Last day in Ubud

On our last day in Ubud Haruko wanted to do a cooking school. We decided we'd do the morning class run by Cafe Wayan - on the basis that we'd both loved the outdoor setting for the class and the fact that the dishes were all based on ingredients grown in the garden surrounding the open air kitchen. And only 6 people in the class!

Just look at these beautiful ingredients!

Our chef/teacher first explained to us all about the ingredients...

 ..... and guided us around the garden. I was amazed at this healthy looking vanilla plant - with clusters of vanilla pods just about to burst forth .......

 First job was to blend together the spices ......

 The chicken for the salad dish had to be slow grilled over coconut coals - wish I had an outdoor kitchen like this for grilling!

I julienned the carrots, Haruko shaved the cabbage for the salad. It would take HOURS to prepare this beautiful food on your own .......

 Haruko and I did a great job stir frying the Nasi Goreng. It tasted wonderful too!

 What a team in the kitchen!

We made a chicken salad, Nasi Goreng, a chicken curry and a prawn curry. We also made a black rice pudding for dessert too - all absolutely delicious and shared by the 6 participants at the end of the class.... a lot of food for 6 people!

 We were all amused by this little gecko who made its way into the steamed rice bowl for a grain of rice appetiser. Luckily we had already eaten our share.

 The garden settings for the dining pavilions at Cafe Wayan are remarkably beautiful - and quite inspiring. This was definitely the best cooking class I've ever done in Ubud. Thank you Haruko for inspiring us to do it.

We had time for a bit of shopping before Haruko had to leave for the airport at 4.00pm - after such a quick visit but such a special time to share together in Ubud. We loved our time with her.

Knowing our time in Ubud was also coming to an end Rob and I made a decision to buy a very special piece of textile we'd been thinking about for a bit - hand made in the Ubud area: batik, dyed in natural indigo and other vegetable dyes and then hand stitched. It's quite big: 2.4 metres long and 1.4 wide, a work we found in one of Ubud's most beautiful galleries near the sacred Monkey Forest.(Ikat Batik - Indigo House). It's coming home with us!

 We finished off our lovely 10 days in Ubud with a sunset drink and a meal at Cinta Grill. However we almost came to grief after this interlude when we left our new textile purchase behind at the nearby gelato bar!!!!!!!!

Unbelievably, our parcel was picked up by one of the locals and carefully stored at the adjacent restaurant. We were so unbelievably lucky to get it back eventually when we realised what we'd done (an hour later!!!!). The local people could not have been more helpful to us in our panic - They are such lovely people(and so honest). 

And all's well that ends well!