Motorbike food tour and cooking classes
Cooking class - operated by O Hên Cooking Class
Roll & Brew: three rolls and a cup of egg coffee
Roll & Brew is the class taught by O Hên Cooking Class: three hours at a counter in a small resort kitchen, three ways of wrapping food in rice, and egg coffee whisked by hand to finish. What you make is your lunch, or your dinner on the afternoon session.
Key facts
- Length
- 3 hours
- Sessions
- 09:00 - 12:00 (lunch) or 16:00 - 19:00 (dinner)
- Group
- Up to 10 cooks
- Where
- Class kitchen at a small resort on Phu Quoc
- Ages
- 6 and over, with an adult
- Operated by
- O Hên Cooking Class
- Price
- USD 49; children 6 - 11 USD 35
Three rolls, three techniques
Vietnamese cooks roll a lot of things in rice, and the three rolls in this class each use rice in a different state - which is why they make a good set to learn together.
| Roll | The rice | The filling | The skill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh rolls (nem cuon) | Dried rice paper, softened in water | Shrimp or pork, rice vermicelli, lettuce, herbs | Rolling tight without tearing a wet sheet |
| Banh cuon | A thin batter steamed on cloth into a sheet | Seasoned minced filling, fried shallots | Pouring and lifting a sheet that is set but not stuck |
| Pho rolls (pho cuon) | Wide fresh rice-noodle sheets, uncut | Stir-fried beef, herbs, lettuce | Wrapping a soft sheet around a warm filling |
The dipping sauce comes first, because all three rolls share it. You balance fish sauce, lime, sugar, garlic and chilli to taste, and taste again, until no one flavour shouts over the others.
The steamer is the hard part
Banh cuon is the dish that separates a class from a demonstration. A cloth is stretched over a pot of boiling water; you ladle on a spoonful of batter, spread it thin, put the lid on for a few seconds and then lift the sheet off with a flat stick. Too thick and it is rubbery, too long and it sticks. Each cook pours several sheets, taking turns at the steamer.
Expect your first sheet to tear. By the third most people have it. The torn ones still get eaten.
Egg coffee, at the end
The last twenty minutes are coffee. Egg yolk is whisked with sugar and condensed milk until it turns pale and thick, then spooned onto strong coffee so it sits on top like a custard foam. It is a Hanoi invention, and an easy one to repeat at home once you have done it with someone watching.
The topping uses raw egg yolk. Pregnant guests and young children are offered an egg-free version - say so when you book.
The class, from start to finish
Day 1
Morning 09:00 - 12:00, or afternoon 16:00 - 19:00
Lifting your first whole sheet of banh cuon off the steamer
You arrive at the class kitchen at a small resort on Phu Quoc; transport is your own, or a transfer can be added for a fee. Aprons on, then fifteen minutes on the ingredients: rice paper, rice flour, fresh rice-noodle sheets, herbs, fish sauce. The dipping sauce is made first and the fresh rolls follow, which is where everyone learns how wet a sheet of rice paper should be.
The steamed banh cuon take the most time and attention. Then the pho rolls, which are quick once you have handled a soft sheet already. The last cooking job is egg coffee. Then the table is set with everything you made, and you eat it as lunch on the morning class or dinner on the afternoon one, with the recipes to keep. On the afternoon session add seven hours to every time on this page.
Price
| Guest | Per person |
|---|---|
| Adult | USD 49 |
| Child aged 6 - 11, with an adult | USD 35 |
What the price includes
- A teacher from O Hên Cooking Class
- All ingredients
- An apron for the class
- Lunch or dinner of the dishes you cooked
- One egg coffee
- Drinking water
- Recipes, printed or as a file
What it does not include
- Transport to and from the class (can be added)
- Other drinks - beer, wine, smoothies
- Tips
Diets and allergies
A vegetarian version replaces shrimp and beef with tofu and mushrooms and the fish sauce dip with one based on soy. Tell us about allergies when you book: egg (the coffee, and sometimes the banh cuon filling), peanuts, seafood, and gluten, which hides in soy sauce. The diet page has the details.
Who should not book this
- Anyone looking for island seafood cooking - this is a class of rolls, mostly northern in origin.
- Anyone who wants to see a market or a neighbourhood - take Pass It On Kitchen instead.
- Families with children under 6.
- Anyone expecting a private home - this is a class in a resort kitchen.
Photos
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
What do I actually make in Roll & Brew?
Three rolls - fresh rolls, steamed banh cuon and pho rolls - their shared dipping sauce, and a cup of egg coffee.
Is this a Phu Quoc dish class?
Not mainly. The rolls and egg coffee are northern Vietnamese classics, taught on Phu Quoc. For island seafood dishes, the food tour is the better choice.
Can children join?
From age 6, with an adult, at USD 35 for ages 6 to 11. There is an egg-free coffee for young children.
Which session should I choose?
The morning class ends with lunch; the afternoon class ends with dinner. On very hot days the morning is cooler, and on a rainy afternoon this is a good place to be.
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All prices: the food tour by riding option, both classes with child rates.
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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.