What a fabulous host! Beautiful and smart. Excellent food with fresh, healthy ingredients. Thank you, Cinty. I highly recommend your cooking class for travelers and native Filipinos.
We were warmly welcome by Isi in her home in the central part of BGC. She told us all we needed to know about Filipino staple ingredients to have in our cupboards, the typical ingredients used in everyday dishes. We were up for a treat as we cooked different types of local fish and prawns. All dishes were easy to make and accessible to all. We shared the meal all together and Isi surprised us with a special dessert. Isi then spent time to answer all our questions regarding potential trips to different areas of the Philippines included islands, northern cities, restaurant recommendations and more. This is an ideal activity if you start visiting the Philippines from Manila as you will be able to link the recipes, ingredients and stories to your travel here. Do not hesitate! Book it!
Join Isaiah in his beautiful, spacious kitchen for a 2.5-hour hands-on cooking class in Manila. During this immersive cooking experience, you’ll learn to prepare 2-3 traditional Filipino dishes from scratch with a local expert. Master the step-by-step process of cooking lumpiang sariwa (fresh spring rolls) or lumpiang shanghai (fried spring rolls), sinigang (pork stew), and chilled buko pandan salad (young coconut with seasonal fruits, pandan jelly, and coconut cream). Isaiah will share his family recipes, his deep knowledge of traditional Filipino cooking, and the cultural significance of each dish, along with personal stories of learning to cook these dishes as a child from his family. After cooking, sit down with Isaiah and his family (when available) to enjoy the meal you helped prepare.
The best thing about this experience was that Ken and Kim really know what they're doing. I love the fact that they get things just around their home, fresh seafood from the fisher folks, fresh vegetables and herbs from their organic garden, and they only use natural materials in their resort, even when they are serving the dishes! I love how they take care of their environment, not only do they give back but they respect what Mother Nature offers to them every day, and share that with their guests. I loved everything they served us - VERY DELICIOUS! VERY AUTHENTIC! The cooking class experience was amazing because Ken really shared his cooking skills that he gained from his vast experiences. My most favorite dish was the fresh kilawin (fish ceviche) and the different kinds of vegetable dishes that comes along with all the seafood we grilled in the center of their open kitchen. You can also hear the sound of birds, goats, insects and the waves of the ocean in the background all the time! Everything was perfect! Farm to table at its best!
Isi's food is redolent of flavors such as calamansi, garlic, chilies, coconut milk and fish sauce. In her kitchen she will teach you to prepare Filipino family recipes that have been passed down through the generations. You can choose between a hands-on lesson and a cooking demonstration during which you will watch her prepare the meal. Just let her know your preference! Learn to cook the famous sour soup called sinigang or chicken ginger soup, a salad, and seafood or vegetables cooked in coconut milk.
Chef Isi showed us such a great time! Our tour was great! The stops were paced well and Chef Isi explained everything very well. It was also great to hear about her family and where she grew up. My mother and I enjoyed the final spot where we ate all the food we collected and spent time with Chef Isi's family. Don't hesitate to book!
