BANGKOK ‘17
It feels weird to call cooking a hobby since I also think of it as a fundamental life skill, but I do really enjoy learning how to make cuisine from all over the world. I’ve made it a goal to take one cooking class now wherever I travel.
I discovered Silom Thai Cooking School through a flight attendant friend who raved about this on Instagram. The teacher was incredibly friendly, the classmates were from every corner of the planet, and together we learned to make a full course meal from scratch. I’m talking mortar-and-pestle-to-make-green-curry-paste from scratch. For our course meal, we made tom yum goong (spicy sour shrimp soup), pad thai, laab gai (minced chicken salad), green curry paste for chicken curry, and mango sticky rice. It’s a bit tricky to find, so allow time to get there. Combined with traffic we didn’t account for and not following the map provided to us exactly, we missed the market tour when they picked up the fresh ingredients before class. Still, the several hours spent cooking was a blast! And for all of that, it was only $30 per person.
We had heard that Chiang Mai was most people’s favorite city when visiting Thailand, so we only allowed a day in Bangkok. Though, allowed more PTO, I would have certainly spent more time there!
For accommodations, I found a hotel called IR-ON Hotel for about $30/night, or $15/person if sharing a bed, and I was absolutely in love with the design. I’m a mega fan of beautiful interiors, and the herringbone floors, marble showers, and dark metal detailing everywhere had my jaw hanging. I looked back for photos or videos, and I could only find one crummy video I took - I think because I was just so excited to be there. Going back someday, I will definitely upgrade to the suite because it’s only $60/night and it gets you a spacious balcony with an area to sit and eat, a giant bathtub, and a little couch/living room area.
(Not my photo - found on Google images)
Tom yum goong
pad thai
mango sticky rice