Chinese Cooking Class in Beijing: Market Tour and Homemade Cuisine
4.9
71 Ratings
Dong Cheng Qu
Immerse yourself in the vibrant food culture of Beijing with a Chinese cooking class. Explore a local market, learn the secrets of authentic Chinese cuisine, and create delicious dishes like kung pao chicken and dim sum.
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Beijing - Assemble with your tour guide at Deng Cao Hutong in the morning to kick off with a lesson on various cooking condiments. Afterward, embark on a 1.5-hour exploration of a local food market. Your guide, an expert culinary instructor, will introduce you to an array of vegetables, spices, and sauces as you peruse the stalls for fresh ingredients (cost included). Following the market visit, stroll through a hutong to a resident’s home where your cooking session will commence.\n\nDepending on the schedule, your teacher will show you how to prepare either dim sum \- delightful bite-sized treats with assorted fillings \- or a selection of main courses influenced by Sichuan, Cantonese, and other regional cuisines. Once a week, there’s a vegetarian menu available, and you’ll be notified of this option when booking. Feel free to change the date of your class if preferred.\n\nDuring the class, you’ll get hands-on experience with a traditional Chinese kitchen knife. The workshop is interactive, allowing you to see exactly what the chef does. Each participant receives their own knife, cutting board, and stove. Instruction is provided in English by a certified Chinese chef. Recipes for all dishes prepared will be given to you to take home.\n\nTruly incredible experience!
What's Included
- Cooking class with all necessary equipment and ingredients
- Interactive condiments class included
- Guidance from a professional English-speaking teacher
- Enjoy a delightful lunch complemented by tea and water
- Explore local flavors with an included market tour
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Additional Information
Learn how to make authentic Chinese food during this Beijing cooking class, taught by an expert chef. Take a walking tour through a market to learn about the area’s food culture and pick out fresh ingredients. Then, head to a local family’s home to discover the basics of Chinese cuisine. Either learn how to make several meat and vegetable dishes like kung pao chicken, stir-fried beef, and sweet and sour pork; or learn the ancient culinary art of dim sum. At the end, sit down to enjoy your homemade creation!
- Menu is set and varies daily; at least one vegetarian dish is included in each set menu
- Menu will feature an all-vegetarian class as well as a dim sum class once a week. Please confirm with local operator if you would like to reschedule to participate in those classes. Likewise, please reschedule with operator if you would like to participate in a non-vegetarian class
- Closed-toe walking shoes are recommended for market tour
- Minimum age is 15 years
- Departure Point: 35 Deng Cao Hutong,Dong Si South StreetDongcheng District, Beijing 1,By subway: take line 5,stop at Dong Si, go out of exit C. Walk out of exit C, turn left and left again. You are walking in Dongsi South Street, walk straight down about 200 meters, the third Hutong on your left hand is Dengcao Hutong, you will see a traffic light on your right hand. Walk in Dengcao Hutong, please only check the house number on your left side, you can see No.41, No.39, No.37, then No.35. it is just one minute walk.
Location
Dengcao Hutong
Deng Cao Hu Tong
Departure Point: 35 Deng Cao Hutong,Dong Si South StreetDongcheng District, Beijing
1,By subway: take line 5,stop at Dong Si, go out of exit C. Walk out of exit C, turn left and left again. You are walking in Dongsi South Street, walk straight down about 200 meters
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(71 Ratings)
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I6804zwkevink
Nov 22, 2023
Incredible dumplings and cooking class! - The cooking tour with Chao was amazing. These were some of the best dumplings that I have ever had. The other couple on the tour are foodies and said the same thing. It was challenging to make the dumplings look pretty but they still tasted great either way and it was a fun experience. I also loved exploring the market beforehand to get food for cooking. You should buy a bunch of local fruit and be willing to try more adventurous things like durian and the different types of persimmon.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sam
Aug 24, 2022
fun, relaxing and informative. - This cooking class was fun! We met several people from other countries and had a wonderful time learning a new dish that we would not have learned any where else.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hsutts
Dec 30, 2019
Fun cooking class with an intriguing market tour - I had a lot of fun on this tour. First we went to the market which was an indoor market. This is great because it was freezing outside. The market is an ordinary market in Beijing but it was very interesting to observe as a foreigner. We got our ingredients and headed back to the house. We spent hours cooking Beer Duck, Gong Bao Chicken, Mapo Doufu and stir fried green beans. Chao, the guide and instructor, helped me every step of the way and took many pictures for me. Chao had offered to let me choose the menu and I chose this one over the dumpling menu. Chao did most of the work for the Beer Duck because it took over an hour to make but after preparing it, we both worked together on preparing and cooking the other dishes. I enjoyed the whole experience and was satisfied with the meal. They give you recipe cards to take home. I highly recommend this activity solo or in a group!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tbluetnt
Oct 24, 2019
Great Learning Experience - Really enjoyed this experience. Visiting the market was educational - not mind blowing - but really interesting as to what parts of vegetables are used for what, etc. The cooking portion of this class was a great opportunity to learn how to make a variety of dumplings. Great flavors. I look forward to sharing my new recipes with my family! Also, bring a container for possible leftovers and come hungry! Only downside was that I visited in October and the kitchen was unheated and quite cold.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bridgecd
Sep 21, 2019
A class with a flare - Great adventure going to the market and selecting the ingredients
Then preparing a meal.
A cooking class to remember
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eveeather811
Sep 6, 2019
Great food and local living experience - This was a great way to get a taste of how the locals live, shop and cook, while also learning about many aspects of Chinese cooking from a passionate and skilled teacher. As a solo traveller it was great to take part in the class and meet up with other travellers. Chou was a great guide through the local markets, as well as a patient teacher in helping us prepare the simple but tasty dishes. I learnt so much on this tour as well as just enjoying everything.
Review provided by Viator
Koosk11
Aug 14, 2019
Excellence - Great experience. Recommended. We learned a lot and following the 4 recepies we got we ended with a gorgeous meal, all with the help of Chao the teacher cook.
Koos knol
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Minnesotabrian65
Aug 10, 2019
A highlight of our Beijing trip - Booking this experience was a highlight of our trip. We had done the Great Wall and Forbidden City early on our trip. We enjoyed both. We found the location quite easily using the directions given. We were met by Chao who explained that we would be the only students for that date. He offered a number of choices for our experience, including dim sum but we opted for a chicken dish with a cucumber salad and stir fried egg plant.
Next, he took us to a market place where he purchased the fresh ingredients while my wife and I surveyed the market. Chao answered questions, gave good information and introduced us to jianbing, a common breakfast street food.
Back in the kitchen, Chao explained and demonstrated the preparation steps. He then left us to prepare on our own. When we were ready, he demonstrated the cooking steps, answering questions along the way.
While we were prepping and cooking our 3 dishes, Chao prepared a different duck dish. In the end, the process of prepping and cooking was simple and stress free. And, when all courses were prepared, we ate the delicious meal.
We were given copies of recipes for all of the dishes prepared, to take with us. It was the perfect, non-touristy, Chinese experience that I believe most anyone would enjoys.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mum_from_gus
Jun 6, 2019
Recommendable - What a lovely experience! I spent a lovely morning with Chao. The visit to the busy market was well worth arriving early (8:45) for. Then a wander through the hutongs back to Chao's well equipped hutong kitchen. Chao explained everything, answered all questions. I learned new techniques and gathered a few tips. First Chao showed and explained and then we prepared and cooked (and ate) our OWN creations. We each made three dishes and shared one that took longer to cook. Because one prepares and cooks one's own meal, one can tailor the dish (veg, less spicy, etc.).
I come to China often for work and have seen and done much in Beijing. This was one of the highlights. A peaceful oasis in busy Beijing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jgs62
May 15, 2019
An Experience Of Learning and Discovery - Combining shopping at the neighborhood market with cooking delicious lunch dishes made for a great experience. The instructor made learning Chinese cooking a memorable and very enjoyable way to spend time in Bejing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
