Classes are sizzling in the kitchen of Lemongrass, a Thai fusion food restaurant in Country Mall. This is the first time ever that the popular Thai eatery has offered cooking classes to its regular patrons and the slots were snapped up immediately with housewives and food buffs asking for more opportunities to learn the art of cooking tasty treats at home.
"We were fully booked within two days of sending out information about the cooking classes. Due to an amazing response we are now planning to have cooking lessons once a month," said Sirirat Jenrattanasathien, owner of Lemongrass.
The restaurant opened its counter in Country Mall's food-court last year. Although business has been a tad slow according to Ms Jenrattanasathien but her restaurant has a loyal clientele who keep coming back to savour items from the affordable and delicious list of Thai food on the menu.
"We are planning to go to Thailand in December and I thought the cooking classes would be a good way to learn about the culture and food of the country," said Moroccan, Oumaima Ovazzani, 29, a Saar resident and mother of a toddler.
Thai chef Disawan Dhammachaianun cooked up a real feast and took her students for-the-day through the steps of Thai cooking. The grill was sizzling with succulent chicken thighs, on the stove a coconut herb soup with chicken was coming to a boil and Chef Disawan was busy instructing the class on how to prepare a perfect papaya salad.
"The technique is very important in Thai cuisine. You have to know your ingredients well and you also have to know the function of every herb and spice in the dish. In Thailand we add palm sugar liberally which is not really used to sweeten the dish but more to bring out the flavour," said Chef Disawan.
"I have tried Thai food here and it is simply delicious and I jumped at the opportunity to learn how to cook it. I will certainly come to another class as it is very interesting to learn about cuisine that you enjoy. But I will continue to come here to eat as it is time consuming to cook Thai food," said Faten Elgredly, 33, from Spain.
Moideen, a cook and house-hold- help from Kerala said: "My madame enrolled me in this class as she wants me to cook Thai food at home. I learnt quite a bit today and will try it out soon."
