Gal and Tom
Bangkok is a great place to learn to cook. Specifically, there are many excellent cooking schools where you can take a half day , full day, weeklong or longer courses.
While the boys and I explored Wat Arun and the markets, Hilit and Gal went to a half day cooking lesson. I researched a whole bunch of them – some were full, some were closed on Sundays and some never replied. They ended going to the Silom Thai Cooking School – hidden down a little alleyway, it was based in a nondescript apartment house. The verdict? They loved it! And Hilit is a chef herself, so she has extremely high standards. The group went shopping in a market, and then spent the morning cooking a wide variety of classic Thai dishes. The preparation of the food got the highest marks – everyone sat in a circle on a tatami type mat, and they each had their own tamarind wood cutting board on which to cut the vegetables etc. The ingredients, herbs and spices were beautifully displayed in the middle of the circle, and the chef was so funny that he kept them in stitches while they all worked. The girls were very disappointed that our schedule didn’t allow them a repeat visit. Next time.
Later in the afternoon we went to explore one of Bangkok’s most interesting shopping centres – the famous MBK (Mah Boon Krong). The boys and I loath shopping centers, but we really liked MBK, because, basically, MBK was a regular chaotic Asian market, with a huge number of stalls, fake goods and more, except this one was inside an air-conditioned building! There was also a huge food court, that spread over several floors. The whole family thought it was pretty cool. And then we happened to bump into a super famous film star (sponsored by Madame Tussauds).
PS: I am planning great family trips to Thailand. For more info, click here.
