cooking class

Wellness Getaway at Grand Velas Resort, Los Cabos (Updated)

December 11, 2017 By Eleanor Hoh 8 Comments

Traveling and teaching Wellness in exotic and serene surroundings is a dream come true and recently, I got to do it for the first time at Grand Velas Los Cabos, a $150 million all inclusive luxury spa resort in Mexico. Their Wellnessing Getaway with theme, Grateful Journey was so appropriate because I had so much to be grateful for: getting invited by Miami Curated to teach my delicious, no-recipe approach for a healthier lifestyle; my mom for teaching me how to cook; instant friendships made with fellow instructors at this Getaway.

Look at this view! Spa Atelier is on the left with Azul restaurant facing ocean views where I gave my class. On right are 3 infinity pools.

My Wellness Suite had 2 storeys with massage table and exercise room on top floor and bedroom opening out to plunge pool and ocean views!

My signature Rainbow Lettuce Wrap Appetizer, tasty, full of texture and colors with every bite and always a big hit. Photo: Grand Velas staff

Wellnessing Getaway at the Spa was a week full of activities guests could enjoy from Ceremonial Smudging, an ancient practice for energy cleansing to Mandala and fitness workshops, as well as yoga and meditation to finding your Dosha culminating with an Ayurvedic dinner which I’ll be posting in another blog.

Azul terrace faces ocean and beach views.

My cooking classes were set up on the balmy terrace of Azul with ocean views. Thanks to Chef Juan Licerio Alcala, Executive Chef at Grand Velas and especially to Chef Luis Quiroz, Executive Chef at Azul, responsible for gathering all my ingredients. I got a chance to interview many of the restaurant chefs and discovered Chefs Juan and Luis had worked in the US (in separate blog soon.)

Chef Juan Licerio Alcala, Executive Chef of all 7 restaurants at Grand Velas, hamming it up. What an honor to meet him. He loved the ‘nice balance’ of my Rainbow Lettuce Appetizer. Photo: Ana, Grand Velas

Executive Chef Luis Quiroz toasting my pumpkin seeds for Rainbow Lettuce Appetizer!

Chef Christian helped prep my Rainbow Lettuce Appetizer. I discover he’s also a musician and loves Asian food. I gifted him Hoisin Sauce as a ‘thank you’!

The most rewarding part of this experience was hearing from guests who enjoyed my dishes and were surprised by how fast and easy wok cooking was with so few ingredients and seasonings. I was happy to debunk many misconceptions about wok cooking like the kind of wok and stove to use. I was also happy to encourage moms to cook with their kids at a young age. Giving them small tasks with prepping and the stir fry give them a feeling they can cook and they end up eating what they cook. The kids were definitely paying attention and amazed me with how much they absorbed like ‘using what you have in your fridge’ instead of hunting for ingredients from a recipe or ‘keeping everything dry for a stir fry.’

I’m looking forward to focusing on corporate wellness programs especially if they involve staying at stunning resorts like the Grand Velas Los Cabos, bring it ON!

Kids eager to learn and of course eat! Photo: Grand Velas staff

Lovely fun family! Photo: Ana, Grand Velas

Adorable, she ‘got it’! Photo: Ana, Grand Velas

Beautiful capture. Photo: Grand Velas staff

Ana Valdovinos, PR Grand Velas stir fries a Mexican version of Lomo Soltado! She’s gonna be a Wok Star! Thx Ana for all your help organizing my class and setup.

Chinese New Year at Chu's

February 7, 2011 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

We decided foolishly to celebrate Chinese New Year day at Chu’s with my sister, her hubby and her friends. Calm before craziness, but to be expected for such a big event. Chu’s will be holding another Chinese New Year event this Friday, February 11. So, if you want to experience a traditional dragon dance etc., reserve NOW. Enjoy. Don’t say I didn’t warn you there’s a long wait before your dinner arrives, so have a little snack before going. Worth the wait and good to have an appetite. Happy Rabbit Year!

Wok Star Eleanor Hoh & Norika Chu

We managed to get a shot together before guests arrived!

Norika presents Peking Duck before carving it up!

Norika was so fast at carving & making these rolls for us!

Definitely don’t want to share with so many next time.

After waiting 1 1/2 hours for our dinner to arrive, everyone snatched these rolls so I had to scramble to get this shot and others! Sorry, they’re all a bit dark and blurry.

Here’s remainder of Peking duck stir fried with veggies.

Huge scallops with black beans & bell peppers on a sizzling platter.

We had to order long life noodles for luck. This came with seafood & veggie.

Loved this eggplant dish that came in a clay pot and kept hot on a little burner.

The guy who leads the dragon has to learn to get OUT OF THE WAY so silly us can get the shot! The guy was in every shot I took. Lots of banging of drums and cymbals. I put a red packet into the mouth of the dragon dancer. He looked dazzled by the frenzy. His mouth was full of red packets, poor thing.

East meets west with jazz music in between.

Baby bok choy, needed twice as much. We love veggies.

It’s very strange eating with westerners, they don’t understand ‘family style’ where you pick what you want and eat slowly with your rice! Well, the other reason was we were STARVING. Everything was delicious.

After dinner, we dropped by Villa 221 to enjoy reggae music on the beautiful back deck. The weather was gorgeous. I am quite excited about this new venue and hope to hold some of my Wok Star events there. They have a cozy and cool lounge area to set the mood and tone to my class.

If you fell off track with your New Year’s resolution, this post explains my easy approach and Wok Star Kit with everything to help you kickstart for a healthier, happier and slimmer you.

You might also enjoy a Simple Home Dinner my sister and I made together showing that dinners don’t have to be a big deal.

Indomania Rijsttafel at Miami River Wall (Updated)

June 5, 2010 By Eleanor Hoh 3 Comments

Beef Rendang

Achar pickles.

Indomania Chef Ineke”s Rijsttafel at Miami River Wall

You can tell everyone enjoyed with empty plates!!

LATEST UPDATE :
Join us for an intimate, sit down 12-dish Indonesian Feast in north end of Miami Beach…
Monday, July 12:7pm. Call NOW, only 32 seats for lucky ones.
Mandatory RSVP & prepayment, click for complete details.

What a lovely way to spend a cool evening, meeting new people and enjoying Indomania Chef Ineke’s exotic Indonesian Rijsttafel at Miami River Wall! The evening was being filmed for Fox Style File news anchor, Belkys Nerey. Don’t blink or you’ll miss me, my husband got more airtime than I did, sniff, sniff. You can hear me though, I have a slight British accent. I also got a chance to video Chef Ineke when she sat down to finally eat her own dinner. If you want to celebrate a special catered event at Miami River Wall, contact them to arrange. It’s a beautiful setting inside with the two exquisite hydroponic vertical plant and herb walls and a back garden right on the river. You can see more where I posted about my Wok Star cooking classes held there.

Very few Miami restaurants serving Asian food give me the “experience” of wanting to be there. It doesn’t have to be fancy, in fact, often that’s a turn off cause you know you’re paying for the decor. On the other hand, many Asian restaurants (in my humble opinion) do not showcase the beauty of Asia in their decor or in their food. Indomania has succeeded in giving me both. When you walk in, you feel transported. The little touches with the batik tablecloth and the beautiful photos (Pieter is a photographer) all make it very personal.

Chef Ineke and her husband Pieter designed their restaurant as if it’s their own dining room. It’s small, cozy and intimate. They come over to chat with you, I know it’s not realistic when it’s busy but I felt truly special to be able to connect with the chef who just made my dinner. Unfortunately, I ate at their restaurant way before I started food blogging so not much photos to show the space so you’ll just have to go and ‘experience’ yourself. Everyone I’ve sent there agree they ‘love’ it too and keep going back.

When Ralph and I went, we shared a small Rijsttafel (see LOTS more photos) which gave us a tasting platter. But during the Miami River Wall feast, we got to taste a lot more and everything was spot on especially her Beef Rendang and Achar pickles. As you may or may not know, my mother was born in Singapore, so I grew up eating many of these foods. Eating at Indomania Restaurant always brings back wonderful memories for me. That’s what food is supposed to do – give you memories and associations. It’s what I tell people when I present my Wok Star cooking classes, it’s not just about the cooking, it’s about creating experiences and memories with people you enjoy!

I hope to organize a Hoh Wok Club gathering at Indomania soon and introduce you to Chef Ineke’s fabulous Indonesian food. But if you can’t wait, go, enjoy and tell Chef Ineke and Pieter you heard it from me.

P.S. Sorry about all the photos bunched together, but still learning new Blogger “editor” and after uploading photos, couldn’t get them to separate to put the text in, so frustrating! I think it’s obvious what the dishes are.

Here are more reviews of Indomania!
All Purpose Dark
Food for Thought
New Times Dining Review

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