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Learn the art to Local Dishes with these Cooking Classes
Food
Learn the art to Local Dishes with these Cooking Classes
WRITER: Online Editor PHOTOS BY: Alvin Toh, Ryan Loh
Learn the art to Local Dishes with these Cooking Classes 04. September 2020, by Online Editor, Photos by Alvin Toh, Ryan Loh
One of the best ways to get acquainted with local culture is through food, and what better way than to participate in a cooking class that brings you through learning about your ingredients, preparing and cooking them, down to enjoying it as a reward of your labour? 

Malay Cuisine at Casa del Mar Langkawi

Malay food is known for its aromatics and bursts of flavours thanks to an array of fragrant spices used such as tamarind juice, cumin, coriander seeds, turmeric, fresh galangal… and the list goes on.

Learn how to make a three-course meal of satay ayam (chicken on skewers) with traditional peanut sauce, gulai ikan dengan bendi (Malay fish curry with okra) and butir nangka (jackfruit seeds in coconut milk) at Casa del Mar Langakawi. While this menu can sound a little daunting for “noob cooks”, it really isn’t that difficult once you have the right ingredients and the right sequence to adding them (that’s where your recipe notes come in handy!), and of course, you will be cooking up this feast with the help of Chef.

Learn to make Malay dishes in this beachfront setting at Casa del Mar Langkawi

Perks of this cooking class: learn to cook facing the beautiful view of Langkawi’s Cenang Beach.

Authentic Thai Food at The Boathouse Phuket

Take part in an educational and enlightening class starting with a visit to the local fresh market with Chef. Here, you get to see an array of fresh meats, seafood, vegetables, and many of the spices and pastes that go into Thai cuisine. Chef shares his knowledge on the common herbs and spices that are unique and commonly used in Thai cooking – some you may not even have seen before in your home country!

Visit the local market in the morning with chef.

After marketing, it’s time for the real fun where you will prepare and cook your own three-course Thai meal, which you will of course, partake at the end of the class. Learn to make classic favourites like phad thai (stir-fried flat rice noodles), green curry chicken, tom yum soup, that you can easily recreate back home.

Local Thai favourites like pad thai and green curry chicken.

Bonus: enjoy the beautiful views of the Andaman Sea while cooking in our air-conditioned cooking studio!

Traditional Balinese Dishes at Hard Rock Hotel Bali

When asked to name food synonymous to Bali, most will think of babi guling (whole roast suckling pig) but another traditional Balinese dish is ayam betutu (roast chicken with Balinese spices wrapped in banana leaf) that is definitely an easier one to replicate at home.

Preparing the Balinese spices for the ayam betutu.

At Hard Rock Hotel Bali, you can enrol for their interactive Balinese Cooking Class where you will have a hand in making your own ayam betutu. Learn from Chef about the Balinese spices that go into their flavourful cuisine and 2 simple side dishes that go well with your chicken. Stir up a simple long bean salad and sambal matah (which translates to raw sambal), a refreshing sambal that packs a bomb of flavours that is sweet, tangy and spicy, and a great accompaniment to the ayam betutu.

The end result of your hard work during the class!

Enjoy the meal you prepared as a reward for your hard work in the kitchen!

Gili Lankanfushi Maldives’ Organic Garden Vegan Experience

Not a cooking class per se, discover the wonders of vegan dishes prepared by Executive Chef Hari. Go on a tour of Gili Lankanfushi Maldives’ Organic Garden and be introduced to a world of herbs and healthy greens that are mixed and matched into a refreshing salad.

Watch as each course of your vegan meal is prepared before your eyes, from vegan scallops to delectable desserts that will leave your taste buds in awe, and change your opinion towards vegan dishes – all these done in the middle of the Organic Garden.

A feast for your eyes and mouth in this interactive dinner experience with Chef Hari.

The next time you travel, make it a point to join a cooking class. If it’s truly not your cup of team, join a local food tour and learn about their culture through your tastebuds!