Cooking Class for One in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
After taking a cooking class in Bali, I decided it might be fun to try another one in Phnom Penh. I searched online and picked a school that had lots of great reviews, and the only negative thing anyone had to say was that there were too many people in the class. So I filled out the online form, paid the fee, and arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to take me the day after I went to the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
The tuk-tuk driver didn’t show up, so I had to get someone else to take me. I should’ve taken this as an omen, because when I arrived at the restaurant I was told I was the only person who had signed up for that day. I assumed they would try to reschedule me or refund my money. But no, they said we’d still have the class. Just me and the instructor.
The instructor and I got into a tuk-tuk and went to the market where he showed me different fruits, vegetables, and fish. It was a really cramped, crowded market so I didn’t take any pictures. Then the tuk-tuk driver took us to where the class is held, which isn’t at the restaurant. As we began the actual cooking instruction, I realized just how awkward this day was going to be.
Since it was just me, I had no one else to rely on for help with understanding his heavily accented English. I had to do all of the hands-on things, whereas in the class in Bali, we all took turns. And we ended up with way too much food, so instead of little sample portions of everything, I had a full plate in front of me several times within just a few hours.
It didn’t help that I didn’t actually like any of the food that we made. Unfortunately I can be a picky eater, and I didn’t like the large amounts of peanuts that were in most of the dishes, and I didn’t like all the fish and shrimp paste. It was difficult to eat enough to not be rude but not make myself gag or eat enough for a whole village. He, of course, didn’t want to eat much because he makes this stuff almost every day with cooking classes.
So my advice when picking a cooking class? Aside from reading reviews, make sure you don’t hate major ingredients in the things you will be cooking, and make sure there are other people signed up for the same day before you commit.
By the end of the day, I think we both felt so awkward that he forgot to give me the recipes for what we cooked, and I couldn’t be bothered asking for it. Not that I would want to cook the dishes I didn’t like anyway. The food did look pretty, and I’m sure someone with less picky taste buds would’ve enjoyed it more. Here are some pictures of what we cooked:
You might also enjoy:
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Southeast Asia for Two Months
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Thailand
- How Much We Spent Traveling in Cambodia
December 15, 2011 @ 11:57 AM
Some of the stuff looks good. The spring rolls look great and I must admit that being a large person even I couldn’t have eaten all the way through all that food. As for the peanuts I am with you. I don’t like them either and avoid them like the plague because I have an allergy to them.
By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you how your Melbourne trip is going. I was going to ask you earlier but because of the nature of your last couple of posts I didn’t want to be disrespectful towards the Cambodian people and instead decided to stay on topic.
The weather here has been relatively mild for this time of year and in my neck of the woods at least we haven’t had much rain at all considering we’ve had bucket loads in the last three months. I hope the Great Ocean Road trip went well for you. It would have been a bit windy though but that’s to be expected in that part of the world.
December 15, 2011 @ 11:24 PM
The spring rolls were really hard, too crunchy for me, and the peanuts ruined it for me too. I’m sure most of what we cooked was good, I’m just a picky eater.
Melbourne was good, loved the Great Ocean Road. I’ll be doing a few Melbourne posts once I get done with Southeast Asia!
December 15, 2011 @ 2:13 PM
Definitely not into anything called Fish Amok, though the name is hilarious. I’m just as picky as you are so I trust we wouldn’t really want to eat much of it.
I do like the cleverly folded bananaleaf basket.
December 15, 2011 @ 11:25 PM
I know, right? I have no recipes from this cooking lesson, so no worries about me trying to make you eat any of it 🙂
December 15, 2011 @ 7:54 PM
Oh no!! That doesn’t sound fun at all! I am a picky eater, too! I wanted to do a cooking class in Thailand but ran out of time.
December 15, 2011 @ 11:59 PM
I definitely would’ve enjoyed it more if there were other people there! Haven’t made it to Thailand yet.
December 16, 2011 @ 5:33 AM
Have I told you how much I enjoy your cooking classes around the world? Lol. Always helps when I’m in a pickle for dinner. I think I’ll have spring rolls tonight. =)
December 16, 2011 @ 5:51 AM
HA! Thanks Kieu! I hate to tell you, that was the last one I signed up for! Enjoy the spring rolls 🙂
December 17, 2011 @ 4:08 AM
Oh man that would be a total bummer if I didn’t like all the ingredients. I’ll just make sure to only take Mexican food classes. 😛
At least you kept at it!
December 17, 2011 @ 4:22 AM
I would LOVE to take a Mexican cooking class!