From start to finish, this class was a complete joy. Prior to booking the experience, our questions were answered by the point of contact, Teng. Teng’s communication was prompt and the scheduling was seamless. Our tuk-tuk driver was accompanied by our host for the day, Mollika, who works with the Reveal Angkor Hotel Siem Reap. Even though she is your host, she makes you feel like you have been friends for life within a few minutes. When we first met her, she was beaming with a huge smile and so excited to share information on the local area and the local market we first visited. She took us through the market, explaining the history, as well as the daily ins and outs of the market. We also learned a great deal about the ingredients we would be cooking with. Following our visit to the market, we headed to the hotel where our cooking class was set up with a beautiful spread of food and our awesome teacher, Chef Chanreah. They kindly allowed us a moment to take it all in, snap some photos, and showed us the quaint garden where some of the ingredients are grown. They provided us with a refreshing glass of water and assembled us in our very own Chef’s hat and apron. Lyha, another kind soul, explained the dishes we were about to prepare and we were off. Chef Chanreah was so patient and kind while showing us all of the proper techniques with which to prepare the dishes. Mollika was there the entire time to help translate and give us more history and information on the food we were preparing. Mollika even told us that the Beef Lok Lak, a traditional Khmer dish, is often prepared by parents for their children as an expression of love for them. Alicia and I looked at each other and jokingly noted that our parents had never cooked it for us. All in all, we prepared Chicken Banana Salad, Beef Lok Lak, Fish Amok, and a Banana Delight dessert. Once we completed the dishes, they sat us down at a beautifully set table and allowed us to enjoy our creations. Upon finishing our four-course meal, we were stuffed and completely satisfied. Just when we thought we were done, Mollika and Lyha presented us with our certificates of completion AND the recipes and ingredients for everything we had made. It was a great touch and a memory we are sure to hold on to. We then left the hotel and made our way back to our accommodations and couldn’t stop talking about the experience the entire way home. The day after our class, Teng followed up again to make sure we had a wonderful time. We most certainly did!
