14th November - In Hoi An   Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     

 

 
 
 

Hoi An: A market tour, a cooking class
and dinner with two new friends

Tuesday 14th November 2017
 

Today was our second full day in Hoi An. The highlight of the day, much anticipated by Geoff, was to be cooking lessons at a specialist school. Bruce was a little less enthusiastic about the cooking aspect, but looked forward to eating the results!

 
Cassava for breakfast at our hotel. Geoff is always ready to try something new.
 
We were collected by Tien and the driver after breakfast and driven into the old town once again, where we were taken to the meeting point at this restaurant. Tien left us there and said she would pick us up later at the school itself, which is further down the river.
 
After registering, we were treated to refreshments while we waited for the other students to arrive. We were then split into parties of four and taken for a walking tour of the local market. By coincidence, our guide was the man who would be giving all the cookery lessons later. He was quite a character!
 
Making rice noodles in the market
 
 
 
 
 
This lady has been working in the market for 62 years
 
 
Our guide was quite keen that we all buy a variety of stuff from one particular market stall. He clearly had a vested interest and he was a good salesman...
 

...we know that because we bought all of these essential items to take home with us! (We shan't say too much about the sharper items in the collection, except that attempting to board a plane with them in one's hand luggage is not recommended.)

 
After an interesting tour of the market, we were guided to a boat for the trip down the Thu Bon River to the cookery school. Our guide and chef (on the right of Geoff below) left us there and went on to the school by road to prepare for our arrival.
 
We were accompanied by two nice American women. We got on so well that we met for dinner in the evening. Geoff is chatting to one of them here.
 
 
 
We sailed gently past the market we had visited earlier
 
 
 
 
 
Thirty minutes after setting off, we arrived at the cookery school.
 
First things first... another welcome drink!
 

Amidst a flurry of demands to wash our hands at every opportunity, the cookery lessons began!

These are the recipes that we followed.

     
             
     
 
Lesson 1 - Hoi An rice paper pancakes
 
Chef demonstrating how to make rice paper
 
Geoff's pancakes. Not too shabby, as he himself said!
 
 
Lesson 2 - How to make fine vegetable strips
 
 
 
Lesson 3 - Steamed rice paper pancakes with prawns
 
Lesson 4 - casserole pork with vegetables. They let Bruce alone with a cleaver and vegetables!
 

Lesson 5 - making delicate flowers from vegetables.

Bruce found it challenging... it was meant to be a rose!

Geoff claimed his was not much better.
"Oh, Rose, thou art sick".
His courgette looked good though.
 
After completing the lessons, all the food we had prepared, plus another fish dish, was presented back to us in the restaurant overlooking the river. Afterwards, Tien and our driver appeared from nowhere and took us back to our hotel, where we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
 
Bruce loved the fresh mango juice everywhere in Vietnam, while Geoff appreciated the local beers.
 
We returned to the Old Town of Hoi An to have dinner with the two ladies we had met on the cookery course. We dined at a restaurant specialising in training disadvantaged children.
 
Afterwards, we took a tour of the night market with its abundance of lanterns.
 
 
 
Like last night, we walked back to the hotel afterwards.
We needed to walk off some of the food we had consumed today!
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble