How to cook like a Chinese grandma

In a city with over 13,000 restaurants, why bother cooking?

These cooking schools will give you a reason. With their attentive, insightful instructors, even the most frustrated student will pick up expert skills in no time. Specializing in Chinese home-cooking, these schools will have you stir-frying and steaming with mastery that challenges even the wisest of Chinese grandmothers.

Chopsticks Cooking Centre

In her cozy apartment kitchen, veteran teacher Cecelia Au-Yang unveils the secrets of good Cantonese cooking to small groups of budding chefs.

Au-yang began teaching cooking in 1971 and has written 40 books on regional Chinese cuisine, so you know you are in capable hands when you sign up for her courses.

Learn how to make a fresh stir-fry with an emphasis on health and nutrition. For the more dedicated, personally tailored courses are also available.

Towngas Cooking Center

Since 1977, local cookbook writers and former hotel chefs have been teaching the basics of Chinese cooking at Towngas, a trusted household name in Hong Kong.

With 2,000-square-feet of space, Towngas' gleaming, fully equipped kitchens are perfect for learning typical Chinese home-cooking that every aspiring Martha Stewart should know. 

Learn to steam meat cakes with dried squid and stuff chicken wings with glutinous rice. The school also covers popular dishes beyond Chinese cuisine, such as samosas and porcini-crusted rack of lamb. Check out the Summer Little Chef Classic, a course tailored to keeps kids busy during summer holidays.  

Martha Sherpa's Cooking School

Master techniques for making dim sum at this humble, no-nonsense kitchen frequented by everyone from housewives to professional Western chefs. Martha Sherpa's multilingual, hands-on courses cover basics to intricate Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking. 

Aside from making dim sum and the usual stir-fries, there are also classes on making fancy dishes you'd normally only get in restaurants -- even banquet staples such as stir-fried yi fu noodles. Martha also leads wet market tours to give students the full market-to-table experience.   

Getting there

Chopsticks cooking school: G/F, 8A Soares Avenue, Ho Man Tin, tel +852 2336 8433

Towngas: 1. Basement, Leighton Centre, 77 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, tel +852 2576 1535
2. L030, G/F, New World Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, tel +852 2367 2707 www.towngascooking.com

Martha Sherpa: Flat B, 1/F, Lee Kwan Building, 40-46 Argyle Street, Mongkok, Kowloon, tel +852 2381 0132 www.geocities.com/professional_cookery