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This morning we head to the colourful market of Hoi An, to learn about the ingredients that we'll be using in the cooking lesson at Vy's Market Restaurant and Cooking School we are all looking forward to.
The market is alive with colour, chatter, pace and smells of all types from the yummy to the woofy! We are shown all the different herbs, meats, fruits, vegetables, fish, breads, pasta's and the utensils used for the dainty ways the Vietnamese seem to cut up all the food in preparation for either cooking or decoration.
The market starts very early, the men slaughter the meat and harvest the crops for the ladies to sell at the market for midday lunches and then it all happens again for the afternoon market, for dinner.
The cooking school welcomes us with cool tea drinks, then we see and taste all the different cooking methods specific to Vietnam, common foods, street foods, vegetarian, seafood's, the weird and wonderful. Weirdest I ate was a very small taste of pig ear salad and Dad silk worm salad. Vietnamese only buy for each meal they require each day, they don't have stored away products like we do for meals, that is why their food is so fresh.
We then are taken upstairs to a cooking demonstration classroom set up, which is very professional, it felt like we were in one of those tv food shows. We all had our own stations, aprons and followed the teachers instructions on how to prepare food for our lunch. We started with a fresh spring roll, then the mango salad, followed by the marinated chicken skewers. When we were ready to BBQ the skewers we were given a fruit or vegie to pop on the skewer so we could find our skewers when cooked, I had the cumquat (good luck) fruit and Dad the pumpkin piece.
What a wonderful experience this was, one we won't forget, it was such a fun class, not only to learn how to cook Vietnamese but to work with the local people and have a laugh with them.
I of course - left with a signed cookbook, and was given an apron. We all got recipes of what we made, and a cutting knife that the Vietnamese can't live without.
Half the group then followed the tour guide for tailor shop, optical wear and jewellery, Dad and I along with others, decided to do our own thing.
We started with viewing the lantern stalls, and yes - bought one for the sunroom at home.
Then we crossed the Hoi An Ancient township bridge, where we met an "all smiles" lady carrying her fruit, and we had photo time with her. Hoi An was once a seaport for the ancient Champa Kingdom, today it is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Walking through the quaint old quarter that is only visited by foot or bicycle, we stop at the Quan Cong Temple, and the Japanese Bridge, a Communal House, an Assembly Hall and one old house.
We've walked the two key streets sight seeing, window shopping and also purchasing just a few little things and are both a little tired, today it was warm so we decided to get back to the hotel just before dark for dinner, we hope to return tomorrow to see the streets lit up with lanterns as noted - it was something you don't want to miss before leaving Hoi An.
Tonight for dinner at the hotel Dad and I, both decide to have the famous Pho Vietnamese Noodle Soup after such a big lunch.
- comments
Cherie Wow what a great day!
Cherie apparently Tumeric is good for everything!
Cherie Nice pic. Did they mind you taking their photo?
Cherie ohhhhh yum!
Cherie oh that is a cool photo!
Cherie the mirror is a good idea to see what is happening
Cherie look how little she is compared to us Europeans!