Local Cooking Class At Auntie's Home

I picked up this tour to get some insight on what really goes into Vietnamese cooking. I am not Vietnamese, but I love so many Vietnamese dishes that I want to be able to make back at home. My interpreter was Linh, who was a fantastic tour guide, who made this a memorable experience. She picked me up from my hotel, and I rode on the back of her scooter for the 20 minutes to the Auntie's home in district 6. Linh was an excellent, safe driver, despite the chaotic Saigon traffic. After meeting Auntie for a minute, we headed to the alleyway market for some duck eggs and tomatoes. I got to practice buying from the market in Vietnamese with the interpreter's help. Back at Auntie's place, she had the other meat and vegetable ingredients ready, pointing out each one. I got to cut the vegetables we bought and scramble the duck eggs. In the kitchen, Auntie started 2 woks, added some oil and ingredients, and we traded off stir frying 4 dishes and one soup. It was interesting to see that some ingredients like garlic and caramel were the same in every dish, but the different flavors particular to each dish were what made each one unique. The soup was made up of pineapple, tomato, and tamarind, which you would think would blend well but tasted very pleasant and rich in subtle flavors. After cooking, I served the dishes onto plates, and the guide and I ate outside. We took lots of pictures and had good conversation. No, we didn't need to clean up :). Otherwise, it was as authentic as you can get. After I was driven back to my hotel, I received the full recipes for each dish, I am excited to try these out again. This tour is best for anyone looking for a different experience, seeing and doing things outside of the traditional activities.

My husband and I really enjoyed this experience! Walking the neighborhood to the local market, cooking in someone's home and learning the secret ingredient to all great cooking was so much fun. The food we cooked was really delicious. Kevin and his auntie were wonderful hosts!

Kevin gave my family of four (senior citizens and 30 year olds) a tour of Ben Thanh market and the surrounding sights. He was prompt, professional, and extremely accommodating to our groups particular needs and interests. Most of all, Kevin was open about his city and country so that we were not afraid to ask him anything about Vietnam. At night, we went to his Aunties house where we cooked a first class dinner with his lovely aunt after shopping for some ingredients at the local market. Kevin’s family and colleague (Alex) are truly lovely and inviting. They made us feel like family and even taught us some Vietnamese language and cultural habits/norms. Kevin was great with letting us direct the tour while providing information and support where ever necessary. It is obvious that tour guiding is his passion and I highly recommend spending time in his care as a way of connecting with this wonderful city!

This is an amazing experience where you are fully immersed in the local food. Auntie number 4 is the best. She has you tossing and cutting the food in her own kitchen. Kevin is an amazing host who takes great care of you

Cain, Rick and Ang picked us up from our accomodation by motor scooter and we took to the streets of the city before we had time to feel apprehensive. Starting with a cold coffee made in the wet market by one of the earliest street stalls (1940's and still going) we walked through the crowded laneways and picked up some ingredients for our lunch. Back on the mopeds and off to Miss Hoa's. Tucked away in the less chaotic side streets of the district 4, Miss Hoa and her family reside together in the family home that doubles as a corner street eatery. In a tight corner she runs 2 gas burners for her wok cookery. Upon arrival our ingredients were mostly prepped and ready to go, she gave a demo with us helping along- using her own stirring rod made by her! Our lunch was delicious, pork mince in omlette, sour soup with tammarind, chicken and garlic, snake head fish flavoured with lemon grass and fried and fresh greens in garlic- all so fresh and tangy. These young local lads, and Cain the main guide particularly, are charming and helpful in every way. Having studied tourism, Cain was able to talk in depth about everything from ancient history and geography, communism, the war, culture and local religions, he was very well read. We thoroughly enjoyed our day out and would never have gone behind the scenes without the guides and this tour to

I took two classes with Ms Tu and loved it ! David, his nephew, was an amazing guide who taught me a lot about Vietnamese daily life, culture and cuisine and Ms Tu is a lovely lady and very skilled cook. I had a lot of fun spending time with them both in their family home. The food we prepared was of course delicious. A variety of every-day life dishes which you would not usually find in restaurants. Would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to step out of the traditional tourist map. Many thanks to Kevin from Saigon Wow Tours for managing the whole thing.

Very nice experience to walk with Kelvin and David on the market and then cook with aunt. And of course eat all the good food afterwards. Wonderful experience, nice to experience the real Vietnamese life.

It was a great experience to be invited into a local household for cooking lessons in an original vietnamese kitchen. Great to buy the ingredients on the local market. The guides know all the ins and outs of the neigbourhood which only adds to the authenticity of the experience!! We had a great day.

It was an memorable experience. I highly recommend that every visitor do this experience. You get to truly experience the daily local eating ritual from shopping, prepping, cooking, and enjoying informative conversations. Everyone is so friendly. The best experience of all my travels.

Loved seeing the market and grabbing our food to cook! Good show all around. Most enjoyable. Friendly people. Fun!