Cooking Classes @ Hai Cafe

Details:  A Hoi An cooking class is an interesting and fun way to learn about the local cuisine. The demonstration takes about 1 hour – each person helps prepare the dishes and then sits down to enjoy the meal.
The café’s chef introduces you to the local ingredients, takes you through the preparation, and explains the Hoi An style of cooking.
Recipes are provided at the start of the class.

Recipe:  Our food contains no MSG / Vegetarian dishes available on request.
White Rose * – shrimp and pork wrapped in steamed rice flour.
Vegetable Spring Rolls – market vegetables wrapped with rice paper and pan-fried.
Squid Salad – thinly sliced squid sautéed and combined with green papaya, onion, ginger, garlic, Vietnamese mint and lemon juice.
Fried Wonton * – wheat flour steamed to produce a wrapping filled with shrimp and pork. Wantons are fried in hot oil and garnished with market vegetables and crushed black pepper.
Grilled Fish in Banana Leaf – local ocean fish stuffed with lemongrass, coriander, garlic, onions, sugar and rum. Fish is wrapped in banana leaves and barbecued for approximately 30 minutes.

* Please Note: White Rose and Fried Wanton are secret recipes made by only 1 family in Hoi An. They are included in the meal, but are not part of the cooking demonstration.

Famous Full Moon Festival Activities:
Every lunar month, on the 14th day, there is a full moon night in Hoi An, when the old town is lit by the moon and houses are lit by graceful and colorful lanterns. On this evening, all kinds of vehicles are lifted off town and all the people, both locals and visitors comfortably walk and enjoy themselves in a new world, the world of tranquility, peace, poetry and beauty. Here, in an old house, local poets are enjoying their own poems recited by some ladies in the melodious accompany of a 16-string long zither player. There, in the porch of a family chapel, the traditional orchestra is giving passers by beautiful tunes of the old days while young ladies are singing out sweet, lyrical folk songs.

The activities of Hoian full moon night:
In Hut card game
Both enjoying spring, folk songs and seeing the traditional cultural value of the nation respected. Bai Choi, the "in hut card game", a sort of amusement in spring attracts people of all ages of any social segment.
Poem recitation
Poem recitation is a refined amusement of intellectuals in the old days. Round the table, they gossip some wine and enjoy the poem recited by some talented lady. Her melodious recitation held up by music makes all the participants high. Poetry and music harmonize thoroughly while time seems to stand still.
Repartee chanties
In the field or on the river, women and men often sing repartee chanties to drive away tiredness when they are working. It's surprising that they can easily and excellently compose and sing the chanties right at the place. They are so quick minded, witty and clever that even the learned people must admire them to the heart and sometimes have to give up the repartee.
The mat of classical opera
Very reduced, popular but also scholarly, classical opera always wins the heart of the people in central Vietnam and plays an important role in their cultural and spiritual life. You can enjoy Quang Nam folk songs and folk dances, traditional concert, presentations of traditional musical instruments performed by Hoian people.