The best thing about travelling, is that you get to try out different things and meet some interesting people. There are many tours and fun activities to do whilst travelling so do a little research and try some different things. We did exactly that when we were in remarkable Siem Reap, attempting a cooking masterclass with Somadevi Residence executive chef, Mr. Siep Bunna.

If you are heading to Siem Reap, there are many cooking classes to choose from. You can book a mom and pop local cooking class, or you can consider a professional cooking classes. Most are cheap good days, but few are sensational. Somadevi Residence cooking masterclass is one I would consider in the sensational range.

At USD$30 the Somadevi Residence cooking masterclass is one to remember. It consists of an early morning market tour, where you can examine the produce and discover the processes the Executive Chef goes through to ensure the best quality product is served to its guests. Then it’s back to the hotel and the food preparation area to assist constructing four incredible courses which you ultimately get the pleasure of consuming. Somadevi Residence offers two menu options to choose from to ensure that your dietary needs are met.

Our day commences at 0800hrs, we meet the hotel’s executive chef, Mr. Siep Bunna who runs through two incredible menus. Once we choose our menu for the day he takes us to the local food market to see the produce available. He talks about the ingredients he uses to make the dishes and where he gets them from. He discusses local cuisine and helps us to identify those different ingredients from the wide range available.

During our market tour we find out that our executive chef has worked in some of the best hotels and restaurants in South Africa and Asia. Coming back to his home town of Siem Reap and the Somadevi Residence for his family. After the market, we jump back into the provided tuk tuk and head back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, our chef gives us a little time to refresh whilst the preparation area is completed by his team. For our cooking masterclass, they set up in the ornamental courtyard between the main restaurant and lounge bar.

Look, I don’t like to toot my own horn (toot toot), but I consider myself a pretty good cook. I don’t burn the meals I make and as the main cook in our household, I haven’t had one of my marvellous creations returned to me by my girls. Which coming to think about it, might be more out of fear they would have to make their own dinner.

Yet after 2 minutes alongside Somadevi’s highly trained chef, I found out I am worse than a rank amateur. The things Siep Bunna showed me, made what I consider an “artist at work”, look like a clumsy hack. He made things look so easy and I picked up on a few tricks of the trade. But he didn’t just show me the simplest way of doing things, he told me why he does it that way. It was like a magician letting me in on a trade secret.

We selected menu option two, with our first course being a quick and easy to make Spicy Beef and Kale. The beef is marinated in the executive chef’s special oriental spice, lightly seared and served with fresh cucumber, kale, fried shallots and a mild dipping sauce. An easy and delicious starter.

It was clear after the construction of the first dish that I was not as proficient in culinary practices and watched in awe as Mr Siep Bunna went about his craft preparing the second dish, Sngoar Chrok. Sngoar Chrok is a hot and sour prawn soup with onion, mushroom, long red chilli, Khmer herbs and fried garlic. Another easy dish to prepare with the prawns creating a balanced seafood broth, that was flavoursome.

Our third course is the classic Khmer dish A-mok Trei, which is a steamed fish with creamy amok spices,a gooseberry leaf and egg held in a banana leaf basket served with sautéed kale tops and spicy radish pickle. Definitely, a well-constructed work of art the hard part is to ensure the egg doesn’t fully harden. A beautiful combination of flavours. You can see why this dish is popular in Cambodia.

The final course was the Khmer sweet Bay Da-Nerb Svay Tom, which consists of black and white sticky rice mixed with palm sugar and coconut cream, served with a ripe mango. Once you tip the heated palm sugar over the sticky rice, and slice the fresh mango, it becomes a beautiful sweet treat.

Once plated all the food is served at a nicely decorated private table by the waiting staff, with fresh filtered water and chilled coconut juice.

I must admit I fully enjoyed my chance to do this superb cooking class, because that’s exactly what it is. Superb! Although I’ve never done one before, this would be one of my top 10 activities to do whilst travelling. I can see myself looking to more of them in the future. Once the class is over you are presented with a certificate of attendance as well as the menu you choose and the recipes, so you can do try to make them again when you get home. So, when you are in Siem Reap, look up the Somadevi Residence and book a master cooking class with Mr. Siep Bunna. Say hello to Siep Bunna for me and tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you.

Additional Information for the Cooking Masterclass

Classes run daily so make sure you book ahead.

	Choice 1				Choice 2
Duration:	From 10:30am – 12:00pm			Duration:	From 10:30am – 12:00pm
Price:	USD$25.00 per person			Price:	USD$30.00 per person
PACKAGE INCLUDES				PACKAGE INCLUDES
Cooking Class Menu				Cooking Class Menu
Recipes of typical Khmer cuisine as				Local Market visit
a souvenir from the executive chef				Recipes of typical Khmer cuisine as
Fresh Coconut Juice				a souvenir from the executive chef
Cold Refreshing Towel				Fresh Coconut Juice
Certificate of attendance				Cold Refreshing Towel
Apron and chef hat provide during cooking				Certificate of attendance
				Apron and chef hat provide during cooking

Additional Information for the Somadevi Residence