Veteran Chef Anthony Bourdain is in Sri Lanka for Season 10 of Parts Unknown

American chef, author, and TV personality Anthony Bourdain is in Sri Lanka after nine years and finds cautious hope for the country's future,  CNN reported.

Parts Unknown unfolds this week and Anthony Bourdain is in the island for its season 10 rollout.  It isn’t the first time Bourdain has visited the island, but when he made the trip for No Reservations in 2008, Sri Lanka was still engaged in a civil war.

Now, Bourdain finds a peaceful place. His dive into Sri Lankan cuisine reveals food that is similar in some ways to that of southern India, which lies less than 100 kilometers away across the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait, but with more seafood and lighter curries.

Pix courtesy CNN

Bourdain begins his visit in the capital city of Colombo, and his trip includes a 10-hour train north to Jaffna. A location that was hit hard during the war, it’s described by the host as a “time capsule.” Jaffna is also where Bourdain gets to try the “holy grail of Sri Lankan cuisine,” a crab curry he loves for its intense spice.

Parts Unknown: Sri Lanka airs at 9 p.m. this Sunday, October 29, on CNN.