Before we came to Chiang Mai, we did some research on Trip Advisor to see which cooking class might be the best. 'A lot of Thai' wasn't the top rating, but all the reviews glowed about Yui and that made up our minds.
We started with a trip around the local market - Yui guided us round telling us all about the strange cooked foods, as well as loads of vegetables, fruits, meats and fish. The deep-fried chicken heads were the strangest to me!
After the tour came a day of cooking at her home, in a very well set up area with a demonstration station as well as several other stations for us students. We proceeded to learn how to prepare and make 6 dishes (which we then hungrily devoured), each was simple enough to follow for me as a beginner, but with enough technical tips to engage the best cooks.
I was struck by Yui's emphasis on hygiene, both during the class and on the market tour. She was constantly proffering tips on how to choose good quality ingredients from good quality sellers, while fielding question after question from her small class (there were just 3 of us that day).
We learnt so much more about Thailand from this day than just cooking that it made it one of the best days on our holiday.
She runs full and half day courses and also came to collect us from our hotel in the best transfer vehicle we saw on our whole trip - it's a brilliant little VW camper van, complete with 2 sofas in the back for our trip to her home. Excellent!

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Yui is the best thai cooking teacher
that I ever knew

Seriously though there are so many things that go to making a cooking class a successful for each participants. Somehow Yui knows how to bring all of them to the kitchen table. She's more than you ever imagine you'll get from your Thai cooking teacher. Everyone has something different that they want to get out of doing a class. I've cooked thai food for a few years and done a class many years ago, so I wanted to learn some more techniques. But Yui's teaching and techniques opened up a whole new world. She talks of science, alchemy, society and hygiene. She can tell you the process behind how they made noodles, spring roll wrappers, oyster sauce etc...She uses the word molecular when talking about chasing the oil out of the spring roll so it's not greasy. It was just so fantastic. She gave me tools to use (in my head) that will stay with me for a lifetime. Not just showed me how to cook, but why do it this way rather than that....and the book is excellent, not just an over copied stapled document, you can tell just from the book that Yui actually cares. She doesn't just want your baht, she wants to affect your heart. Anyway, at the end of the day, all of that aside, the food was to die for. The sticky rice I will not forget, and have made it today, it was soooo good. Don't go anywhere else, you'd be nuts!!

At A Lot of Thai, we learned how to prepare six different Thai dishes. But if you go, I strongly advise that you spend time with Yui, after the dishes have been prepared, and everyone is enjoying the food made by their own hands. Ask Yui about her past, her family, the people of Thailand, how she learned to cook, how she started and grew her business. You will find that Yui has much to teach, and cooking is only the beginning.

The day begins with Yui, her husband Kwan, and their 2 1/2 year old daughter (so cute!) picking you up from your hotel at around 9:30am in their 1974 VW bus. Such a classic! Our class consisted of five students, which was a nice number. It is small enough that Yui has enough time to visit each of your cooking stations to check on your food and offer advice.

"fire is too high, it should be sizzling, not smoking" or "you need to add oil, your wok should be shiny, not dry. But you should not see a pool of oil at the bottom." She does not just tell you what to do, or even how to do it. She explains why you are doing each step the way that she describes, and why it is in this particular order.

Yui displays a passion for both food and teaching. It is the perfect combination for this business. However, she also displays the passion of an entrepreneur striving to improve her business and the experience for her students.

The foods that we made by our own hands were among the best foods that we ate in Thailand. And this is saying a lot. Seriously, Thailand has some amazing food. The level of cooking experience among our classmates was low to moderate. Yet, everyone completed their dishes to perfection.

We went on a Saturday, so our menu was Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, Green Curry Chicken, Tom Yum Goong, Cashew Chicken Stir Fry, and Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangoes. Everything was excellent, but the sweet sticky rice was to die for! We will definitely be hosting a Thai food dinner party when we return. Our friends will be so impressed!

After the food was cooked, we spent time sitting with Yui, enjoying our creations, and she shared her stories. She has a wealth of experience in so many areas. But it is her passion for her family, her food, her business and her country that will move you.

Do not hesitate to go. If you only had one day left in Chiang Mai, you should spend it with Yui.

One of the best days of my Thailand holiday was at A Lot of Thai. Yui is friendly, fun and passionate about food and wanting others to love it as well. I discovered all I was doing wrong with my home attempts at Thai cooking! Having a break in the middle of the day to go to the markets was a good idea as it gave me a chance to walk off the food I had cooked and eaten before we made more! The markets were amazing...I had no idea there were so many types of rice…and I can now recognize what I need at home even if I can’t pronounce it!
If you are in Chiand Mai a day cooking with Yui is a must.