Came here for a bread class with my cousin and had a great time. When we arrived, the bright and…read morewell-equipped classroom has our places set already with the utensils and ingredients. As there were some non-Chinese speakers in the group the instruction was in English. Recipe was provided and the hands on instruction was easy to follow. There's an assistant who keeps busy removing dirty utensils and wiping clean the work area, and makes it a much less messy and much more pleasant experience than baking at home, lol. There's a break during which scones and tea were served. Overall a relaxing and fun way to spend some time, especially with a friend or two. This class was a beginner's level, but when I asked the instructor questions it was clear he is quite experienced and passionate with baking. The classroom is located on the top floor of a building, and they have a nice garden with view, though we didn't get to sit there. HKD 800 (over US$100) per person is rather pricey for a 3 hour class, but the small class size ensures that anyone needing extra help (me included definitely) got the attention, to make sure their end product comes out successful.

I recently planned a private team offsite here and I'd be chuffed to work with the Mixing Bowl team…read moreagain. First off, they have a wonderful website that's very descriptive and includes detailed information on their vast portfolio of classes. I was ecstatic to find their pricing fit within our budget - at $550/person for a 3-hour class, I think it's more than a fair value. I then emailed the info@ address on their site and heard back from Victor within a day. Unlike most of the team building classes in HK, the Mixing Bowl allows you to use Paypal which was a huge plus for me. Onto the delicious details. The Mixing Bowl specializes in bread making, but they also offer classes such as the Traditional Hong Kong class we took (egg tarts, sausage rolls, and pineapple buns). Not your thing? You can also learn how to expertly make artisan cinnamon buns, scones, matcha donuts, fresh egg pasta, croissants, pies, and macarons. Their studio is spacious and modern, and the setup promotes maximum interaction with your group. I never thought that learning how to make egg tarts, pineapple buns, and sausage rolls would be easy and fun, but it was! Victor seamlessly moved from guidance on precise measurement to the proper kneading technique. And you won't go hungry whilst waiting for your goodies to bake, either - we stopped for a proper tea break replete with freshly-bakes scones, jam, and clotted cream! Mmm, clotted cream. We all went home happy with big bags of the baked goods we just made together. I look forward to taking another class here now that I've discovered my inner pastry chef!

From the owner: 專業課程: 為廚藝事業紮穩根基，掌握勝人一籌竅門: 廚藝高級文憑、文憑及證書課程…read more 興趣班: 繽紛入廚樂、中華廚藝工作坊 (國際學生) 中華廚藝學院開放其國際級設備，並將廚藝培訓推廣至廚藝愛好者、旅客以及家庭。

I was in Hong Kong visiting family for a couple weeks and needed something fun to do. I love to…read morecook and I have taken many classes in Boston at a popular store called Sur La Table. I did a quick Google search and signed up for the Hanjuku Cheesecake Trial Lesson at ABC Cooking Studio. It was 280 HKD for a two hour lesson (which is roughly $35 USD). The studio itself is very clean and spacious. They have many stations set up for different classes. The Cheesecake class had a total of four students. All the ingredients were pre-measured and packaged individually. The instructor provided us with copies of the recipe and jumped right into class. She didn't take the time to introduce herself or ask us about our prior cooking experience. The class went by extremely quick because there were no explanations or tips on how to properly prepare a cheesecake. I asked a couple questions and I was given short answers. After our cheesecakes were put into the oven we were told that we could leave the studio and return after a set amount of time. When we returned the instructor took the cheesecakes out of the oven for us and said that we were able to leave anytime even though the two hours were not up yet. When I finally tried my cheesecake at home the flavors were good and the cake was moist. Overall it was an ok class. If you have prior cooking experience and are looking for something quick to do then try this class! However, I found it to be too brief and I didn't gain any nuggets of knowledge to takeaway. I probably won't be returning. Also, if you would like an English version of the recipe, you need to request ahead of time.

Being married to a foodie husband from a foodie family means one is constantly on the challenge of…read moreone-upping every dinner so one runs out of ideas FAST. With a bit more time on my hands I decided to get schooled by the newest culinary school in town. I've heard raving reviews on ABC cooking studio from a friend who used to live in Japan. I've also visited their Roppongi campus so I kind of knew what to expect in terms of environment. I was invited by a friend for a trial class. Apparently existing members get a free class by bringing in new blood. So the new blood was there to learn Omurice, or the Japanese/western omelette rice. I arrived at the Tsimshatsui location and was welcomed by a bright, spacious space not unlike Muji (god bless Japanese Zen minimalism). Upon signing up and paying for my $200 trial fee, I washed my hands and went to my work station to don my disposable apron. The instructors are trained by Japanese teachers and offered Japanese culinary tips such as the most efficient way to wield a knife (at a slight angle, teetering/dragging instead of pushing down) All the ingredients used are Japanese ingredients and the instructor is happy to show us the packaging for identification/picture taking. The class is well organized and information easy to follow. I was able to bring home a nicely printed copy of the recipe to replicate the dish at home. At the end of the class the instructor would present you with the class packages. If you signed up for a course on-day (which I did) the one-time joining fee of $800 would be waived. For $200, I had a fun morning learning a new dish and having it for lunch. Not a bad deal I must say.

Short Answer: Venture at your own risk…read more Description: Nestled a block away from Nathan Road-Hong Kong is HK Star Chef Management, a vocational culinary school that specializes in teaching regular people in professional level cooking. Because Hong Kong is heavily influenced by the west and modern Hong Kong tastes, this school offers courses in HK-style baking and pastries, Western-style Christmas cooking, parts of popular Korean & Japanese Cuisine, and modern Cantonese cooking, for the house or in the professional kitchen. The lead management team can speak English, Cantonese, and Mandarin for arrangement of courses and willing to negotiate a course right for you. While HK has its own culinary school, it's a 10-year commitment and this is better suited for those visiting HK and wanting to learn cooking without too much red tape. Because this is a well established cooking school, celebrity chefs and actors have been known to appear to do special shows or do presentations like Martin Yang. Pros: Large kitchen, spacious Cons: Limitations in translation, bring your own container, certain instructors are impatient, requires advance reservation and payment Things to look out for: If you're not versed in read/write traditional Chinese text and can't speak Cantonese, there will be complications in this venture. Most can speak Mandarin, but if you can only read simplified text, that may be a problem as well. While they do offer translators, they may charge extra for the person to translate for you; it might be better to bring a fluent friend to join you in class to explain things. They don't mind occasional picture-taking (totally fine in private courses), but the general classes are strict about it and they don't welcome video filming. The school only accepts PayPal or cash, no credit cards; it's less costly if you pay for the courses in person. Their website has an English page, but due the school's limitations in English, the descriptions and explanations comes off a little stiff or technical; it's better to contact them to make sure all the terms are fully understood to avoid any confusion. Most of their courses are either seasonal or appointed; always be clear exactly when the courses start or you risk missing the dates. When you do take the courses, be sure to bring 2 food containers. While they provide English-friendly recipes, it's not accurate in translations and it was intentionally made that way to avoid their secrets leaked out; you'll be making modifications to the recipe by pen. Private courses are more costly, but the instructors are more patient and they tend to be much more tolerable than the general class courses. Lastly, they use ancient imperial weight standards like catties and taels in their demos. It's important you get the conversions metrically or you're in trouble. Experience: I signed up for the general course to learn in a small class of 8-10 people, where we all learned to cook with the wok. The instructor I had wasn't the most helpful, he didn't even go into teaching core basics like how to manage a wok, didn't go in depth about the tools and techniques needed to cook nor how to master something so simple as flipping the wok; he just expects you to figure it out. The chef was impatient and prefers to finish up class as soon as possible; he doesn't always make sure you get the recipes right nor will help you if he doesn't like you. When it came to conversions and explaining the why and how, everything is relative to his wisdom and mood; he doesn't know everything. Fortunately, he wasn't the only instructor I had. I studied with two other chefs and they were the kind of chefs you would want as a true teacher. They were very patient and understanding, they bothered to help explain things that the general instructor didn't and was very kind to me. I learned a great deal from these guys and I regret unable to follow them as my teacher. Overall, this is the closest place you might be able to find to fully teach you about Cantonese cooking. Check Martha Sherpa as alternative. The admin crew was good to me, it was really some of the staff members and organization (compared to Institute of Culinary Education or FCI) of the courses that made me rate them lower. There are other places available, but similar challenges of translation and recipe accuracy is challenging. You won't fully master everything unless you have a great memory. The lessons require strong recollection ability, it's difficult even if you're an experienced chef. Certain dishes are easier than others, it requires constant practice to fully master everything and that's something you won't get in any cooking school. It's better to find a place to reinforce what you learned here or you risk losing your investment. Youtube actually have a bunch of chefs also freely teaching so-called Chinese secret recipes out on the web as well. If you're just doing this as an experience, then the venture would be more enjoyable.

Baking is science. It requires precise measures of the correct ingredients in order to get the best…read moreresults possible. Just like there are professional shops that are dedicated to selling chemical reagents and lab equipment, there is this shop that sells baking and dessert making ingredients and related cooking utensils; you can tell this shop is a pro by the huge varieties of rolling pin and baking tin and everything in between. I think for every baking lovers have experienced this: having a recipe in mind and wanting to implement it. Oh no, I could get only about half the ingredients from the supermarket closest to my home, what should i do with the remaining half?? Worry not my friend, this is the place you should go to. From the basic flour to the dried fruits and nut you put in the batter I Love Cake has them covered. Not only that, the cooking utensils that you will need for your baking are also provided in abundance; so it is pretty safe to say that one trip to this shop and you can have all you need to make your favorite cakes, cookies, muffins...you name them Other than baking items, you can also find things to make chocolate; whether they are gonna end up on a cookie or be eaten straight. Chocolate buttons are easy to handle and takes shorter time to melt; so if you are interested in making chocolate with your own flavor, you can find plenty of resources here to carry out your own experiments. There's a saying, you need the perfect tools to perfect your crafts; with the shop that provides the perfect tool in hand, baking is made so much easier. Even if you are not interested, I am sure you will be eager to try after visiting this shop~

I was so excited when this store first opened. It looked like it had everything I need to bake a…read morecake.... until I realised that my kitchen didn't have a proper oven.. Nonetheless, I came into this store just to look around to see if there's anything interesting. Indeed it was, it was filled with baking accessories, goods, and basically everything you could imagine to bake a cake. Although I didn't have an oven at home, i still miss baking. So knowing that they host baking classes here, my friends and I signed up. A group of us came, i think it costed us about $300 for a class. We chose the macaron class. I have joined these classes before but found that a majority of the time, all the ingredients would already have been prepared and in the end you didn't learn anything at all. This class started on time, there were about 12 of us, which is a little packed and there were some late comers as well. We each had our own area to bake and the teacher started to teach us how to make macarons. From my experience, the teacher was not very patient. He got frustrated at some of the students who did things wrong. Not everyone is a master baker. I think he should realise that. It kinda put us off a little bit. Regardless, at least the macarons turned out nicely. I haven't been back since, maybe because I was a little intimidated by the teacher or perhaps I just got really busy. It's a cool experience, at least with this macaron class, we actually got to measure out everything and did it as if we were baking at home. props to that.