Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam

In this first episode Luke digs deep to find the ‘old’ markets before they all start disappearing as the Ho Chi Minh landscape in District 1 rapidly develops. Luke visits District 11 where the people specialise in the local dish mi sui cao (similar to the wonton). He learns from the ‘great aunties’ about their secret recipe styles, after all theyve been cooking mi sui cao for many years. Luke then follows his sweet tooth to Marou in search of great tasting cacao and delves into the history of Vietnamese chocolate. Finally, at Binh Thanh, Luke goes prawn fishing indoors - a unique experience where you can fish, relax, drink beer and cook.

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 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.

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.

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.