Three kinds of roll, and a cup of egg coffee
Roll & Brew is the O Hen Cooking Class: three hours in the class kitchen at a resort on the island, three ways of rolling something in rice paper or rice sheet, and one cup of whipped egg coffee at the end. It is a class, with a teacher and a schedule, and it says so.
At a glance
- Duration
- Three hours, 09:00 - 12:00 or 16:00 - 19:00
- Group
- Maximum 10 per session
- Starts
- At the class kitchen; you make your own way there
- You eat
- Lunch in the morning session, dinner in the afternoon one
- Level
- Very easy, 1 of 5
- From
- USD 49 per adult, USD 35 for a child 6 - 11
What you make, and an honest note about where it comes from
Four things in three hours. Three of them are rolls, which is the point of the class: the same idea - something wrapped in rice - done three different ways, with three different wrappers and three different textures.
| Item | What it is | What it teaches |
|---|---|---|
| Nem cuon | Fresh rolls in rice paper with herbs, noodles and filling, plus a dipping sauce | Wetting rice paper just enough, rolling tight without tearing, mixing a sauce |
| Banh cuon | Steamed rice sheets, poured as a thin batter onto a cloth stretched over a steamer, then filled and rolled while hot | Pouring, spreading and lifting a sheet that is cooked in well under a minute |
| Pho cuon | Stir-fried beef and fresh herbs rolled in soft, uncut pho noodle sheets, eaten cool | Seasoning beef for a cold dish, and rolling a wrapper that does not need wetting |
| Egg coffee | Egg yolk whisked with sugar and condensed milk into a thick cream, poured over strong coffee | Whisking long enough, and how to tell when the cream will hold |
All four of these are northern Vietnamese, and egg coffee and banh cuon in particular belong to Hanoi. None of them is a Phu Quoc dish. We say that plainly because the rest of this website is about the island, and you should not book this class expecting to learn what the fishing families of Ham Ninh or Cua Can cook. This is a class in Vietnamese rolls, taught well, on Phu Quoc.
If island food is what you are after, the day for that is cooking with a local family at Cua Can: a market, a family kitchen and four dishes the family actually eats. The two are different products and we have written a side by side comparison to help you choose.
Why banh cuon is the part people remember
Nem cuon and pho cuon are about assembly. You lay things down in an order and roll, and after the second one most people are rolling neatly. Banh cuon is different, because you are cooking the wrapper yourself.
A cloth is stretched over a pot of steam. You pour on a thin rice batter, spread it, let it set and then lift the sheet off before it sticks. Too much batter and it is thick; too little and it tears. Every guest pours a few sheets, so the first one going wrong costs you nothing.
Once the sheet is off the cloth it is filled and rolled while still warm, and you eat it the same way. This is the slowest part of the class, and the schedule gives it the most time: forty-five minutes, against thirty for each of the other rolls.
Day by day
Three rolls and an egg coffee in the class kitchen
The morning session starts at 09:00 and the afternoon session at 16:00; the timings below are the morning ones, and the afternoon runs exactly seven hours later. You arrive at the class kitchen at a resort on the island, put on an apron and spend the first fifteen minutes looking at the ingredients: rice paper, rice batter, pho sheets, herbs, fish sauce and the rest, with an explanation of what each is for.
From about 09:15 you make nem cuon and the dipping sauce. From 09:45 to 10:30 is banh cuon at the steamer, each guest pouring a few sheets. Pho cuon follows until 11:00, and the three rolls share their herbs and sauce, which is why four items fit comfortably into three hours. Egg coffee is the last thing you make, from about 11:00 to 11:20.
Then you sit down and eat everything you made: as lunch in the morning session, as dinner in the afternoon one. The recipes go home with you, printed or as a file.
Morning or afternoon
The class is the same in both sessions; what changes is the meal and the day around it.
- Morning, 09:00 - 12:00. You eat what you made as lunch. It leaves the whole afternoon free, and it is the better choice with younger children, who are fresher in the morning.
- Afternoon, 16:00 - 19:00. You eat it as dinner. It suits a beach day followed by an early evening indoors, and it means you do not need to plan a meal that night.
Because the whole class is indoors, it is one of the few things on this site that runs the same in the heaviest rain of the wet season. If the weather has wrecked the plan for a day, this is a reasonable thing to book at short notice, subject to space.
Prices
| Who | Price per person |
|---|---|
| Adult | USD 49 |
| Child aged 6 - 11, with an adult | USD 35 |
This is a fixed price per person rather than a price that falls with group size, because the class runs on a set schedule with its own teacher whether three people or ten book that session. The prices page has every day we sell side by side.
What the price includes
- A chef teaching for the whole three hours
- All ingredients for the three rolls, the dipping sauce and the egg coffee
- An apron for the session
- The meal you cook, eaten at the table: lunch or dinner
- One egg coffee
- Drinking water
- The recipes, printed or sent as a file
What it does not include
- Transfers to and from the class kitchen - on request, quoted when you book
- Other drinks, including beer, wine and smoothies
- Travel insurance
- Tips
Food, allergies and the egg in the coffee
Tell us about allergies when you book rather than on the day. The ones that matter in this class are egg, peanut, seafood and gluten, which can turn up in sauces. The kitchen can plan around them if it knows in advance.
There is a vegetarian version: tofu and mushroom in place of meat and prawn, and a dipping sauce built on soy rather than fish sauce.
Egg coffee is made with raw egg yolk, whisked but not cooked. Pregnant guests and young children are offered a version without egg, and anyone else who would rather not have raw yolk can ask for the same.
Gallery
Who this class is not for
- Anyone who wants to learn Phu Quoc island cooking. These are northern Vietnamese dishes; for island food take the family kitchen day at Cua Can.
- People looking for a market visit. There is none in this class. If buying the ingredients is part of what you want, look at Pass It On Kitchen, which starts with a walk to a local market.
- Travellers who want a family home rather than a teaching kitchen. This is a class in a resort kitchen with a teacher and a timetable, and it does not pretend otherwise.
- Children under six. The steamer is hot and the class runs for three hours. From six, children take part alongside an adult.
- Anyone expecting pickup as standard. You make your own way to the class kitchen; a transfer is available on request at an extra cost.
Questions travellers ask most
Is this the same as the cooking day with a local family?
No. That day is a market in Duong Dong and a working family kitchen at Cua Can, with four island dishes and lunch at the family table, for up to six people. Roll & Brew is a three-hour class in a resort kitchen, up to ten people, teaching northern Vietnamese rolls and egg coffee.
The comparison page sets the cooking days side by side.
Can children take part?
From six, with an adult, at USD 35 for ages six to eleven. Rolling is something children pick up quickly.
Young children are offered egg coffee without raw egg. Say their ages when you book.
Is there a vegetarian version?
Yes: tofu and mushroom instead of meat and prawn, and a soy-based dipping sauce instead of fish sauce. Tell us when you book so the kitchen can prepare for it.
Do you collect us from our hotel?
Not as standard. Guests make their own way to the class kitchen, which keeps the price where it is. If you would like a transfer, ask when you book and we will quote it.
Read next
Tell us what you want out of the island
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.