Modena

This city is located 2 hours south east of Milan or 1 hour east of Bologna by car. Slightly faster by 30 minutes if you use the train.

Why visit Modena? Simply one reason “Restaurant Osteria Francescana by Michelin Star Chef Massimo Bottura”. This is the World’s number 2 restaurant and is simply one of the main reasons visitors flock to Modena. You can read more about the restaurant here. Also Did I mention the Ferrari Museum in town if you are into luxury cars.

Here are my top 10 recommendations planning your trip to Modena :

1. Book your table in advance: Ever since the restaurant was featured in Netflix show “Chefs Table”, reservations have been booming at the restaurant. To book simply go the website on the first of each month and book a lunch or dinner session. The Booking are only available 3 months in advance, so be quick to book a table or two for your weekends. Book for 2-4 people since getting your friends on board will be quite easy. Once you have made your booking you can sort your flights out.

2. Getting there: : I chose to fly into Bologna Airport and simply rent a car from there. You can do the same thing from Milan Airports. The inner city pressure of Milan driving means Bologna is the easier option. Train and Bus options are available as well but in Italy driving is a whole lot of fun and makes it easier to drive around the small towns to see more of everything on offer.

3. Accommodation: Hotel options in Modena is not the greatest so after some serious research I ended up at “Best Western Premier Hotel Milano Palace Modena”, long name but this is the best hotel they have in Modena. Rooms are large and clean, staff were lovely and informative, valet parking available so that’s the car sorted, and breakfast was good. It is a 1.3 km (15 minute) walk to the restaurant from here. The city center is a 10 min walk as well. The streets are small and cozy so makes for a nice romantic walk.

4. When to go: Winter can get a little wet so focus on March to November if you after warmer temperatures and sunshine. If you after the restaurant exclusively then anytime is a good time.

5. How long 1 should stay: : I did 36 hours since I was there for culinary experience. The city can be explored during the morning, visits to places of interest during the day, and with dinner at night. This should all be covered in an overnight stay and late departure.

6. Restaurants and cafes: Important to remember that most places are open till 2pm and then closed till 6pm (Dinner service) so a late lunch is not really an option In Modena. I ended up doing my 3pm late lunch at a local Creperie having Nutella crepes as lunch. Not healthy but was delicious for a starving man.

7. Road Trip:Modena is a one night stay so be sure to explore the surrounding cities. I managed 2 countries and 9 cities in a 4 day trip: San Marino, Italian Cities: Rimini (Beach town), Cesena, Bologna, Modena, La Spezia (Costal Hotspot), Massa, Pisa (the tower), Lucca, and Florence. I stayed in Modena, Remini and Florence for my 3 nights, posts on the other 2 cities to follow shortly.

Things to Do/See Around Modena:

8. Duomo di Modena: This is the local Church and something you will see quite often walking round Modena. Lots of weddings are going down from July to September so lots of action.

9. Parmigiano Reggiano: Sticking to the culinary tour visit the Parmigiano Reggiano factory to see the making of the cheese is quite a treat. There are several of these around Modena and Bologna area so use this link to find the most suitable one.

10. Balsamic vinegar: Villa San Donnino is a traditional balsamic vinegar company and a must to learn more about the food culture of Italy. Try this link here to make a booking.

Italian car of Choice FIAT 500

Bride in Modena

Statue in Modena

Town Hall Modena

Roi Thai Cooking School

Cooking School:Roi Thai
Location: Klong Nin Beach, Koh Lanta, Krabi, Thailand
Chef: Toey
Cost: Sunset Course is 1,800 bahts
Other Courses: Early Bird Course 1,200. Lunch Course: 1,500. Sunset Market Course: 1,900
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

View from the restaurant

Cooking Stations

Most of my holidays revolve around cuisine. Dishes from around the world will always connect to me at a deeper level than other cultural offerings. To experience the Thailand culinary culture is to taste dishes from the different regions, to distinguish the particular styles & flavors that makes it special. However to take it to the next level, it is best to enroll in a cooking class to learn some of the techniques and style.

Now there are several cooking classes offered in Koh Lanta and after reading several reviews of some of them, the thought of cooking right next to the beach was hard to ignore. So I booked at Roi Thai and they came picked us up on time and took us to the location.

Upon arrival my group of 4 were greeted with a welcome drink and shown the menu that we would be cooking that evening. We were in total 10 people for the course that evening. The menu for the night was:

1. Po Pla Thod (Deep Fried Spring Rolls)
2. Gal Pad Med Ma-Muang (Chicken with Cashew nuts)
3. Tom Yam Goong (Hot & Sour Soup with Prawns)
4. Red Curry Paste
5. Gaeng Phed Pla (Red Curry with fish)

The introduction to the course was done with a dish called Miang Kham. This is a Traditional Thai snack that involves many flavours wrapped in a leave to explode in your mouth with that one bite. The five flavours of Thai cuisine were represented in this traditional appetizer; spiciness (chilli, ginger, shallots, garlic),sweetness (the sweet sauce made with palm sugar and fish sauce), bitterness (lime, sour green mango), saltiness (small dried shrimp), and creaminess (peanuts, toasted coconut).

Introduction to Thai Ingredients

Chef Toey

Cooking the Soup

Thai vegetables and Spices

Po Pla Thod

Gal Pad Med Ma-Muang

Tom Yam Goong

The Introduction

Gaeng Phed Pla

Red Curry paste

While making these appetizers and introducing ourselves to the other guests, we ordered some drinks as well, and got comfortable. In the background the Roi Thai staff were setting up the cooking station for the first item on the menu.

Once we directed to the cooking station, it was at this moment when the Chef Toey broke out from his administration registry role from 10 minutes before into the flamboyant cooking maestro that was ready to light up the night with his entertainment.

After a very entertaining introduction to all the Thailand spices, we wiped away the tears of laughter and composed ourselves before the first dish. Toey was very informative about each cooking step & ingredient, he consistently interacted with the students and ensured everybody was up to speed and comfortable. The multi-tasking level of our group was fantastic as we managed to do photo sessions, and Q&A sessions in between cooking.

Learning to make the red curry paste was one of main objectives and the information offered was very good. So applying the same techniques and knowledge to the other curry pastes such as massaman, green, chu chee, and yellow paste was a walk in the park.

After each cooking session, we would take our dishes to the restaurant area and dine there with the group. The whole class lasted about 4 hours and at the conclusion we were dropped off back to our hotels by Toey himself, which was one of the most entertaining rides. The man should be acting on Broadway, the entertainment value is a bonus to the cooking knowledge he teaches during the class.

I would definitely recommend attending his class as a must do event in Koh Lanta. I give this cooking class a 5 out of 5. You get good value for the overall experience.