One of the greatest joys of traveling is learning about different cultures and cuisines. It’s one thing to stuff your face in gastronomic heaven, it’s another to learn how to whip up your own dishes so you can recreate the magic at home. With the accessibility of Asian grocery shops in cities around the world, you won’t even have to worry about not being able to find the main ingredients you need. If you want to impress yourself and your guests, sign up in one of these schools and get your wok ready!
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Home’s Cooking Studio
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Home’s Cooking Studio is a one-woman show with Joyce as your market tour guide and culinary shifu. One of the best parts of this cooking experience is that you get to shop in a local wet market and cook in a local’s home with expert guidance. A wet market refers to one where fresh produce is sold. Vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat are sold at the freshest in wet markets and don’t come in a Styrofoam and packaging. Instead, you’ll see fish that may still be alive or even whole animals. If you have always been shopping in supermarkets and are rather “cut off “from your food, the experience of a wet market may be rather overwhelming for you. Joyce offers two sessions a day with a menu that changes on a daily basis so check out her webpage to find out what’s on the menu for the day.
Cost: HKD 750 per person
Martha Sherpa’s Cooking School
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This is a well established and renowned school for people who are serious about learning the art of Chinese cooking. You might have eaten at a number of restaurants in Hong Kong and have heard about the term ‘ Wok Hei,' which translates to the ‘breath of the wok.' ‘Wok Hei’ is what chefs aim for and it refers to the smokey flavor that gets imparted into the food from the very high heat of the wok. Think about the popular image of the flame that engulfs the wok in Chinese restaurants. At Martha Sherpa’s, you won’t be learning in a restaurant with huge woks and large flames, but you can certainly still learn how to achieve that impressive Wok Hei flavor as well as other cooking techniques such as braising and steaming. The class lasts a whole day from 10.30 am to 5pm so it’s for the truly committed.
Cost: HKD 1680 per person
Coup Kitchen
Fancy learning about the sweet rather than the savory? Sign up at Coup Kitchen, which specializes in teaching desserts with an East-West fusion. Helming Coup Kitchen is Alfred Cheung, former Head Chef of the Excelsior Hotel with two decades of pastry experience. Learn to make Asian pastries like the Cranberry Cream Cheese Bun or go for something more conventional like the Mango Mille Feuille.
Most classes cost over HKD 400 for members and over HKG 500 for non-members.
Local Cooking Experience
Edith is the woman behind Local Cooking Experience and offers a signature market and cooking class lesson for anyone who wants to experience local grocery shopping and cooking the Hong Kong way. She also organizes cooking demonstrations with interesting themes such as Chinese Vegan cooking and has a cooking class for kids available upon request. If you’re traveling with a child who likes to stick around in the kitchen, you know where to turn to for some fun and tasty education.
Cost: HKD1500 for 1 pax, HKD 1600 for 2 pax, HKD2100 for 3 pax HKD2100, HKD 2400 for 4 pax
Intercontinental Hotel
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For the discerning traveler who wants nothing else but a top chef experience, Intercontinental Hotel is where you want to learn from the best. The hotel has a Culinary Star Celebration that lets you book a private cooking class when you spend a couple of nights in a Superior Junior Suite. Choose to learn the art of sushi making at Nobu or dim sum at Yan Toh Heen, or even French. For the true Hong Kong experience, Yan Toh Heen is one of the city’s best places for dim sum, so learning there would no doubt unleash some of your potential, no matter how latent.
With so many ace cooking masters in Hong Kong, you’re only one booking away from creating your favorite dish at home!