Private Traditional Peranakan & Malay Cooking Class in Melaka
Overview
Available languages
3 hours
Mobile ticket
Cook, eat, and connect with a local in Melaka for an authentic taste of Peranakan cuisine. Hands-on Peranakan and Malaysian cooking class in a local home. It’s a perfect blend of food, culture, and connection, giving a true taste of everyday life in Melaka beyond the tourist spots.
Hands-on cooking class, learn to chop, cook, and prepare a main dish and dessert under your host's guidance in her modern Melaka home kitchen. Discover Malaysian ingredients, Peranakan cooking techniques, and cultural stories behind each dish. Share the meal you helped prepare for a memorable, authentic taste of Melaka.
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Menu may vary depending on the season
If any travelers in your party have any allergies, dietary restrictions or cooking preferences please advise at time of booking
What To Expect
Cat first learned to cook traditional Malay dishes from her late grandmother and mother. She offers a hands-on cooking class in Melaka in her home kitchen, where you’ll cook side by side with her and learn traditional techniques. During this 1.5-hour Peranakan cooking class in Malacca, you’ll prepare a main dish and a dessert, gaining insight into local ingredients and home-style Malaysian cooking. Help Cat chop, cook, and add the finishing touches to a traditional Malay meal with Peranakan influences. Dishes you might learn to cook include chicken pongteh with potatoes (chicken braised in fermented soybean paste), stir-fried tamarind prawns, or ikan chuan chuan (fish cooked in fermented bean paste), along with kuih, a classic Malaysian dessert. This authentic cooking class in Melaka a warm, cultural experience for travelers looking to connect through food. Your in-home dining experience in Melaka, may include dishes such as otak-otak (steamed or grilled fish in banana leaf), pineapple kerabu, or jiu hu char. Main dishes may feature tamarind prawns or ikan chuan chuan, served with vegetable sides. End with traditional Malaysian dessert.
Sample Menu
starter
Welcome Drink
Blue Pea Flower & Pandan or Lemongrass Gula Melaka Drink
starter
Fish crackers with white bait sambal or Pineapple Kerabu (salad)
or Otak Otak (ground fish wrapped in a leaf parcel and steamed or grilled) or Jiu Hu Char (stir fried jicama with shredded cuttlefish)
main
Main: Chicken Pongteh with Potato (chicken in fermented soy bean)
or Stir-fry Tamarind Prawns or Ikan Chuan Chuan (fish in fermented bean paste)
main
Vegetable
Spicy Okra Sambal or Pucuk Paku Masak Lemak (vegetables in coconut milk) or Kangkong Masak Titek (morning glory in fermented krill broth)
dessert
Dessert
Kuih Ee (sticky glutinous rice balls in syrup) or Ang Ku Kueh (sweet dumpling)
Options
Lunch only (no cooking class)
Cooking class + Lunch
What‘s Included
Welcome drink and traditional Malaysian dessert
Authentic home-cooked Peranakan & Malaysian cuisine
Private hands-on Malay cooking class in a Melaka home
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
2 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Great experience and a delicious insight into Nyonya cuisine
Frederik B,May 1, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00We booked a cooking class with Catherina and were allowed to stay at her home. The choice of dishes was really great and varied, with us preparing a main course and a dessert under guidance ourselves, while the starter and other main courses were prepared by Catherina. We got an interesting insight into Nyonya cuisine, enjoyed very delicious food and got to know a warm and super nice hostess. Highly recommended!
The best cooking experience in Malacca
863wendyf,Jan 14, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Catherine is the most wonderful chef and teacher and makes you feel so welcome in her home. She is so knowledgeable about Malaysian food and culture and we thought so enriched by this experience she was generous with her time her knowledge and the delicious food that she served to us. My only suggestion would be is arrive very very, very hungry because the food is delicious and plentiful. This is just the best experience that any visitor to Malacca could expect and we are so grateful to Katherine and the attention she gave me and my family I must do for Malacca. Thank you. Wendy, Luke, and Hannah.
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