Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong 2 (2012) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Documentary |
Main Menu Audio Additional Footage |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2012 | ||
Running Time | 250 | ||
RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Michael Donnelly |
Studio
Distributor |
SBS Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Michael Donnelly Nicole Frisina Luke Nguyen |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Dual | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | Me-Lee Hay |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Luke Nguyen is an Australian celebrity chef who has a successful restaurant in Sydney, Red Lantern. He was born in 1977 in a refugee camp in Thailand while his family was on their way from Vietnam to Australia. His successful Vietnamese restaurant has led to a number of published cookbooks and now three television series for SBS in addition to guest appearances on shows like MasterChef. Luke's first television show was Luke Nguyen's Vietnam in 2010 which was followed by a second season, Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong and now the series which is the subject of this review, Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong 2. All four seasons are available from Madman Entertainment on DVD.
In the first series of Greater Mekong Luke explored the Mekong River delta outside of Vietnam, covering China, Burma & Thailand. In this second series he spends his time travelling, cooking and eating through Laos, Cambodia & Vietnam. The approach is part travelogue but always with a food focus and part cooking show. As he goes he sets up and cooks in a variety of exotic locations, none of which are kitchens. Examples include sitting on a rock near a waterfall, on the roadside, standing in a watercress farm (which is grown in running water) or in a food market. The recipes are easy to follow and quite well explained although many ingredients might be a little hard to find in a supermarket, such as fresh duck's blood, grasshoppers, larvae, mouse, buffalo skin and more. He is a genial host but perhaps a little lacking in warmth to camera (although never to the people he meets and cooks with).
This series appeared on SBS in Australia in late 2012 and includes 10 episodes, each of about 26 minutes.
An enjoyable travelogue/cooking show.
The video quality is very good.
The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio for this show. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The picture was quite clear and sharp.
The colour was very good showing off the good looking food and the beautiful locations.
There were no noticeable artefacts.
There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read in SBS yellow.
There are no noticeable layer changes during playback.
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Overall |
The audio quality is good.
This disc contains a English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0.
Dialogue was clear and easy to hear and understand throughout.
The music provides some of the show's atmosphere, without standing out.
The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.
Dialogue | |
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Overall |
Decent extras.
The menu included music.
Luke visits some Vietnamese people in Melbourne, interviews them and cooks with them.
Luke visits some Cambodian people in Melbourne, interviews them and cooks with them.
Luke visits some Laotian people in Melbourne, interviews them and cooks with them.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This show is only available locally at this point.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is good.
20 minutes or so of extra scenes.Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | SONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output |
Display | Sharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
Amplification | Marantz SR5005 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer |