• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Cook's Pyjamas

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Work With Me
    • Contact Me
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Privacy Policy
  • Recipe Index
    • All the Recipes
    • Kitchen Basics
    • Breakfast
    • Main Meals
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • Side Dishes
    • Slow Cooker
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • Meals From The Freezer
    • Take-out Fake-Out
    • Recipes That Use Leftovers
    • Dessert
    • Baking
    • Snacks
    • Miscellaneous Bits & Pieces
    • Thermomix
    • Preserving the Harvest
  • Resource Library

Food Playground Cooking School, Singapore

October 12, 2014 by tania 8 Comments

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Yummly
  • Mix

Food Playground Singapore

I find one of the best ways to truly appreciate a country’s food culture is to take a cooking class run by  locals.  I’ve been to Singapore a few times, eating in various hawkers’ markets and food halls, but it took a visit to the Food Playground cooking school for me to really understand the sheer breadth of Singapore’s food culture.

We arrived early to the class and amused ourselves decorating our paper chefs hats with coloured felt tips whilst waiting for the rest of the class to arrive.  Thankfully we were not assessed on our drawing skills.  Following introductions, our instructor Lesley took some time to explain to us the origins of Singaporean food.  The country has both Malaysian and Chinese influences.  The fusion of these two cultures gave rise to Peranakan cuisine which draws on elements of both.  Add to this Indian influences, and the range of traditional dishes available in Singapore is astonishing.

Food Playground

Lesley explained that traditional Singaporean dishes are easy to identify by their unlikely English names.  For example, black carrot cake appears regularly in hawkers markets yet bears no resemblance to the carrot and cinnamon baked good to which we are accustomed.  Rather, it is a dish of grated radish and rice flour that is first steamed to form a cake, then sliced and fried in a black sauce.  It is the English name that identifies it as a heritage dish.

Then it was time to cook.  Our class menu was Char Kway Teow, Chicken Satay and Kueh Dadar (pandan pancake).  Much of the preparation was done for us in advance so we could concentrate on cooking.  No recipes are provided at the start of the class to ensure we focused on the demonstrations rather than the handouts.  For someone who likes to make notes as I go, this was slightly disconcerting. However, the recipes and accompanying photographs from the class were emailed to us later in the day so it was easy to make notes whilst the class was still fresh in my head.

Food Playground Singapore

First up were the pancakes.  I am a sucker for pandan pancakes, and am always delighted when I find them in street markets.  For me, these pancakes are a great example of cultural and regional differences as I also cooked pandan pancakes during our Bali cooking class, but found the approach and recipe for the same dish to be quite different.

Working in pairs, one was responsible for cooking and filling the pancakes whilst the other was tasked with pounding the ingredients for the satay paste.  Even adding shallots to the mortar last did little to reduce the number of onion tears shed.  Whilst I had the easier task of cooking the pancakes, I took pity on my partner who had tears streaming down her face and swapped with her after she had done the initial hard work.  Thanks Dianna!

Food Playground Singapore

A small amount of the paste was mixed into the pre-marinated chicken, whilst the rest was poured into the fry pan to make satay sauce.  I was tasked with threading the meat onto the skewers, and there was much debate at our end of the table as to whether I had added too much or too little.  Grilling the sticks also proved tricky.  In order to get the ends to cook properly, I apparently allowed the middle to overcook.  Whilst I was thinking I had a nice amount of colour on my satay sticks, Lesley diplomatically exchanged my efforts for some she had made earlier.  In my defence, Mr Grumpy usually cooks the satay at our place so I’m not taking this as a sign that I am completely incompetent.

Food Playground Singapore

The Char Kway Teow comes together in minutes, so this was the last dish we cooked.  Everything had been prepared so that all we had to do was add the ingredients to the pan in the correct order and fry.  Quickly!!

Food Playground Singapore

Then it was time to eat.  Despite a light breakfast, there was a lot of food to get through.  And even though we were convinced we could eat all of the pancakes, sadly we had to leave some behind.

Food Playground is an extremely well run cooking school located on the edge of China Town.  It is a great way to spend a morning, leaving you with the afternoon to wander the streets of China Town on a full stomach.  Do make sure you check out the lovely shop downstairs as you leave.

Food Playground
24A Sago Street
Singapore

Filed Under: Travel

Previous Post: « In My Kitchen – October 2014
Next Post: Easy Coconut Apple Tarts »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eha

    October 13, 2014 at 9:42 am

    Must put this in my book and remember to tell foodie staying over in Singapore for a few days . . . Have been fortunate to take part in similar cooking classes in some six-seven countries around the world and such have always been a memorable experience. Your chicken satays look deliciously moist . . . .

    Reply
    • tania

      October 14, 2014 at 3:14 pm

      If you have time it was worth a visit Eha. It is very well run. The chicken satay wasn’t too bad, even though I apparently overcooked it 🙂

      Reply
  2. cityhippyfarmgirl

    October 16, 2014 at 3:46 am

    Oh how I want to greedily eat it all! Pandan pancakes I haven’t eaten enough in my life time and I should remedy that, because damn, they are delicious.

    Reply
    • tania

      October 17, 2014 at 9:09 am

      They are irresistible aren’t they Brydie 🙂 Although they always taste better when someone else makes them.

      Reply
  3. sherry from sherryspickings

    October 17, 2014 at 10:48 am

    this looks wonderful tania. you must have learned so much and had lots of fun.

    Reply
    • tania

      October 20, 2014 at 9:21 am

      It was a lot of fun Sherry. I always like to do cooking classes. I think that even if you know how to make a dish, everybody brings a different experience to the table and I always come away having learnt something new.

      Reply
  4. Daniel

    October 22, 2014 at 1:41 pm

    Tania, many thanks for taking time to share your cooking adventure with us at food playground. Lesley and our whole team are thrilled to know that you have enjoyed the hands-on cooking experience and picked up some local knowledge about Singapore’s food heritage along the way. Hope to have you and your friends again at Food Playground soon 🙂

    Reply
    • tania

      October 22, 2014 at 2:43 pm

      Pleasure Daniel. It was a lot of fun. We will make sure to see what you have on offer when next in Singapore.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Photo of the site owner, Tania.
Hi! I'm Tania!
I love using easy kitchen hacks to simplify my meal making, reduce my cooking time and put healthy meals on the table in a snap. Let me show you how I do it.

Find Meal Times A Burden?

Join My Free Challenge Now.
9 Days. 9 Tips.
A Lifetime of Stress Free Meals.




Latest Posts

thumbnail image showing cropped collage of healthy freezer meals

13 Healthy Meals That Freeze Well

Thumbnail image of a loaf of 5 minute artisan bread.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day – The Only Recipe You Need

The Most Amazingly Delicious Quick Fish Curry. A simple fish curry recipe for a busy night.

A Quick and Easy Fish Curry in Just 30 Minutes

Footer

Search

Archives

Categories

Copyright The Cook's Pyjamas © 2025 ·