Cooking Class in Sabah
Cooking
classes in Sabah are quite rare but I was fortunate enough to be introduced to
a traditional Sabah home cooking class by Hajjah Halimah in Kota Kinabalu.
The
cooking classes are actually held in her spacious home near Kinarut which is
about 30 minutes from KK town.
Being the first-ever cooking tours in Sabah,
this is something that would interest those who love local food when traveling.
This cooking class also teaches you how to cook traditional Sabahan Bajau home
cooking.
Cooking Class Tours in Sabah
class starts with a good knowledge guide that picks you up from your hotel and
then takes you to the local wet market at around 9.00 am.
At the market, you will
be led to various stalls where you will be introduced to a number of herbs and
spices.
Local names which are translated to English are shared where guests will
also have a chance to smell and taste some of them before they are purchased
for the cooking classes.
 |
| The raw ingredients being sold at the Kota Kinabalu market |
As you
explore the market, you will be brought by the guide to buy spices, herbs, and meats before
heading back to Hajjah Halimah’s cooking class in Kinarut.
In total, the wet market experience will take about one hour and journey back another 30 minutes.
think you can cook?
When
you reach the Sabah cooking classes, you will be personally welcomed by the
chef and her assistants at a beautiful covered outdoor area.
A welcome drink is
served while you will be briefed on how the classes will be conducted in
English.
 |
| Ingredients for the cooking class |
Aprons are provided as you are lead to the cooking area where each
person has their own little cooking station.
lessons begin by cutting the vegetables and preparing the right amount of herbs
and spices before getting everything into the pots.
As Hajjah Halimah guides you
through the process, you will be pleased to know that only basic cooking skills
are required for this. Even children can participate in a Sabah cooking class.
 |
| Cutting the ingredients |
Cut,
chop and stir!
have already prepared all the ingredients at your station, your next step is to
cook that chicken rendang curry.
With eyes glued to the cook, it is important
to see what goes in first and how long before the next process takes.
Overall,
the cooking lesson will take about 30 to 45 minutes. In total, guests will
learn how to cook three traditional Sabah food dishes.
And more importantly, the unique dishes you are cooking are
also from the Bajau ethnic group of Sabah Borneo.
 |
| Getting into the action |
and fancy
When
the cooking class is over, guests will
then be ushered to a table nearby where they will enjoy a sit-down lunch with
the dishes they cooked.
There will be some other accompanying local dishes
added to the three main dishes, which was been prepared by the host.
After my hands-on experience, I could not wait to sample the turnout of my dry chicken rendang dish, which of course I cooked.
Steamed white rice was served as our group looked at chef Hajjah to get her approval. As she tasted the chicken, my pulse rose to hope that it was up to her standards.
With a nod from her head, she then said that it was pretty good and that gave me a sigh of relief.
were invited to have our lunch and I must say that apart from the dishes we
cooked, the additional dishes were simply mouth-watering and very tasty indeed.
After about an hour of lunch, we had some local coffee, wrapped up and then
headed back to Kota Kinabalu city.
The cooking class was something that I always wanted to try and finally got my chance to do this here in Sabah. If you
enjoy cooking or sampling local food and want to experience this, please
contact:
Ms. Marlini
(Inform here that you got her contact from David of MalaysiaAsia)
Cooking Class Price: RM230 inclusive of everything. All you need to do is book the experience and bring yourself. (Prices are as of 2019)
As for me, this is my third cooking class in southeast Asia where the other two were in Thailand, but honestly speaking, this one here in Kota Kinabalu is my best experience due to the simplicity and not one of those touristic type of cooking class.
Nothing
beats visiting a new place and trying out something new apart from the usual tourist attraction and now you have the choice to attend a traditional Sabah cooking class in Kota Kinabalu.
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