Mama Noi Thai Cookery School Chiang Mai

I booked a Thai cooking experience class with Mamanoi, a Chinese morning session, starting at 9 AM and ending at 1:30 PM. The total duration was about four and a half hours. No special preparations are needed, but it's recommended to wear light clothing as the venue only has fans and no air conditioning. For those who attract mosquitoes easily, remember to take mosquito repellent measures. The main process is as follows: At 9 AM, the staff from Mama's Kitchen picked us up from the hotel. Around 9:30 AM, they took a group of us to the local market. There was a dedicated Chinese and English speaking teacher who explained various common Thai vegetables and spices. From pandan leaves to red and yellow curries, from the types and aromas of basil leaves to chilies of various spiciness levels. After the explanation, the teacher gave us fifteen minutes of free time to explore the market. After visiting the market, the staff drove us to “Mama's Kitchen,” where the Chinese and English classes were held separately. Teacher TAN first let us choose our main dishes. I chose the combination of “Pad Krapow + Green Curry + Tom Yum Goong.” You can choose three main dishes, two dishes and one soup. Thai milk tea and mango sticky rice do not need to be chosen; they are mandatory desserts. After the teacher recorded our choices, she took us on a tour of the farm. After our farm tour, the teacher went to prepare the ingredients for cooking. After everyone finished taking photos and returned to the classroom, the class officially began. First, we pounded curry paste and various spices, then chopped various side dishes. The preparation work for each dish was separate. After completing the preparation for one dish, the teacher gave everyone a small mesh cover to protect the prepared ingredients from flies. Once everything was ready, we started cooking. Cooking with an open flame is fast, but controlling the heat is quite challenging. Throughout the process, everyone was like a robot; we didn't have to think at all, just followed the teacher's instructions to complete the three dishes. However, this process was quite hectic, and I couldn't take any photos myself. If you want good photos, it's better to have a companion dedicated to taking pictures. After the meal, the teacher also guided us in making Thai milk tea and mango sticky rice. After the trip ended, the teacher asked everyone for their destinations. You could return to the hotel, or tell the teacher where you wanted to go, and the teacher would help arrange transportation to your desired location. Overall, it was a pretty good experience.

If you want to try cooking Thai food with many options, this is highly recommended. Here's our timeline: 9:11 AM Hotel pickup by songthaew (they didn't contact us, by the way; we just asked the songthaew driver if they were picking up for Mama Noi cooking class), 9:24 AM Sanpakhoi market tour, 10:00 AM back to songthaew, 10:06 AM Arrival at Mama Noi + choosing food to cook, 10:35 AM garden tour (insect repellent lotion needed here), 11:00 AM start of cooking class, 12:20 PM lunch, 12:43 PM dessert making (mango sticky rice & Thai milk tea), 1:15 PM end of class & return to songthaew.

菜市场参观环节：菜场不大，环境糟糕，海鲜管理不到位的话气味异常难闻。但是老师会认真解说每一种材料或者泰国常见食品。 有机花园参观环节：参观了基地内的有机种植小花园 基本上课会用到的香料 辣椒都有小规模种植，可以一一观察品尝。还有陆龟可以喂食。 做菜环节：我选的是小组 4人 英文 空调房 环境非常好 空调很凉快 场地足够大 除了制作环节油烟太大之外几乎无可挑剔。 老师全程教我们识别每一种材料 香料 以及他们在菜品中的作用，教的细致到位。整个做菜的顺序也非常流利丝滑，没有慌乱的场景。每个人是3道自选菜。 老师：SATANG老师英文流利 讲解清晰 有经验 热情照顾到每一位学员 整体是非常不错的体验，能够体会到泰国人民的饮食偏好ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

What a fun experience. I'm not exactly sure how the price we paid is even profitable for the company, as there were so many support staff along the way. I think the owner just loves sharing how to make Thai cuisine with the world. We started out with a tour of a local vegetable market. (Tip: buy some trays of fresh-cut fruit for later). We opted for the English class with air conditioning. Trust me, pay the extra $3 for the AC. You get to choose your own menu from a selection of items. When first presented with the ingredients for each, I was thinking the portions were rather small, but it makes total sense. There's no way for you to eat three full-sized courses that you've cooked. Thai tea was so refreshing, and so was the mango blue sticky rice. You're also gifted a cookbook, so no need to take notes during class. I wish they had their aprons for sale; it would have made a good souvenir.

This was the most satisfying experience of my trip to Chiang Mai. I booked quite late, so I got an air-conditioned room, but I didn't actually use the air conditioning. The regular class at 120 baht is a great deal, but it was already sold out when I bought it. The itinerary was very rich: first, a tuk-tuk picked us up and took us to the market, where someone explained the different types of fruits and vegetables. Then, we were taken to Mama Noi's backyard to learn about the vegetables and spices grown there, and finally, we started cooking in the kitchen. Each person could choose three classic Thai dishes. It also came with Thai milk tea and mango sticky rice after the meal. It was very filling for one person. Ray, the cooking instructor, was very enthusiastic and cheerful, creating a great atmosphere.

Cooking class體驗很好，街市導遊講解很清晰，導師Mai 很懂得攪氣氛，所以大家都很快樂，食物份量非常充足，建議可帶食物盒把甜品帶回酒店慢慢品嘗。另外，大家絕對值得多付金錢享用冷氣房間，因為戶外有蚊，而且烹調餸菜後還有點熱，留在冷氣房品嚐食物才是明智之舉！美中不足是接送車輛沒有冷氣，而且當日職員不停給我們拍照卻沒有分享給我，無論電郵還是fb messenger 都沒有回應，原本見職員拍攝那麼多照片所以自己就沒有為家人拍照留念，想不到原來照片是不能取回的，現在只有遺憾！

This was a wonderful experience. I had a wonderful time from start to finish. The cooking class starts with a visit to the local market, then a short drive to a beautiful compound with a pond and a wonderful atmosphere. You will cook three dishes. I made Pad Thai, green curry, and Tom Yum. You will also make Thai tea and mango sticky rice. We made the rice blue from blue flowers. I can't remember the teacher's name, but she was a hoot the whole time. I was laughing the whole time. The best part is enjoying the food you actually made right next to the pond. Mucho mahalos Mamma Noi. They even give you a cookbook with all the dishes at the end. Definitely a must. I will try the other cooking classes just for fun.

Highly recommend this cooking class if you’re in chiang mai, the day started with a pickup and visit to the market where our very charismatic and hilarious leader, Nook, showed us all the ingredients and told us about how they are used. We were given some time to explore the market and were even invited to try some delicious thai snacks (We had coconut pancakes that were absolutely devine) - Next we were taken to the class where we were shown how to make all the classics, you get to choose between three choices for three courses and I chose coconut soup, massaman curry and krapoow which all turned out pretty great which is a sign of how good the class is because i’m not a great cook lol. The space is so cute too with a garden and turtles you can feed. Half day class was perfect and we even learned to make mango sticky rice and thai tea.

This course involves attending a class on Thai ingredients at the market, picking and tasting various herbs and ingredients grown in the garden, and then cooking. Since we are a family of four, three of us cooked and one observed. Dad, son, and daughter cooked happily and diligently. Later, during mealtime, the teacher specially made chicken curry for me, who had observed and helped my young daughter. And with mango sticky rice and Thai milk tea for dessert, it was the best course ever. I highly recommend it to travelers who want an enthusiastic teacher and an enjoyable experience.

Mein erster Kochkurs und ich muss sagen, ich war absolut begeistert. Erst ging es zu einem normalen Markt und dann zur Kochschule, die etwas außerhalb war. Die Kochschule war ein richtiges Paradies und überall war es grün. Wir waren in einer kleinen Gruppe und konnten uns unser Essen aussuchen. Die Lehrerin war sehr hilfsbereit und hat uns alles in Ruhe und mit viel Geduld erklärt. Ich fühle mich jetzt wie ein Profi. Definitiv eine Empfehlung wert.