In March 2020 against all odds of the Covid-19 situation in Bangkok city, I decided to buy a train ticket to the Northern part of Thailand, Chiang Mai, for a two-week vacation but, As you all know, things didn’t always go as plan. So a two-week vacation turned into two months straining due to the COVID lockdown.
It was just an ordinary day where I was sitting in a coffee shop staring at my laptop screen and preparing SEVENSEAS weekly newsletter as I always on Friday. For a moment, I talked to myself.
“Let’s do something unplanned and out of my ordinary”
I picked up my phone and call the State Railway of Thailand to booking a ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai this evening. I asked for a VIP first class ticket. Unfortunately, the officer told me that, through this process, I should have booked the ticket 5-7 days in advance or I had to buy it at the ticket box office at the train station otherwise.
It was just only 10 am. so I finished my coffee and breakfast. Then, I headed back home to pack my stuff and call cat hotel for Olivia, a stray cat I picked up from the street in Bangkok back in December 2020. After I sent Olivia to the hotel, Château De Moggies Cats Hotel, I rush back to my place to pick up a few things, my laptop, clothes, and shoes and then I took a motor taxi to the train station right the way.
Do you know that riding a motorbike in Bangkok is pretty much the same as riding a rollercoaster? You get the adrenaline pumping in your body while making a wish not to die and arrive at your destination safely. Well, that is one of the millions of excitement when you live in a city of chaos.
At the train station, I was so excited to see how the facilities have been changed and renovated. The last time I travelled by train was in 2012 to Chiang Mai for Disney Alumni Party at London House. The experience was horrendous, especially the toilet on the train. Anyways, I must say that there was so much improvement going on but I’m not gonna blab too much about it here. So I walked to the ticket office and purchase the ticket. The ticket prices, back then, was 1,653 baht (around 52-54 USD), a bit more expensive than a plane ticket, but it was experienced I paid for. Otherwise, I would have just bought a plane ticket.
The bogies were equipped with such facilities as wifi, plug for charging your phone and laptop, bed, private washbasin, hot tub, and, somehow, a small monitor for TV shows. It was nicely decorated and clean. After I entered the bogy, a butler asked me for the ticket and show me my room. The corridor was a bit narrow but when I enter the room, I must say ‘WOW’. This amazing!
the staff asked me if I would like to order dinner. I was thinking about that and asked her for the menu. Most of the food is frozen and will be microwaved for serving. The price? Of course, the price was two or three times higher than those instant foodboxes in 7/11. So I politely gave her a ‘NO’ answer and thanked her for being honest about the food.
After the train departed from the station, I continued to work on the newsletter (which you can subscribe it for free HERE). When I finished all the work, I didn’t think I would be able to sleep because of all the excitement about the train and what I was about to do the next day at Grandma’s Home Cooking School. So I was just surfing the internet and watching movies for the rest of the night until I passed out around 5 am. and woke up at 6.
I walked to the food supply bogy for a cup of coffee. There was a small cafe where I could sit down with my laptop and and chill until the train stopped at Chiang Mai train station.
After my arrival, the school had sent a van to pick me up at Chiang Mai train station. If you travel here by aeroplane, they can also pick you up at the AirPort or your hotel. The concept of the cooking school here is to unwind from the stress of city life by immersing oneself in the tranquil organic farm and enjoying a cooking course in Thai-style pavilions.
So, my instructor told me that we were going to spice up our morning a bit by visiting a local fresh market. Her name was Rachael. She was so passionate about cooking especially Thai cuisine. I’m sure that if she is your cooking instructor, you will love her. Every time when she taught and gave me the instruction, I could feel the light and joy in her eyes.
Well at the market, the people here were friendly and nice. I walked with Rachael around the place while she was explaining about spices, varieties of rice, sauces, seasonings, pasta, and noodles. One of the best things about the her was that she didn’t only just give me the detail about ingredients but she also taught me the reasons why do Thai people use such ingredients for their cuisine and substiutions in case I couldn’d them in some other countires, which was quite informative and practical. After we finished the tour, I spent around 15-30 minutes before we took off and headed to the school.
At the school, the first thing we did was to explore the farm. They had a mushroom house, chicken barn, and vegetable garden. They are all 100% organic and eco-friendly to the environment. It meant that they didn’t not use chemical fertiliser here. Therefore, you can make sure that all the dishes are clean and safe for your body.
The most amusing part of the tour was eggs harvesting at the chickens’ barn. The hens here were incredibly friendly. I couldn’t actually play with them without being chased. The barn was so clean and all the hens looked healthy. The school told me that normally there were ducks walking around the garden but I wasn’t so lucky to see them. We picked up about a dozen of eggs from the chicken’s barn, FRESH FROM THE BUMS!
In Northern Thai, people are mostly family-oriented, therefore, they don’t just go out, buy stuff from the market, cook, and eat. They spend and enjoy quality time together with their family and that is how we learn our traditional cooking process from generations for centuries.
Anyways, we explored the garden for 45 mins before going back to the pavilion to have some refreshment and took a break.
FYI: The cooking course here offers famous Thai dishes such as Tom Yam (Hot and Sour Soup), Kang Kiew Waan (Green Curry), Pad Thai (Stir-fried Rice Noodles), Gang Massaman (Massaman Curry), etc. During the class you can also select one refreshment and one dish from their fives categories; appetiser, stir-fried, soup, curry, and dessert.
At the pavilion, all the ingredients were prepared by the staff. Rachael showed me how to make the spice paste from the herbs we harvested from the garden. Our first dish was Tom Yum Kung. She made everything look easy. Well it was actually easy. Step-by-step, I followed and BAAM! I’d got my first dish for lunch and it tasted delicious!
Here at Grandma’s Home Cooking School, you are allowed to ask any questions about the cooking process. Rachel and her team will be glad to answer everything. Normally, there would be 8-10 students in one pavilions so that they can make sure you understand everything about Thai cuisine.
The second dish was Pad Thai. I believe it is one of the most famous Thai dishes you may know. If you’ve been to Thailand and tried Pad Thai from street food vendors, you might think that it is simple and easy to cook but trust me, even the chef, Gordon Ramsay, had fail to do so. Let’s not go there (but the video is HERE).
As usual, the ingredients were prepared for me from the back kitchen. The prawn looked AMAZING! I love prawn but, for some reason, they are very expensive. Most of the street food vendors use shrimps instead for cost-saving. Rachael asked me if I would like to try some firing trick during the cooking. I wasn’t sure about that because the last time in Florida when I tried to do something fancy in the kitchen, I ended up setting my apartment on fire. So it was a big ‘NO’ from me. I’m sorry. It was for the safety of my own life and the school owner’s property.
I followed Rachael’s instruction precisely as she said and BOOM! Pat Thai! She helped me with the dish decoration but while I was cooking. My Pad Thai looked fantastic and testy. If you really to try the cooking class, I highly recommend you and make sure you follow all the instruction. Don’t go rogue and your lunch will be FANTABULOUS! (You can download the recipes from a given QR code after you’ve finished the class)
My next dish is green papaya salad (or Som Tum Thai). I’m not really a fan of spicy food but it is worth to try making a dish. For me, everything is easy for Som Tum but, to make it delicious, you need some kinds of the Thai charm of the tip to make it testy. Somehow, I tried the one made by Rachael, it tested better.
The next dish was one of my most favourite, the THAI MONEY BAG or Thung Thong. It was a part of Thai royal dishes. People usually give Thung Thong during the New Year festival to wish each other money or gold. In the past, they used to be served on occasions such as weddings, but nowadays Thung Thong is more likely to be served at luxurious parties or Chinese banquets. Nowadays, Thung Thong has become snack and served as an appetizer. Okay, that’s enough for the PBS Special.
Rachael told me to start cooking the shrimp parcel first, waited until it cold, wrapped it, tight it with green onion, and deep fried. She gave me some trick to make it look nice before deep frying them. Always Fallow Rachael, trust me. I skipped the step once and my Thung Thong surface looked like human skin with shingle.
Last but not least before we had lunch together, the mango with sticky rice dressing with coconut milk. While I was busy sneaking some of the money bags into my stomach, Rachael was preparing the coconut milk for our last dish, which was, of course, dessert. It’s not difficult at all for the coconut milk preparation process. In this case, I’m not gonna talk about it. If you want to know the recipe and secrete to make your own fancy mango with sticky rice, you can sign up for the cooking class at Grandma’s Home Cooking school.
At the end of the day, I’ve learned that the fundamental of Thai cooking is so simple and easy. In my opinion, the most annoying part is when you have to prepare all the ingredients and follow the cooking process. Before I took the Thai cooking class here, I could only make something like; Thai omelette, fried eggs, boiled eggs, steamed eggs, and any other simple menu with eggs. After I took the class here, I know how to cook stir-fried dished, soup, and dessert. I was so happy that Rachael was willing to answer all the questions I have for the cooking and those answers are very useful and practical.
After that day, I was planning to explore Chiang Mai for two weeks. Unfortunately, the pandemic situation level had escalated. The government made a lockdown announcement therefore I got stucked in Chiang Mai for two month and I felt a bit strained. However, I booked a flight ticket back to Bangkok when thing seemed to get better.
About Grandma’s Home Cooking School
At Grandma’s Home Cooking School in beautiful Chiang Mai, THAILAND, we teach how to cook Thai delicacies just like our Grandma does. From selecting fresh quality ingredients to the actual cooking, we teach you step-by-step how to cook delicious Thai food. We explain what each ingredient does and how it nourishes your body and we also delight in sharing a bit of Thai history with you while teaching you how to cook. This experience will enrich your body and mind and you will feel confident cooking Thai food for your family and friends when you get back home.
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media