Hands-on Cooking Class with Ngoc and explore Cafe Apartment

The host is amazing person. I met Vi first when my faminly and I visited Vietnam in 2017. we got in touch with her after finding her advertisement on some tour guide page. Back then she arranged an amazing trip for us so when I was planning to go back to Vietnam, my first thought was to get in touch with her. She helped me find a great bike tour company that I ended up going with. When in Ho Chi Minh City I booked a cooking lesson with her and her family. This was a great experience and the cooking was so fun. I love Vietnamese food and to have a bit of an insight how to do it was good. I wont be opening up a restaurant any time soon but thats not her fault :)

If you want to spend a pleasant morning with a lovely Vietnamese family as well as learning about some local culture, in addition to cooking your own delicious vegan food - then this is definitely for you. I was greeted by Vi upon arrival. The tour started with a visit to the rooftop garden which provided many of the herbs to be used later on during the cooking experience. In the apartment, Vi was helped by her young daughter, Minh, two of her school friends, Misa and Maika, and their mother, Moon, who welcomed me and two other guests to their apartment. The first dish to be prepared was fresh spring rolls (goi cuon). A mix of Herbs and sliced shrimp were rolled in rice paper - something more difficult to do than it sounds, but there were plenty of local skilled hands to assist. We prepared a peanut butter sauce which served to accompany this dish. It is difficult to know how to describe this first dish - delicious is probably an appropriate word. I had previously tasted Vietnamese pancake and was pleasantly surprised to discovered that we would cook our own vegan version (banh xeo chay). After carefully preparing the pancake mix, we moved to the cooking area where Vi demonstrated the skills involved in getting the perfectly cooked pancake. Vi explained that the name of the dish "Xeo" comes from the sound when the mixture is poured onto the hot oil, creating the sound "Xeo". A fish oil and water based sauce with chilli and garlic was prepared by everybody prior to the best part - the tasting. Next up, we prepared a delicious soup composed of soya milk, tofu, tomato, pineapple and mushroom called ‘Bun rieu chay’. I was given the task of squeezing the tofu before we made tofu shapes which were fried – a very nice touch. We all sat down at the table and enjoyed the soup together and chatted about Vietnam and the local culture. Feeling like stuffed tomatoes, we were informed that we had not yet tasted the dessert. Moon had just sliced and grilled some local small Vietnamese bananas (these tiny bananas are so sweet !!). These were accompanied by a coconut tapioca pudding. This delicious dessert was washed down with some butterfly pea tea (a purple tea with medicinal properties apparently prepared from the flowers of the butterfly pea plant !!). We all left with some great memories, stories about Vietnam and the skills to replicate these dishes when at home. The best advice I can give is come on an empty stomach – the quantity and variety of the food will not disappoint. An ideal experience for those who wish in visit a local family, learn some cooking and enjoy a very interesting morning when visiting Saigon…..

The experience was amazing! Vi is very kind and my mom and I enjoyed very much the morning with her and her family! The food was delicious!!