Our fourth day in Chiang Mai we signed up for a 6 hour cooking course. This is another of those top of the list things to do in the area, and they run about $35 per person. We specifically chose one that was outside of the city so that we could experience a bit of the countryside. Sammy, the chef and our teacher picked us (and others) up at our hostels and took us to a local produce market where some of the ingredients were purchased. Then we drove about 30 minutes outside of the city. His land, farm, garden and home were all beautiful. Many of the herbs he grows in his garden so we got an explanation and tasting of those which was neat and insightful and then we began to cook. We were going to learn 5 dishes: an entree, side dish, soup, appetizer and a dessert and under each category there were a few options we could chose from. I chose to learn red curry, stir fried veggies, and coconut chicken soup while Jason chose green curry, pad thai and vegetable soup. We chose different things so we could try more.
Once those 3 dishes were prepared we sat down to have lunch which was followed by a substantial break/nap time of lounging in his courtyard on hammocks. After lunch we did the appetizers and dessert of fried spring rolls and mango sticky rice. Personally, I loved the coconut chicken soup and the mango sticky rice. Jason liked the pad thai best.
Life as a Local in Syros, Greece 