Tourist Class

Rated 5 Stars on Tripadvisor

What do you do when guests ask where the best place to eat is? Why, the best local food is always home cooked.

Our Homegrown Tourist Cooking Classes will now be held every Tuesday and Wednesday. The Academy has two cooking slots: morning (10.00am with lunch) and evening (5.00pm with dinner). Guests who’d like to visit and experience shopping at the local market can opt for a morning session at 9:00am.

The Quintessential Lunchbox : Nasi Lemak

Discover what makes Malaysians...Malaysians. Learn how to make the all-time local favourite, nasi lemak, otherwise known as coconut rice, and its various accompaniments. The class will include learning how to make sambal (chilli-based sauce), ikan bilis kacang (salted anchovies with peanuts), our fast and furious salad and turmeric-baked chicken wings. RM280 per person - comes with a surprise dessert and souvenir!

At The Heart of every Malay Home : Sirloin Beef Rendang

Learn how to make the rendang that had Celebrity Chef Aaron Craze burning! Largely considered to be the crème de la crème of Malaysian cuisine, you’re not a real chef until you’ve learnt how to make the best sirloin beef rendang. The class includes making the rendang from scratch: marinating the beef, preparing the chilli paste and making kerisik (sweet toasted coconut). RM350 per person - comes with a surprise dessert and souvenir!

Fanning The Flames: Satay

What is it about meat on a stick that has our tongues wagging?

Discover how to get the smoky and succulent textures of a well-seasoned

chicken satay and learn the secrets to making the carefully guarded peanut sauce. RM280 per person - comes with a surprise dessert and souvenir!

Sticks and Stones to break some Bones: Sup Tulang

Directly translated as “bone soup”, this aromatic and heady broth is the epitome of comfort on a tropical rainy day. Learn how to make the beef bones broth with a powerful combination of spices and refreshing accompaniments like coriander, cucumber and calamansi lime. This dish is served with vermicelli. Wearing white is not recommended. RM280 per person - comes with a surprise dessert and souvenir!

Show your guests the best in culinary hospitality; bring them home to Jen’s Homegrown Cooking Academy.

Review by Sean Frosali

I start with a question; why are home cooked meals some of, if not best meals we have ever tasted? One reason, and one I personally believe is that the meal is prepared with love, care and consideration for those eating. This is more than obvious in the Palencia's cooking and hospitality, which is not only a meal but a culinary adventure. An adventure into one of the most diverse and flavorsome eating cultures in the world; Malaysian cuisine.

I count myself quite lucky, from a young age I was exposed to various cooking styles and soon became eager to experiment and sample a variety of different foods. With a reasonable ability to cook and prepare meals I was ecstatic when given the opportunity to discover Malaysian Cuisine with the Palencia Family. I was to be in a surprise however, as I wasn't merely to be a silent witness to the proceedings but actually more of a Sous Chef, helping in the careful construction of a traditional Nasi Lemak. 

The process included such task as the seasoning of the chicken in turmeric and also the washing of the coconut shavings for the rice, however I particularly relished the creation of the Sambal, a defiant favorite mine since my time in Malaysia. This experience was made even more enjoyable by the kind and loving manner of Jen, Natasha and Baba, who all took their respective turns for instruction of the various facets required in the dish. 

I finish with my review with a glowing endorsement for the Palencia Family. The food without question was delicious. I feel however, due to their attention and care, and my own involvement and gained appreciation for the meal that in all not only was a meal created that night, but a lifelong memory which I can reminisce on anytime I prepare a Sambal.