noodle salad.\n\nLuke then visits his favourite street food stall in Hue to taste the delicious snack banh ep, a savoury pancake made from tapioca starch, pork, egg, and spring onion cooked in a flat press.\n\nLastly, after Luke\u2019s Japanese bathing experience in a peaceful streamside location, he cooks a healthy steamed snakehead fish dish."
2020-01-09
"Luke\u2019s next stop is Ninh Binh, the longest leg of his train journey; 12 hours by train from Hue. Ninh Binh is a scenic wonderland with its majestic rolling mountains and intricate waterways and provides inspiration for some rather unique and unusual local recipes.\n\nAn early start at the local market Luke meets a rice farmer who also catches and sells tiny rice paddy crabs, she offers to take Luke out on her canoe for a spot of crab hunting.\n\nNext Luke drives to Hoa Binh where he is taken deep into the jungle to search for the local delicacy: red ant eggs. He then creates a unique dish using the ant eggs incorporating lemongrass and betel leaf.\n\nThere is a whole street in Ninh Binh dedicated to selling goat meat and Luke finishes his time in this spectacular small city by cooking a delicious goat curry."
2020-01-16
"In this episode Luke visits Hai Phong a major industrial city and the second largest in the northern part of Vietnam.\n\nHai Phong is renowned for its famous fresh seafood and the banh da noodle. The banh da noodle is very unique and special, red in colour with a chewy texture, locals make this noodle at the back of their homes.\n\nNext stop for Luke is to visit a master baker who he watches make mini baguettes. Luke then delivers the warm bread sticks to a caf\u00e9 where they add their famous homemade p\u00e2t\u00e9. The baguette is filled with the p\u00e2t\u00e9 to create the dish banh mi \u2013 traditional to Hai Phong.\n\nLuke's last stop in Hai Phong is to find the perfect fried shallots - a condiment he uses extensively in his cooking."
2020-01-23
"Luke\u2019s penultimate stop of his train journey is Hanoi, the second largest city of Vietnam located on the Red River.\n\nThere is one dish Luke always has when he visits Hanoi and that\u2019s bun cha - the dish was made famous by two men, Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain who ate it together in Hanoi.\n\nSpace in parts of Hanoi are at a premium so Luke cooks a spectacular pho dish literally on the Reunification Express railway tracks.\n\nNext, Luke searches for the famous bun dau mam in Hanoi \u2013 this dish has evolved over many years normally renowned as a peasant dish, it now includes \u2018rich\u2019 food ingredients such as pork belly as well as the famous crispy fried tofu.\n\nFinally, Luke visits the Hoan Kiem lake - arguably the heart and soul of Hanoi, and it\u2019s at this location Luke creates a delicious dish of magenta sticky rice."
2020-01-30
"Luke travels on the overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa high in the hills and meets and learns all about the lifestyles of the ethnic minorities.\n\nLuke visited Sapa high in the hills in northern Vietnam 15 years ago. He\u2019s pleased to find out that not much has changed and visits a little girl he befriended during that time.\n\nShe welcomes him into her house and learns how the local dish of dried buffalo is made. He also goes foraging for botanicals with a scientist who is making Vietnam's very first gin."
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