Ho Chi Minh Food Experience: Vietnamese Cooking Class and Market Tour

Your Vietnamese culinary tour begins at with pickup from your Ho Chi Minh City hotel. From there you will visit the centrally located Ben Thanh Market, known as one of liveliest and busiest in Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon. Created in the early 17th century near the Saigon River and later formally established by the French, Ben Thanh is the oldest surviving market in Vietnam’s largest city.

Follow your guide past clothing and souvenir vendors until you reach the food stalls filled with the mouth-watering aromas of specialty dishes as well fresh vegetables, meats, sweets and spices. Learn from your guide about various ingredients, including Vietnamese herbs and spices, and start collecting produce for your cooking lesson.

After the market tour, transfer to the Vietnam Cookery Center for a hands-on lesson in Vietnamese cuisine. In this traditional setting you’ll have all of the equipment and ingredients you need for your small-group cooking class, with plenty of opportunities to interact with the chef and your fellow cooks. Enjoy the fun atmosphere as you prepare simple, healthy and delicious dishes such as papaya salad, Vietnamese chicken curry, fried rice and sweet white bean in coconut milk.

After your Vietnamese cooking lesson, sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor! Each day, a different 4-course meal is prepared (see Itinerary below for a sample menu). When you've had your fill, you will be dropped off at your hotel with new insight into Vietnamese culture and how to prepare its scrumptious cuisine!