Ngoc Cooking Class at Xuanmai Garden Resort

Cooking class with Ngoc is an absolutely must-do! It's a refreshing and lovely experience, with the chance to learn a lot of different Laotian, Thai and Vietnamese dishes. She's super kind and helpful, very easy to follow with all the receipts. Also, her kitchen in the garden is just magic. We had a great time all together. Downright incredible!

Such a fun cooking class! My husband and I learned how to cook papaya salad, chicken laab, coconut donuts and an eggplant fish soup with Ms Ngoc. All of the dishes were delicious and full of flavor. Ms Ngoc is super sweet, patient, speaks great English, and has a real love for food. We learned the secrets to traditional Lao cooking and ways to substitute if we couldn’t find the specific ingredients back home. We loved the outdoor kitchen and individual cooking stations so that we could each fully prepare our own dishes from the chopping/prep to cooking and plating. At the end of the course she provided us with the recipes for each dish that we made so that we can try recreating them at home. In addition to traditional Lao dishes, she also has Thai and Vietnamese dishes in her menu so there are plenty of different options to choose from. We highly recommend taking a cooking class with Ms Ngoc while you are in Pakse, it was a highlight of our trip to Laos.

I had the most amazing experience at this cooking class. Ngoc was such a kind and patient person and I could not recommend her class enough. I cooked a green curry, bbq chicken and coconut donuts - all were delicious. All dishes were explained and demonstrated well and even advice was given for replacements of some food for when I return home and cook. This is a MUST if you are visiting Pakse!

Would definitely recommend Ngoc’s cooking class if you’re in Pakse- we were taught how to make the traditional Laos Laab which was delicious!! Ngoc was really friendly in helping us book, arrange transport and the little recipe cards for us to keep were a really nice touch! Thank you 🫶

I booked this cooking class while in Pakse, Laos, with my traveling companion. We both wanted to do a cooking class in Laos prior to leaving the country. I’m very glad I waited until Pakse to book, as Ngoc’s cooking class really delivered. First, Ngoc herself is a very kind and patient instructor, detailing the needed steps and providing good background on the dishes themselves. Second, the setting for the cooking is fantastic; outdoors in the garden area of the resort grounds. There is plenty of space, nice stoves, and sturdy equipment, including sharp knives, which was welcome, as I’ve done a couple other cooking classes in other countries with some blunt knives. Lastly, and most importantly, the food is delicious and very fun to cook. We made three Lao dishes and one Vietnamese. I especially enjoyed making the papaya salad, as you learn how to peel the fruit, cut into it, and then grate it. Ngoc also provides the recipes for what you choose to cook to take home. For the amount of food cooked and the quality I found this not only a great experience but a great bargain at the price. Very highly recommended.

We went to the stay itself to book the class. We opted for the 32 dollar/pp 4 dish menu. We selected the dishes we wanted to make beforehand (they had a lot options) and ended up making: Fried spring rolls Laap with pork Fish with aubergine Coconut donuts All of the dishes tasted amazing and the instructor was really easy to follow. The instructor was a really nice lady and a generally nice person to talk with, while also always making sure we had enough water/tea to drink. The class took us about 4 hours (this included the time to eat everything) ⚠️WARNING⚠️ DO NOT EAT BEFOREHAND you will have plenty to eat during the class while also being able to take the leftovers with you. Of all the cooking classes we did during our backpacking travels this was among the best. Highly recommend you check it out! Tom & Iris Ps. thank you miss Ngoc for the fun time 😀

A highlight of our trip to Laos. The cooking class with Ngoc was the best we have done in all of SE Asia! We chose 4 dishes from the menu (it includes Laotian, Vietnamese and Thai dishes), we picked Yellow Curry, Fried Spring Roll, Pad Thai and Coconut Donuts. We prepared the ingredients and cooked over a coal stove for each dish and enjoyed the food fresh before going on to prepare the next dish. We did everything at a relaxed pace under the watchful and helpful eye of Ngoc. We were given the ingredient list with space to add notes of preparation for us to take home, can’t wait to cook this for my family when I get home. Truly couldn’t recommend enough!

An excellent experience. I messaged her in the afternoon with what dishes I wanted to make, and she was ready a few hours later. She even booked a tuk tuk to take me to and from my hostel. The dishes were great, and got to take home copies of the recipes as well.