Cook in Bali
The morning market cooking class in Ubud, step by step
Book the 8:30am market class
IDR 350.000per guest, shared class
What happens in the 8:30am Balinese cooking class in Petulu, Ubud: the morning market, a rice-field walk, two hours at the stove, and lunch by 12:30pm.
By Chef Wayan Suryana, Warung Tumang BaliLast updated
The short answer
The morning class at Warung Tumang Bali runs 8:30am to about 12:30pm: about 45 minutes at the Ubud morning market, a 30-minute rice-field walk in Petulu, a welcome drink, about two hours of hands-on cooking with Chef Wayan (base genep on the stone mortar, then 10+ dishes such as sambal matah, sate lilit, and dadar gulung), and lunch together. Pickup is free in the main Ubud area.
The morning, hour by hour
8:30am to about 12:30pm. Times are approximate; the kitchen confirms your pickup time on WhatsApp.
Before 8:30am
1. Pickup
Free from a hotel or villa in the main Ubud area. From south Bali, an optional private shuttle is IDR 650.000 per booking, or come with your own driver and meet us on site. The kitchen confirms the pickup time on WhatsApp.
About 8:30am
2. Ubud morning market
About 45 minutes among the stalls with a guide: galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, chilies, palm sugar, tofu, tempeh, and banana leaves. You learn what each ingredient does before you cook with it. The market is in the morning session only.
About 9:15am
3. Rice-field walk in Petulu
About 30 minutes on the paths into Banjar Laplapan, past working rice fields and the morning offerings on the lanes.
About 9:45am
4. Welcome drink at the kitchen
Warung Tumang Bali is an open kitchen with a view over the rice terraces. Chef Wayan Suryana sets out the spice table and explains the day.
About 10am
5. Cook with Chef Wayan
About two hours, hands on, in English. You grind base genep on the stone mortar, then cook 10+ dishes such as sambal matah, sate lilit, and dadar gulung for dessert. Shared days stop at eight guests, so everyone gets a turn.
About 12pm
6. Lunch: eat what you cooked
Everyone sits down to the meal together. You take home a printed recipe booklet.
About 12:30pm
7. Drop-off
Back to your hotel or villa, or on to the rest of the day. The afternoon is free.
Why the class starts at the market
Balinese cooking starts with fresh roots and leaves, so the morning class starts where they are sold. At the Ubud morning market you see galangal, turmeric, kencur, lemongrass, chilies, and palm sugar before they go into the spice paste, and you learn to tell them apart. That makes the recipes easier to follow at home.
The market visit is in the morning session only. The 2:30pm afternoon class skips it, walks the rice fields, and ends in dinner instead of lunch.
The walk into Petulu
From the market the group heads to Petulu and walks about 30 minutes through the rice fields of Banjar Laplapan to the kitchen. It is a flat village walk, not a hike. You pass small flower offerings on the paths; step around them.
Two hours at the stove
Warung Tumang Bali is an open kitchen with a view over the rice terraces, and the class starts with a welcome drink. Then you cook; it is not a demonstration. Everyone takes a turn grinding base genep, the spice paste behind most Balinese dishes, on a stone mortar.
From that paste the group cooks 10+ dishes through the morning, such as sambal matah, sate lilit pressed onto lemongrass, and dadar gulung, the green pandan crepes, for dessert. Chef Wayan Suryana teaches in English, and shared days stop at eight guests.
Lunch, and what you take home
At about noon everyone sits down to eat what they cooked. You leave with a printed recipe booklet, and drop-off is about 12:30pm, so the afternoon is free. Vegetarian or vegan guests cook at the same stove; shrimp paste comes out of the grind.
What to bring
Comfortable shoes for the market and the walk, a hat, and sunscreen. In the wet season, add a light rain jacket; the cooking is under a roof. Tell the kitchen about allergies when you book.
Getting there
Pickup is free from hotels and villas in the main Ubud area, and the kitchen is about 10 minutes from central Ubud. Staying in Seminyak, Sanur, or Uluwatu? An optional private shuttle is IDR 650.000 per booking, or come with your own driver and meet us on site for free.
Questions before you book
- What time does the morning cooking class start and finish?
- It runs from 8:30am to about 12:30pm. Pickup is before 8:30am, and the kitchen confirms the exact time on WhatsApp.
- How long is the market visit?
- About 45 minutes at the Ubud morning market with a guide. The market is in the morning session only.
- What do you cook in the morning class?
- You grind base genep on a stone mortar, then cook 10+ dishes such as sambal matah, sate lilit, and dadar gulung, and eat them for lunch.
- Is the morning class suitable for vegetarians?
- Yes. Vegetarian or vegan guests cook at the same stove, with shrimp paste left out of the spice paste. Say so when you book.
More on cooking in Bali
- Balinese dishes worth learning by handWhich Balinese dishes to learn in a Bali cooking class: base genep, sate lilit, sambal matah, pepes, and dadar gulung by hand; betutu and tipat at home.
- Cooking with a Balinese stone mortarHow to use a cobek and ulekan, the Indonesian stone mortar: grind hard to soft, roll instead of pound, add salt for grip. Why Balinese cooks grind by hand.
- Learn to make dadar gulung in BaliLearn to make dadar gulung in Bali: swirl the pandan crepes thin, cook the coconut in palm sugar, and roll them yourself in a Petulu kitchen near Ubud.
The recipes, written down
- Base genepHow to make base genep (bumbu Bali): pound shallot, garlic, roots, and candlenut, then fry 8–10 minutes until the raw smell is gone. From a Petulu kitchen.
- Sambal matahHow to make sambal matah: paper-thin shallot, chili, lemongrass, and lime leaf, dressed with hot coconut oil. Same-day raw sambal from Petulu, Ubud 80571.
- Sate lilitHow to make sate lilit: mix fish or chicken with fried base genep and coconut, wrap it around lemongrass, and grill. Twelve skewers from a Petulu kitchen.
Plan the day around it
- The Ubud morning market, before the heatWhen to walk a working Ubud morning market: just after dawn, chili and coconut still piled, then leave. How the Petulu class uses those stalls, not souvenirs.
- Morning session or afternoon sessionChoose the 8:30am Petulu morning (market, rice walk, cooking, lunch) or the 2:30pm afternoon (rice walk, cooking, dinner). Same kitchen, pickup, and group size.
- A half-day food itinerary from central UbudA half-day Ubud food plan: dawn market, Petulu rice-field walk, kitchen lunch by 12:30pm. One village kitchen in Bali 80571, not a 48-hour restaurant list.
Where the kitchen is
Chef Wayan Suryana at Warung Tumang Bali, Banjar Laplapan, Petulu, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali 80571. The kitchen is about 10 minutes from central Ubud, depending on traffic. Pin -8.4945671, 115.2812928.