Hoi An was unique, its old quarter being
its highlight, this town which lies between Nha Trang and Hue in Central Vietnam
is rich in its culture and is widely known for its tailor made garment ready
for next day delivery. We both decided
to obviously not buy any suits or shirts as we both have a lot of travelling to
do!
We decided to experience the Red Bridge
cooking school which lies just away from the centre of Hoi An, we initially
thought that this experience would be out of this world as we both intended to
be really hands on at cooking oriental dishes.
The result was below what we had initially expected, the actual class
was well run by an experienced female chef who took time in what the clients
were experiencing, but there was a sense of “ bums on seats” or even a
conveyor belt approach to the class.
Every 2 hours or so new clients wait for their turn to cook and experience
their own dishes afterwards.
The Cooking class can be bought from some
restaurants in the old quater of Hoi An, simply ask to purchase tickets for the
Red Bridge Cooking school for the following day. The price for a half day cooking experience which
elapsed from 11:00 to 15:30 was 615.000 Dong.
Within this price you were entitled to aWelcome drink at the restaurant where tickets were bought, a tour of the local Hoi An market to explain the
ingredietnts you would later use, 40 miunute boat ride to the school, 2 hour
hands on lunch, followed by lunch.
We felt the price was fair when you take into account that lunch is included in the price, you also get to see parts of Hoi An’s
riverside leading to the school which is beautiful! When you arrive at Red Bridge, you cant help but notice that the place is picturesque and stands out from its surroundings, a
modern school which is always full to capacity.
Before we started our class, we were taken
to the herb & spices farm to see what herbs we would be using for the
class. The two hours hands on classes were first demonstrated by the chef and her helpers and we then started on our dishes.
We created the following dishes:
Hoi An Rice Pancakes
Shrimp Spring rolls
Seafood Salad
Eggplant Claypot
Out of all the dishes, we never created the
salad as this involved many other ingredients.
Note to self this was a tad of a letdown when you come to terms that the
salad was the tastier of all the dishes.
The remaining dishes were prepared by the clients using readymade
ingredients. So in actual fact all we
were doing was mixing the ingredients into the small sized Vietnamese pan or
the claypot.
If you are looking for a hands full
experience, I would suggest other locations in Vietnam to carry out this class
as although a fun experience, this cooking school was for absolute beginners in
the kitchen just searching for a small experience followed by a recipe book to carry out at home.
The food itself was a treat for the
tastebuds, we enjoyed every plate and we have certainly learned how to personally
cook Rice Pancakes from scratch which was the only real hands on experience we
came out from the class.
So all in all a wonderful day out but don’t expect to come out knowing fully how to make your own twist into Vietnamese cuisine. We will have to experience another class in Thailand, let’s see how that turns out!
Bon Appetite!
Dylan 
We could not have survived our trip without having this to guide us through. It is a fantastic collection of trip itineraries, attractions to see, restaurants to visit and places to sleep! Well worth the money and not as heavy as I thought it would be carrying it. Enjoy your South East Adventure!
el baniador? Salsa Agridulce?
ReplyDeleteVa ve UN ceremony Cuando Los tire bro
DeleteThanks for recommending this cooking class for us. We had a wonderful experience with the Red Bridge cooking class. We started with an interesting tour of the local market, where we bought a few things on our guides suggestion. The boat trip was nice, nothing special there, but arriving at Red Bridge was quite special, a beautiful location and atmosphere. After a welcome drink, a brief tour of the garden then into the cooking demonstration and lesson. It's a great experience and a lot of fun, not too serious. This place was very popular for good reason. This cooking class along with the food tour we joined were a highlight of our time in Vietnam. Definitely be back to Hoi An next time.
ReplyDeleteThank you David and I am glad you had a good time! We must definitely try this food tour you speak of on our next visit to Vietnam. Hoi An was my favourite town and encourage anyone to go see it, the quaint houses and lanterns everywhere made it super special indeed!
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