Experience the best of
Surabaya with Withlocals

"I had such an amazing time cooking with Vonny. She taught me not only traditional cooking techniques, but the process and reasoning behind them all. I can't wait till I can return home and make it there! Highly recommend :)"

"The beginning of our trip in Ubud and Gili was far from satisfying, added to that our Ijen trip cancellation due to seismic activity, thank God for these happenstances we stumbled upon the most talented Vonny, with her deep knowledge of Surabayan culture, cuisine and history we had a beautiful time discussing Javanese food, language and the past in the Pasar where she took us grocery shopping while sipping Kopi Tubruk, followed by cooking with the most polite and nicest Warung friends - the Warung chef and his olek-olek grinding skills put food processors to shame. Our tummies were full of delicious food and hearts full of joy, promising to visit her again very soon on our next Indonesia trip. "

"This was our second day with Vonny, and we had an awesome time once more. We started off with a visit to a central market to buy some ingredients before heading off to start cooking. Our two menu items were lemper with chicken, and es cendol. This is a participation exercise, and we were quickly put to work on the ingredients - it was great fun to learn about the different ways of preparing them. The food assembled, we were pleased with the outcome - very tasty! We met some of Vonny's family too, including her nephew - the coffee maestro - who demonstrated some different ways to prepare a brew. Again, Vonny was very generous with her time, and it was a pleasure to spend the class with her. The follow up with photos and recipes of what we made was much appreciated. We cannot recommend her highly enough."

"We loved our time with Vonny and her family. We got to experience a market, somewhere we would probably never have gone otherwise. We then cooked together at Vonny’s house with her family. Vonny’s family was lovely and we felt so welcome. We even got to cook a special meal because it was our honeymoon. I would highly recommend this experience, especially if you’re in to cooking and spending time with local people. We will actually be able to make the meal back in England :)"

" I did a cooking lesson with Vonnie and it was a wonderful day. We started by going to a local market to buy the ingredients and that was an amazing experience on its own. The variety of vegetables, fruits, spices and other foods was overwhelming. Vonnie’s regular kitchen was unavailable so we did the cooking at her brother’s home which made the day very special. We worked with her sister in law to create a great Gado Gado which was delicious. We made the peanut sauce from scratch which helped me to understand the many tastes and how they are achieved. The added enjoyment I had meeting her Brother’s family was a great bonus and that was the highlight of my entire trip to Indonesia. We finished the day with a bonus visit to the birthplace of President Sukarno and to a shop to get some great snacks. In all it was a great day, Vonnie was a wonderful host and I would recommend it wholeheartedly. "

"We had a wonderful day with Vonny and her family! We started at the pasar where we bought all the ingredients for our recipes. We were amazed by Vonny’s flexibility when we asked where we could buy something specifically and she brought us to the right toko in a heartbeat and advised us. Vonny and her family are masters in hospitality. We felt at home and so welcome during the cooking class in her aunties home. We learned a lot and would totally recommend to let Vonny be your guide"

"It was a pleasure to spend two days with Vonny and her husband. The cooking class provided us with the ultimate local experience- we took away not only culinary skills but also got to learn about Surabayan culture from the perspectives of people who live and love this place. The walking tour was equally enjoyable with Vonny walking us through Surabayan streets past and present. For the experience and the warmth I felt throughout the activities, I highly recommend Vonny."