We went here twice and sat in the courtyard for breakfast. The Coconut bread is delicious and this is a tranquil spot. After visited the bookstore each time and bought books . They have a great selection.

Before we don out aprons we head down the local market to get a feel for the ingredients. Fertilized duck eggs, live frogs, half a slaughtered animal, fish, fruit and veggies. An old woman mixes lime, bettlenut and a rew other things to make Pan. A mild narcotic some locals chew

Back at the school we made banana flower salad, pickles, nem or deep fried spring rolls, pho and shrimp. Sounds like there is some flexibility in what you make, though that might be produce dependent.

The whole package comes together when were sitting down and eating the food that we'd made. There was 6 of us, two couples, my 15yr old and I

Tracy was fantastic. I have already recommended this place a number of times and will keep doing so

My wife and I took an introductory course on Vietnamese Barbecue at Hanoi Cooking Centre. The experience was informative & very enjoyable. Being the avid cooks that we are, its been our goal to learn about the cuisine of every country we visit, and when we visited Hanoi, a cooking class at Hanoi Cooking Centre was one of our top priorities. Despite the high price for the class (USD 55 per person), I'm happy to say that we were not disappointed at the least and we had our money's worth. The market tour that started the class was very informative as we got to learn about the typical ingredients in a Vietnamese home, such as Nuoc Mam (fish sauce). We then proceeded with the class proper where we learned to cook a variety of dishes including Grilled Mackerel, Jicama Salad, Grilled Egg Plant, Ground Beef wrapped in Betel Leaves, and Fruit Cups. The class ended with us eating the food we prepared over a bottle of Bia Hoi & a glass of wine. The kitchen wasn't that big but it was enough for our class (we were only 3). The chef instructor was friendly, helpful and kept the class lively and upbeat. I was so sold on their class that I bought their cookbook back home to the Philippines as a souvenir and I even bought a bottle of fish sauce to take home with me!

I was initally impressed by this school - a very well-equipped kitchen, and a knowledgeable and friendly teacher. The tour of the local market was the best part, learning about the different kinds of rice, the various vegetables etc etc.

However the dishes which we prepared simply were not very nice to eat - caramel pork which was tough and lacked flavour, a banana salad which was too fibrous, and deep-fried seafood egg rolls which were rather mushy and insipid inside. I've done cookery courses in Thailand and cooked those dishes over and over again, but I wouldn't cook any of these dishes again.

We decided to spend a morning at the Hanoi Cooking Centre learning to make street food with chef Tracy Lister.

The morning started with a tour of the local market to get a feel for the ingredients. Along the way we learned that duck eggs in the nets are the fertilised ones - having adventurous kids Tracy bought one for my son to try - an interesting and not unpleasant thing to try (i was game too) but not something you need to more than once!

Back at the school we made green papaya salad, pickles, fresh spring rolls, pho and shrimp and sweet potato fritters. We aso tried a tonic of some incredibly bitter leaf which was ctually quite pleasant.

The morning culminates in eating the food that you prepare. We did this with 2 kids (10 & 12) which was fun.

If I had more time I would have tried a couple of the other courses.

Tracy is a great host and this worth the effort. I'll be checking out her Vietnamese Stret Food Cookbook when I get back home.