Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam (2019 - 2020)

Luke’s 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’s. Later, 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. Luke tries his hand at creating banh trang nuong (Vietnamese pizza) alongside a bustling restaurant that has been around for generations. Lastly, Luke stops off at a restaurant called The Wooden House which has pioneered the farm to table movement in Dalat.

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. Luke 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. Back 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’ which is prepared on tiny burners on the side of the road. Heading back towards the water Luke visits Luong Son fish market where he nervously awaits approval of his chargrilled calamari dish from the local workers. Finally, Luke visits a barramundi farm where they also harvest sea grapes which inspires his last dish.

Luke’s 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’s kitchen carriage – a difficult feat. First 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. Next stop onto the iconic tourist attraction the Japanese covered bridge’ 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. The end of Luke’s time in Hoi An coincides with his mother in law’s birthday so he cooks her favourite noodle dish, cao lau, unique to the area.

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 Hàn River. First 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. Moving inland, Luke discovers a community vegetable garden that is nestled alongside the railway line - it’s here he creates an authentic turmeric noodle dish using the local fresh herbs from the veggie garden. Luke stumbles across a tiny fishing village near the Hàn river where restaurants are dotted along the foreshore. Luke is invited in by one of the owners to cook up a seafood-inspired dish. Lastly, he visits the fresh produce Cam Le market where he cooks with a husband and wife team who run their own eatery.

In this episode Luke visits Hue; famous for its royal heritage, ancient imperial architecture and rich royal cuisine that inspires him. Luke 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. Next morning Luke is up early searching for the best bowl of bun bo Hue, a spicy beef noodle soup, he ends up at the ‘Bun Bo Me Keo’ 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. Luke 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. Lastly, after Luke’s Japanese bathing experience in a peaceful streamside location, he cooks a healthy steamed snakehead fish dish.

Luke’s 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. An 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. Next 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. There 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.

In this episode Luke visits Hai Phong a major industrial city and the second largest in the northern part of Vietnam. Hai 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. Next stop for Luke is to visit a master baker who he watches make mini baguettes. Luke then delivers the warm bread sticks to a café where they add their famous homemade pâté. The baguette is filled with the pâté to create the dish banh mi – traditional to Hai Phong. Luke's last stop in Hai Phong is to find the perfect fried shallots - a condiment he uses extensively in his cooking.

Luke’s penultimate stop of his train journey is Hanoi, the second largest city of Vietnam located on the Red River. There is one dish Luke always has when he visits Hanoi and that’s bun cha - the dish was made famous by two men, Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain who ate it together in Hanoi. Space in parts of Hanoi are at a premium so Luke cooks a spectacular pho dish literally on the Reunification Express railway tracks. Next, Luke searches for the famous bun dau mam in Hanoi – this dish has evolved over many years normally renowned as a peasant dish, it now includes ‘rich’ food ingredients such as pork belly as well as the famous crispy fried tofu. Finally, Luke visits the Hoan Kiem lake - arguably the heart and soul of Hanoi, and it’s at this location Luke creates a delicious dish of magenta sticky rice.

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. Luke visited Sapa high in the hills in northern Vietnam 15 years ago. He’s pleased to find out that not much has changed and visits a little girl he befriended during that time. She 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.