Day Three in Hoi An

I have the unenviable knack of tipping trifecta's. As long as they pay if they run first, second and fourth. That's right, 1st, 2nd and 4th, every race, every time.... I say this because I predicted that we wouldn't see the sun again in Hoi An, and this morning it was sunny. Never ever listen to my Melbourne Cup tips!

Today we had an appointment with the Green Bamboo Cooking School. We had anticipated that there would be 6 of us doing the classes, however the biggest news in Hoi An over night was that they opened the flood gates in the mountains and now Hoi An is about 80% underwater. This meant that our teacher Van couldn't get to the other Hotels to pick up the day's students and so it became a very personal class with the 3 of us and Van.

The class started by driving through the some waterlogged steets to the local markets that had moved to higher ground for the day. Because of the move, and with little area to operate, it was a claustrophobic experience at times moving through the markets. Van spent time showing us the local produce and some tips and tricks whilst purchasing our ingredients for the selected dishes we had chosen to make. Cao Lau (a special Hoi An noodle and pork dish), Shrimp with chilli and lemongrass and Fishcake with lemongrass, shallots and garlic.

State of the market area in Hoi An 

Cao Lau noodles on display 

Chicken feet anyone?

After the market, we headed back to Van's school about 5 kms from town. We had to travel by back roads as the main streets of Hoi An are all inaccessible. The class was a great experience, as have been all the cooking classes we have done in Vietnam, however with just the three of us, it was a far more hands-on and intimate affair. Van was an engaging teacher who obviously has a passion for cooking traditional foods. The class was money well spent and the food was absolutely delicious.

Phillip and Van with the market produce 

 Michelle preps the herbs

 Murray adds some Annatto oil to the shrimp

 Fishcake with lemongrass, shallots and garlic

Final touches to the Cau Lao 

The team after a hard morning in the kitchen

We returned to the Hotel at about 3pm from the classes and the rain had returned. We knew we needed to get to an ATM before dinner and asked the Hotel concierge for the closest. It was about 250m away. Unfortunately, the main street we are on is cut in that direction at about the 200m mark.... So we had to wade through thigh deep water to get to the cash. Some days are like that...

As the rain continued, it was decided that dinner would be at the closest restaurant to the Hotel and we would have a quiet night in.... What about tomorrow? I ain't tipping anything, but I would like to take a look at the state of the centre of town, so if the water isn't up too far, we can go for a look. See you then.