Motorbike food tour and cooking classes
Cooking class - operated by Madam Mận Cooking Class
Pass It On Kitchen: eat yesterday's jelly, make tomorrow's
A late-afternoon class taught by Madam Mận Cooking Class. You shop at a neighbourhood market a short walk from the kitchen, cook four dishes and eat them as dinner - and you start and end with coconut jelly, eating the tray the last class left you and setting one for the next.
Key facts
- Length
- 3 to 3.5 hours
- Starts
- 16:00 daily, ends about 19:00 - 19:30
- Group
- Up to 10 cooks
- Where
- Class kitchen at a small resort, about 500 m from a local market
- Ages
- 6 and over, with an adult
- Operated by
- Madam Mận Cooking Class
- Price
- USD 55; children 6 - 11 USD 39
The jelly that gets passed on
Every class begins by eating coconut jelly that the class before it made, labelled with that class's name. And every class, before it cooks anything else, makes a tray of its own, labels it and leaves it to set for whoever comes tomorrow.
It is a small thing that changes the mood of the afternoon. You are eating something made for you by people you will never meet, and the first job you do in the kitchen is for strangers.
Coconut jelly goes on first for a practical reason too: it needs time in the cold to set, and it sets while you cook dinner.
The market walk
At ten past four the teacher walks the group to a neighbourhood market about 500 metres from the kitchen - about a kilometre there and back. This is not a tourist market. It is where people nearby buy dinner, and the group buys part of its own.
- How to tell fresh herbs from tired ones, and which ones go with which dish.
- Choosing vegetables for boiling and for salad, and a coconut for the jelly.
- Meat or shrimp for the rolls, unless your group is cooking vegetarian.
- How prices are asked and agreed at a neighbourhood stall.
In heavy rain the walk is skipped and the teacher has the ingredients waiting in the kitchen. The class still runs; it just starts at the counter.
What you cook
| Order | Dish | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coconut jelly | Set in moulds or coconut shells, labelled for the next class |
| 2 | Kho quet with boiled vegetables - or banh hoi | Kho quet is a thick, salty-sweet caramelised dip simmered slowly, for dunking boiled vegetables; banh hoi is a mat of fine rice vermicelli. Your group picks one |
| 3 | Pho rolls | Fresh rice-noodle sheets wrapped around a savoury filling and herbs |
| 4 | Vegetable salad | Raw and blanched vegetables from the market, dressed |
The order is the teacher's, and it matters: jelly first because it must set, kho quet next because it simmers while you roll, salad last because it should be crisp when it reaches the table. Around a quarter to seven the table is laid and you eat together as the light goes.
The class, start to finish
Day 1
Market and dinner, 16:00 - about 19:30
Writing the label for tomorrow's jelly
You make your own way to the class kitchen for 16:00 (a transfer can be added for a fee). The teacher runs through the menu and splits the shopping list between small groups, then leads the walk to the market. Forty-five minutes or so among the stalls, buying herbs, vegetables, a coconut and whatever else the menu needs.
Back in the kitchen around 17:00 you sit down to the coconut jelly the previous class left, then the teacher goes through the four dishes. Jelly goes into its moulds and gets a label; kho quet or banh hoi follows, then pho rolls, then the salad. From about 18:45 you eat dinner together, take the recipes and leave between seven and half past.
Price
| Guest | Per person |
|---|---|
| Adult | USD 55 |
| Child aged 6 - 11, with an adult | USD 39 |
What the price includes
- A teacher from Madam Mận Cooking Class for the market and the kitchen
- Ingredients bought at the market for the menu
- Coconut jelly from the previous class
- Dinner of the dishes you cooked
- Drinking water
- Recipes
What it does not include
- Transport to and from the class (can be added)
- Other drinks
- Anything you buy for yourself at the market
- Tips
Diets and allergies
The vegetarian version uses tofu and mushrooms, with a mushroom kho quet. Coconut is central to the dessert, so anyone avoiding coconut should say so. Tell us about any allergy when you book - the diet page explains the ones that are hard to cook around in a Vietnamese kitchen.
Who should not book this
- Anyone who wants a morning class - this one runs only from 16:00.
- Anyone who wants to master one tricky technique - Roll & Brew goes deeper on rolling.
- People who cannot walk about a kilometre at an easy pace, unless it is raining and the market is skipped anyway.
- Families with children under 6.
Photos
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
What happens to the jelly I make?
It sets overnight and is served to the next day's class, with your label on it. The jelly you eat at the start came the same way from the class before you.
Does the class run every day?
Yes, it is a daily class from 16:00. Check your date in the booking form and we confirm before you pay.
What if it rains?
In heavy rain the market walk is skipped and the ingredients are ready in the kitchen. The cooking and dinner go ahead.
Can I take this class with young children?
From age 6, with an adult, at USD 39 for ages 6 to 11. The market walk is about a kilometre in total at an easy pace.
Related
Read next
Book - cooking classes
Cooking classes
The two cooking classes side by side: dishes, timing, ages and price.
View this journey
Example journey
Roll & Brew cooking class
The rolling class: fresh rolls, banh cuon, pho rolls and egg coffee, three hours.
View this journey
Example journey
Scooter Bites food tour
The motorbike food tour: two sessions, three to five dishes, pillion or self-ride.
View this journey
Plan - food guide
What to eat
Phu Quoc dishes sorted by time of day, with what each one is and how it is eaten.
View this journey
Plan - diet
Vegetarian and allergies
What each experience can adapt for vegetarians and allergies, and what it cannot.
View this journey
Book - prices
Prices
All prices: the food tour by riding option, both classes with child rates.
View this journeyStart planning
Tell us which session you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.