Eat the streets at Luke Nguyen pop-up

Inspired by his brand-new TV series, Luke Nguyen has launched a street food pop-up in Sydney, sharing some of his favourite Southeast Asian delights inspired by the series.

Luke Nguyen opens his brand-new street food pop-up - check it out! Source: SBS Food

Celebrating the brand-new series Luke Nguyen’s Street Food Asia, Luke has launched a casual pop-up at The Star in Sydney - Luke Nguyen Street Food. 

The specially crafted menu is inspired by what Luke describes as "the street food theatre" and the vibrant destinations he visits in the series: Saigon, Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Through much research, time, local guidance and experience of those hidden hot-spots, Luke is able to share with Sydney a taste of his Southeast Asian adventure and the foods that highlights those cities. Luke says he hopes to to showcase unique dishes, authentic flavours and ultimately celebrate street food culture whilst paying respect to the people he has met along the way. Luke told SBS Food that viewers "are going to be salivating" over the dishes he encounters and this temporary space is a chance for people to come and try the food out for themselves.

The pop-up will run for 11 weeks alongside the show and each week this hole-in-the-wall will dish out a mix of Luke's favourite street foods from the series, with a Luke twist, of course. This includes the half lobster tom yum soup (yep, half a lobster!) with flavours of makrut lime and lemongrass, as well as a soft shell crab Pad Thai that texture-wise, Luke describes as "a little different to what you may expect" and the dish is packed neatly in a fried egg net - very impressive.

Source: The Star

Luke Nguyen’s pop-up builds on his existing relationship with The Star, which is already home to his Fat Noodle restaurant. The pop-up menu features recipes that are dear to his heart. He recommends the Smashed Fried Chicken - a Jakarta street food specialty of whole crispy chicken that is literally smashed and served up with chilli sambal and rice.

And last but certainly not least, Luke says "don't forget the pho-guette"!

Don't forget the pho-guette...braised wagyu brisket in pho broth, served up in a Vietnamese baguette and topped with all the usual and fragrant friends

Each month there will be a new special on the board and the first cab off the rank is this braised wagyu brisket in pho broth, served up in a Vietnamese baguette and topped with all the usual and fragrant friends - basil, coriander, pickled beans sprouts, chilli, hoisin and sriracha. #AllPhoMe

Source: The Star

And the fun doesn't stop with the food, as there are also signature drink selections to try out. You can take your pick from a refreshing Vietnamese Iced Coffee (with blitzed frozen coconut milk) as well as an Avocado & Chocolate shake - you heard it right! Blended avo, condensed milk, ice, topped with a scoop of chocolate ice-cream and chocolate sauce; let's just say this drink is going places and we can see why Luke was so excited to have this on the menu.

The Luke Nguyen Street Food pop-up will operate daily until the end of November. It will be open Sunday to Monday 11.30am – 9.00pm, Tuesday to Thursday 11.30am – 10.30pm and Friday to Saturday 11.30am – 11.00pm.

Source: Belinda Rolland

Discover more about street food with the brand-new series Luke Nguyen's Street Food Asia. Visit the program page for more details, recipes and guides.