Hanoi Cooking Class: Market Tour & Four Iconic Dishes
Cook four iconic Vietnamese dishes and eat what you make
A hands-on cooking class in Hanoi where you tour a local wet market, learn traditional knife skills from a home chef, and prepare four signature Vietnamese dishes (banana flower salad, spring rolls, pho, and Vietnamese pancakes), then sit down to eat them. The class runs 4.5 hours, includes homemade liquor and a coffee tasting as dessert, and ends with a digital recipe book and certificate. Your booking contributes to charity meals for pediatric patients in Hanoi hospitals.
Options for this experience
2 optionsWhat’s included
- Local wet market tour with a chef guide.
- hands-on instruction in traditional knife skills and cooking techniques.
- all fresh, top-grade ingredients and never-reused cooking oil.
- preparation of four iconic Vietnamese dishes (banana flower salad, spring rolls, pho, Vietnamese pancakes).
- the meal you cook, eaten together with the chef.
- unlimited homemade local wine and liquor.
- coffee tasting (your choice of salted, egg, or coconut).
- digital recipe book and digital certificate.
- free drop-off to the Old Quarter for join-in classes, or free pick-up and drop-off within 20km of downtown for private classes.
- free shower if available after arrival.
Times
- Monday to Saturday 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 15:00 15:30 16:00
- Sunday 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 15:00 15:30 16:00
Before you book
Operated by Love Kitchen Lab
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The experience
The morning starts at a bustling local wet market, where a chef walks you through the stalls and explains what makes Vietnamese markets essential to the food culture: the ingredients, the vendors, the relationship between what's sold and what ends up on tables across the city. You'll see banana flowers, fresh herbs, and the cuts of meat and seafood that go into the dishes you'll cook later. This isn't a quick stop. It's the foundation for understanding why these recipes work the way they do.
Back at the cooking studio, you move into the kitchen itself. You'll learn traditional knife skills and the techniques behind four dishes: Vietnamese banana flower salad (yes, the flowers are edible), fresh spring rolls, pho (with the secrets behind the broth that restaurants don't usually share), and Vietnamese pancakes filled with shrimp and pork. The chef is English-speaking and works hands-on with you, not demonstrating from a distance, but guiding you through each step. You're using fresh, top-grade ingredients and clean equipment, and the oil is never reused.
Once everything is cooked, you sit down to eat what you've made. The meal includes conversation with the chef about the cultural side of Vietnamese food: table manners, folk tales, the stories tied to each dish. You'll also taste homemade liquor and choose one of three Vietnamese coffees for dessert: salted, egg, or coconut. Before you leave, you take home a digital recipe book so you can cook these dishes again, and a certificate if you want one. The whole experience takes 4.5 hours.
Is this one for you?Choose the join-in class if you want to cook alongside other travelers and meet people in a group setting. Pick the private class if you prefer one-on-one instruction and want pick-up from your hotel included. Both run the same 4.5 hours and teach the same four dishes, so the choice depends on whether you'd rather have a shared kitchen or your own.
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Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 12 years); Infant (under 3): free.
What four dishes do I actually cook during the class?
You prepare Vietnamese banana flower salad, fresh spring rolls, pho, and Vietnamese pancakes. The chef teaches you the traditional techniques for each one, including knife skills and the specific methods that make these dishes work: like the secrets behind pho's broth that you won't find in restaurants.
Is the market tour included, or is that something I arrange separately?
The market tour is included and happens at the start of the class. A chef guides you through a local wet market in Hanoi, explaining the ingredients, the vendors, and why market knowledge is essential to Vietnamese cooking. It's part of the full 4.5-hour experience.
What's included in the coffee tasting?
The coffee tasting is complimentary and serves as your dessert. You choose one of three Vietnamese coffee styles: salted coffee, egg coffee, or coconut coffee. Each one is a traditional Vietnamese brew, and egg coffee in particular is known for its rich, velvety texture with a creamy egg yolk foam on top.
Do I need to arrange my own transportation to the cooking studio?
For the join-in class, you get free drop-off to the Old Quarter area. For a private class, both pick-up and drop-off are included within a 20km range of downtown Hanoi. If you've just landed from a flight, a free shower is available at the studio, subject to availability.
What happens to the money I spend on this class?
Every booking contributes to charity meals for pediatric patients in central Hanoi hospitals. The operator, Dine With Locals, directs what you pay back into the communities where the class runs.
Do I get to take anything home besides the meal I've eaten?
Yes. You receive a digital recipe book so you can recreate the four dishes at home, and a digital certificate upon request. You also get unlimited homemade local wine and liquor during the class, and if you book a private option, free luggage storage is available for up to two days.
Hanoi Cooking Class: Market Tour & Four Iconic Dishes
4h 30m · EN
from US$ 34 per person
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