How families can enjoy farm to table experiences while on holiday
From hands-on cooking classes to family-style meals in traditional houses, a number of Secret Tables restaurants and gastronomical experiences at Secret Retreats properties offer discerning diners of all ages something to sink their teeth into.
Inthar Cooking Class in Myanmar
Learn about Inthar (a local ethnic minority group) cuisine from garden to table and the secrets to making its unique dishes during an interactive cooking class while at Inle Heritage Stilt Houses at Inle Lake. Starting with a visit to one of Inle’s daily local fresh markets, the class not only allows guests to learn more about the region, its people and cuisine, but share their creations by enjoying a meal with an Inthar family.
Contemporary Khmer Cuisine in Cambodia
While in Siem Reap, families with older children can enjoy a meal at Mie Café set in a traditional wooden home. Featuring an artful blend of Khmer and Western cuisine from the Cambodian owner and chef, Chef Pola, the tranquil atmosphere and Khmer house add a homey feel to the welcoming ambiance and perfectly plated dishes. The restaurant is open everyday except for Tuesday for lunch from 11:00 – 14:00 and dinner starting at 17:30 with the last seating at 21:15.
Balinese Cooking Class in Bali
At Tugu Bali, Iboe Soelastri’s Cooking Class introduces guests to centuries-old traditional Javanese and Balinese cuisine. Sharing indigenous cooking recipes, techniques and ingredients, the class allows guests to make these precious recipes themselves in a hands-on course led by the resort’s chef of fine Indonesian cuisine. The hotel also offers a workshop in djamoe making. Originally hailing from Java, djamoes are homemade herbal drinks made from traditional herbs, spices, leaves, roots, barks and flowers meant as natural remedies to minor ailings and a healthy refreshment in the tropical region.
Noodle Making in China
It’s believed that China invented noodles millennia ago – a 4,000-year-old bowl of noodles found in China is the earliest concrete example ever discovered – and throughout the country visitors can find a wide selection of tantalising noodle dishes just waiting to be slurped down. At Jing’s Residence in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Pingyao, guests can learn to make the region’s famous aptly named ‘cat ear’ noodles – traditional buckwheat noodles of the Shangxi Province that are hand-shaped to look like tiny cat ears. The noodles are often eaten with a vinegar-based sauce and can be enjoyed at the heritage hotel’s, built over 250 years ago, restaurant along with other traditional noodles and homemade dumplings.
Learning Where Your Food Comes from in Jakarta
While staying at Arumdalu Resort in Belitung Island guests can savour farm-to-table meals grown by the resort’s research and agriculture team that has set up gardens and greenhouses across the country. If your Indonesian journey takes you to the capital of Jakarta, stop in at Arumdalu Lab where Arumdalu’s owners are combining hydroponics and traditional techniques to grow organic foods as well as offer a number of craft and gardening workshops Learn more about staying at Arumdalu Resort here or about upcoming programmes at Arumdalu Lab here.