Got up early to meet Saigon Cooking School Chef at Ben Thanh market at 8.30am to purchase necessary ingredients for the cooking lesson.
Old school homemade tofu, used to see this in wet market when i am younger.
Chicken embryo, this is the egg inside the hen's body before she lays out!
Soft shell crabs
Good service, so much easier to cook like this.
Coconut stem for salad making.
I know know this is called "Shio jiu lei" (hokkien) 烧酒螺, saw it on a Taiwan traveling program, don't see people eating this in Singapore, don't know what it is called in English.
Fresh pepper, have you seen one before?
Frogs in the net and deskined frogs in the basket.
All sorts of intestine, tongue, ears, organs, this looks like Singapore in the 1980s. I used to see all these sorts of stuff every morning when i pass by the wet marketing on my way to school.
Saw the white fats net below the intestine? Chef told us that is the fats net holding our intestine together and it taste great when used as spring roll skin to wrap minced meat!
Saw the white fats net below the intestine? Chef told us that is the fats net holding our intestine together and it taste great when used as spring roll skin to wrap minced meat!
Making sure they are fresh, instant pick, instant slaughter.
Snake wine, only the older generation believes in their tonic benefits and still drink these, even our chef only tried once.
Cabbed to Saigon Cooking Class, quite near within District 1.
Chilled Jasmine tea awaits for us.
First dish, fried spring roll ingredient.
Our spring rolls
Looking good...
To be wrapped with many herbs, fresh mint, coriander, basil, cockscomb mint, perilla aka shiso.
Oh, this had got to be the best spring roll i had in HCM, not because it was cooked by me but this is good stuff!
Next dish, we will be making water spinach aka kang kong salad.
Playing with the vegetable spliter knife.
Main course, ginger chicken. Very Chinese dish our momma cooked, only difference is Chinese we add wine while the Vietnamese add coconut juice.
As for dessert, chef made us passion fruit pudding for a sweet ending.
Restaurant manager, Chef and our new Hong Kong friends.
Made a reservation booking with Spa Authentic in district 2 and they sent their driver to pick us up from Saigon Cooking Class.
80min hot stone at 63SGD++ and 60min foot massage at 25SGD++. Their hot stone massage is not to be missed, not every spa knows how to do hot stone massage properly, Spa Authentic does it the correct way, so relaxed. Steam bath comes free with body massage, spent about 20min in the steam bath and shower before starting our session.
Food massage
You can tell how much The Husband enjoys it from his "sibek song" (feels good) face.
After the massage, we took sometime to chill out within the Spa Villa.
I had Coco loco mocktail while the husband get his passion fruit smoothie fix.
The husband with his just woke up face.
Calamari snack
Cheesy puff snack
Back in town, we saw Emporio Armani caffe.
Tous Les Jours, French bakery started in Korea is everywhere in HCM city.
The Opera House
Saigon City Hall
Nothing you will like in Saigon Square, very similar to the mail we saw in Beijing, can skip.
Dinner in Ben Thanh market temporary set up stores, these stores only set up after 6pm till late, they are like the Pasa Malam (night market) we called.
Firey prawn hooked around a coconut. Burn prawn burn.
Fresh spring roll
Giant oyster at approx 2USD each
Staff will then help you to de-shell the prawns, throw them into the coconut water, then burn again.
Fried spring roll, disappointed, thought they will roll them in thin rice paper not this thick one.
Back in our hotel, we made reservation for tomorrow's morning Chuchi tunnel tour at around 30SGD per pax. Followerd TripAdvisor tip to pay a little premium for smaller group tour of 6-10 ppl max than a big tour bus group where tour fee can go as low as SGD10 per pax. Smaller group move faster, less factory visiting and you can listen better to the narration guide has to say.
For second and third night, we swapped into the standard room (no window) at approx 100SGD per night. You don't know the time, no window, cant see the sky. Good thing is, you cant hear traffic noise or mad rooster cuckooing in the day.
2 comments:
did you go free and easy? As tour groups seldom have cooking classes.
Their night market is an eye opener. When I was younger I still remember we could get 'live' fish and the fishmonger will descale and kill the fish in front of us.
Oh yes, i saw how they hit them in the head with that huge wooden rod.
Best to go F&E on developing countries, i went beijing on tour and it scare the hell out of us. Food is crap, not allow to detour. Tell us bullshit when i insist him to bring us to the famous roast duck place.
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