Today Ken and I are enrolled in a cooking school so we headed off to the lobby to meet Linh, our culinary guru, for a 9:00 am pick-up. By 9:30, I was getting more than a little antsy. Nothing I dislike more than people that are late for appointments. One of the folks from the hotel called Linh for us and she said they'd been delayed and would be at the hotel in 15 minutes. At 9:45, we decided that at 10:00 we would just head in town if they weren't here by then. Ken went up to change into runners for the walk in to town and, just like having a cigarette when you are waiting for dinner, the van packed with our fellow students arrived minutes later. Linh was most apologetic and explained that the traffic was a nightmare as Tet was coming and the other seven folks were at four different hotels around town just as Ken came back downstairs. So the original plan was back on and we climbed into the van loaded with honeymooners from Australia (Ben and Kate) two young German girls (Francine and Carmen) three women travelling alone from BC (Kelly), Hong Kong (neither Ken nor I caught her name) and North Carolina (Barbara).
We headed to a market to pick up the ingredients for the dishes we had chosen to make. I had originally chosen Pho Bao (beef noodle soup) but Ben was making that so I decided on the Banh Xeo (pork and shrimps crepes with bean sprouts) that I had loved from the day before. Ken had chosen sautéed calamari with fresh herbs and spices.
When we arrived at the market, Linh gave us all the conical (comical on westerners) hats to wear and a bright red plastic shopping bag to carry the ingredient for our respective dishes. I'm sure we were quite a sight as we traipsed around the market like Linh's brood of ducklings blocking the way for scads of serious and sometimes impatient shoppers.
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| Not sure this is a good look for me - lol! |
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| Some of our classmates |
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| A Pho "restaurant" |
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| Coconut for the curry |
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| This little piggy went to market ... |
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| Sweet potatoes |
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| Scaling the red snapper |
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| Tuna |
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Maybe someone is calling for take-out noodles?      |
After what seemed like hours of prep, we were finally ready to eat the first dish. As luck would have it that was the Banh Xeo which both Kelly (the twenty something girl from BC who had quit her job and was travelling through Asia for 4-6 months) and I had chosen as our dish. The crepes were cooked until very crispy and then topped with herbs and other greenery before they were wrapped in rice paper by the folks eating them. They were a hit as was the grilled chicken made by young lady from Hong Kong that had been marinated and then placed in the middle of a bamboo chopstick that had been soaked, split and then tied together with a piece of banana leaf before grilling.
Next up was red snapper that had been stuffed with a herb and spice mixture, wrapped in banana leaves and then cooked on the BBQ which was apropos as the student chef was Kate, one of the Aussie honeymooners. This delectable and quite fiery dish was followed closely by mackerel that had been marinated in a mixture of garlic, ginger, shallots, etc. and then cooked with loads of lemongrass. Carmen, was responsible for that dish. If I had known that mackerel could taste like that, I might not have turned my nose up at it in the past. Both fish dishes were made from fresh caught fish and cooked to perfection so they melted in your mouth. There was also some steamed rice on offer but we were starting to get full and there was lots more dishes to come so most folks ate very little of that.
Next was Ken's sautéed squid which turned out wonderfully even though he had a tendency to try and change the recipe to add more of the things he likes (garlic) and less of the things he doesn't (fish sauce, ginger, heat). Linh had to keep a watchful eye on him - lol!! Even though the calamari was quite tasty, the real highlight of Ken's dish was watching him make it including preparing the squid (peeling and gutting it - lol!!). Joining the squid was the first of two noodle soups Mi Ga, made with chicken by Barbara. The broth was the most important element of the soups and was made from the whole chicken (including head and feet but not innards) which had added to it charred ginger and shallots, star anise, cinnamon and other species that result in the fragrant elixir. As with the wraps, there are a number of elements that are added by the end consumer including, basil, onions, fresh-squeezed lime juice, banana flower and lettuce.
Both dishes were a big hit with the crew. But wait, there is more!! The other German girl, Francine, had slaved over a Vietnamese chicken and vegetable curry which was served to rave reviews. Last but not least, the other half of the Aussie couple, Ben, had made a tasty Pho Bao (beef noodle soup) made in the same way as the Mi Ba but using been bones to make the stock and with paper thin slices of beef steak added instead of the shredded chicken. Few of us were able to give the proper attention to the eight dish of the afternoon but we gave it a taste and it was great. Fully stuffed now, Linh provided slices of refreshing watermelon before gifting us all with some cooking tools and calling the driver to take us home. The class cost $35 and, was, in my opinion a great value. Can't wait to receive the recipes by email and try them at home. Sorry there are no pics of the finished product as my phone had run out of juice and figuring out how to get photos off the camera and into this blog is beyond my current capabilities. Its complicated enough downloading photos from the phone. I think Ken may be learning new curse words!!
Most folks opted to get dropped off at their respective hotels but Ken and I decided to pick up some goodies that I'd purchased the previous afternoon and explore Old Town a bit more. On our travels, we found a couple temples to explore, saw a bride and groom getting their wedding photos taken and did some window shopping. We were going to get some clothes custom made here in the town with hundreds of tailors but most of them are on a ten-day holiday. They must have heard we were coming. There are a few shops that are staying open but they appear to be jacking up their prices. We will give it a try in Hanoi.
We walked back to the hotel for a well-deserved beer by the pool before enjoying a lazy evening without dinner as we were still sated from the fruits of our labours.
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