Traditional Vietnamese food in a local home

Host offerings

Meet Lan Anh

Meet Lan Anh, a friendly and warm home cook who delights in sharing her family recipes and culture with guests. Lan Anh lives with her two children and her mother in a typical, modest family home in Ho Chi Minh City. She comes from a long line of excellent cooks and is dedicated to exclusively using all natural ingredients. You can expect a lovingly cooked meal prepared from scratch from family recipes. <br><br> Originally from Northern Vietnam, Lan Anh will teach you the simplicity and beauty of her favorite northern and central-Vietnamese dishes.

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal (2 - 10 guests) You will start with a traditional appetizer like a sweet soup or small traditional Vietnamese cake. You will then enjoy two traditional dishes for your meal. The menu includes dishes such as pho ga (aromatic chicken noodle soup with fresh herbs), pho bo (beef soup), bun ca (turmeric-seasoned fish served with fresh vermicelli in broth, scattered with bunches of fresh herbs), xoi xeo (sticky rice with ground beans and flavorful fried shallots), banh xeo (crepe filled with herbs and ground pork or shrimp) and spring rolls (fresh or fried), and seasonal fruit for dessert. The menu will vary based on the season.

Depending on the time of day Lan Anh’s teenage children might join you at the table – they can’t resist their mother’s cooking!

Cooking experience (2 - 10 guests) In Lan Anh’s small kitchen you will learn to prepare two traditional Vietnamese dishes. As you chop, fry, assemble and sauté, Lan Anh will teach you about Vietnamese cuisine and some of her favorite cooking techniques. You can learn to cook two dishes from options such as pho bo/pho ga, bun ca, xoi xeo, banh xeo and spring rolls. If you have a preference amongst the dishes, feel free to inform Lan Anh when making your booking which two dishes you'd like to learn to cook with her. Please note that some dishes may require preparation in advance, like marinating meat overnight, which Lan Anh will have already done before your class.

Market visit (2 - 10 guests) Lan Anh offers two market tour experiences. If you book a market tour only, Lan Anh will take you to the popular Ben Thanh market, one of the main markets of Ho Chi Minh City where vendors have been selling produce and wares since the 17th century. The meeting location for this is the main gate at the Ben Thanh market.

If you select a market tour as a part of your meal or cooking lesson, Lan Anh will take you to explore a neighborhood market, a true local's market that sells everything from fresh seafood (which you can buy and have filleted in front of your eyes) to a variety of Vietnamese kitchen tools and utensils. Meet at Lan Anh's home before you head to the market. Here, at the local market you will explore regional produce and poultry with your host before you walk back together to her home. Please note that this is a wet market so please wear appropriate shoes.

Notes: Lan Anh's kitchen does not have air conditioning and may be warm.

Languages spoken: #<HostLanguage::ActiveRecord_Associations_CollectionProxy:0x00007ffaf116a8c0>

GOOD REVIEWS
{ "ambassador" : [{"author_name" : "Jen", "rating" : 5, "body" : "Lan Anh is warm and friendly and genuinely wants to share her passion for food with others. She answered every question we threw at her with excitement and a sense that she wanted to share everything she knew. She was like our adopted Vietnamese mom who wanted to pass on her excitement for Vietnamese food. "}], "survey_monkey" : [{"author_name" : "Megan ", "rating" : 5, "body" : "This experience was wonderful. Our host was welcoming and so willing to share about her culture and answer our questions. The trip with her to the market was a really special experience, as was having her teach us how to make traditional Vietnamese dishes."}], "trip_advisor" : [{"author_name" : "LoveChiangMaiTouring", "rating" : 5, "body" : "We are a family with 4 people included my parents, we took cooking class with Lan Anh. It was very interesting to learn something new from other country. Lan Anh she is very kind and flexible with us and she was very happy to share her knowledge to us. Thank you Lan Anh. We hope to see you again in the future. Lin and family"}, {"author_name" : "mitchsf", "rating" : 4, "body" : "Lan Anh was a warm host with pride in her heritage and strong family ties. She learned to cook from her mother and grandmother who held her to exacting standards of freshness and authenticity. The fish for our soup was rubbed with freshly made turmeric powder made by her mother and accompanied by her hand made delicious noodles as well. Lan Anh is interesting to talk to and knows lots about Ho Chi Minh City from working as a journalist."}, {"author_name" : "Julianne F", "rating" : 5, "body" : "We had a fun eye opening market tour with Lan Anh. She was very sweet and did a great job of managing our large group. We made lovely spring rolls and shrimp and pork pancakes. It was a great experience and we would highly recommend her!"}, {"author_name" : "teebone2017", "rating" : 5, "body" : "From arranging the taxi for us from our hotel to her home, walking us across a crazy busy Saigon roundabout, through the market, to explaining and cooking the beautiful food, Lan Anh was a wonderfull host. Friendly and informative, we learnt much about what life in modern Vietnam is really like, and the food was a bonus. Delightful!"}] }

PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW

A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

Lan Anh is warm and friendly and genuinely wants to share her passion for food with others. She answered every question we threw at her with excitement and a sense that she wanted to share everything she knew. She was like our adopted Vietnamese mom who wanted to pass on her excitement for Vietnamese food.

Jen, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

Traveler reviews

4.82 (11)

$8.0 - $35.0

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Pricing (per person)*

	1 person	4 people	5+ people
In-Home Meal	Not offered	$16	$13
Cooking Experience + Meal	Not offered	$30	$27
Market Tour	Not offered	$10	$8
Market Tour + Meal	Not offered	$25	$20
Market Tour + Cooking Experience + Meal	Not offered	$35	$31
	*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.

Experience Timings

	Lunch	Dinner
In-Home Meal	11:00am - 01:00pm	6:00pm - 08:00pm
Cooking Experience + Meal	10:30am - 01:30pm	5:30pm - 08:30pm
Market Tour	10:00am - 12:00pm	5:30pm - 07:30pm
Market Tour + Meal	10:00am - 01:00pm
Market Tour + Cooking Experience + Meal	9:00am - 01:00pm	4:00pm - 08:00pm

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Traveling Spoon connects you with meaningful culinary experiences, from private cooking lessons to homecooked meals in people's homes. Enjoy an immersive cultural experience that gives you a glimpse into the local way of life.

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