The pandemic uncovered many budding Master Chefs (and food-delivery addicts). If you don’t happen to be one, fret not, there’s hope for you yet. There are hands-on and online cooking classes you can sign-up for and markets you can shop at with produce so fresh, it’ll make firing up the stove a joy. Here are our picks to get you started.
Ho Chi Minh City
Saigon Cooking Class
The folk from the lovely Hoa Tuc restaurant are also behind the excellent Saigon Cooking Class. Expect to learn how to make Vietnamese classics such as cha gio (spring rolls) and banh xeo (crisp rice flour pancakes), along with dishes such as goi ga bap chuoi (banana blossom salad). Courses in Thai, Italian and French cuisine are also offered, as are market tours.
https://saigoncookingclass.com
Ben Thanh Market
Housed in a sprawling historic building, Ben Thanh Market is one of Ho Chi Minh City’s top tourist attractions. Aside from the trinkets and souvenirs on offer, it’s the place to go for just about any ingredient you might need to whip up a Vietnamese feast. Think super-fresh fruit, veg and seafood alongside spices, nuts, dried fruit and things you’ve probably not seen before.
https://www.ben-thanh-market.com
Hong Kong
Towngas Cooking Centre
Hong Kong’s main gas supplier also happens to run the city’s most popular cooking classes, with sessions for kids, parents, domestic helpers, and home cooks. There’s even a Disciples Escoffier diploma for budding professionals. Courses cover a multitude of interests, from Chinese and international flame cooking to pastries and desserts. If you don’t want to enrol, you can simply look up one of hundreds of free recipes online.
Kowloon City Market
Chefs know that the best place to find the freshest ingredients at great prices is at Hong Kong’s famous wet markets. Among the best and worth a visit even if you’re not shopping for produce is Kowloon City Market. It’s the place for glistening live seafood, premium pork, and a rainbow of fruit and veg from Asia and beyond, with a large selection of Thai goodies too.
https://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/map/market/market_pt.html?mapID=656&type=market
Singapore
Food Playground
Home cooks are often the unsung heroes keeping families fed and cuisines alive. At Food Playground, a social enterprise in a heritage shophouse in the Chinatown district, they are the ones leading classes. Choose from in-person classes where you will learn about the country’s multicultural food heritage from mums and grannies while whipping up Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan dishes. Team building and virtual classes available.
Tekka Market
Colourful, bustling Tekka Market encapsulates Singapore’s fascinating multicultural mix. Set in Little India, the city’s largest wet market caters to the tastes and needs of the country’s main ethnic and religious groups, with halal butchers, Indian spice merchants and Hokkien fishmongers to be found. Be sure to snack on flaky roti prata and fragrant biryani rice while here.
665 Buffalo Road
