Commune Kitchen Cooking Class: Peranakan Lunch From S$135

Commune Kitchen, at 182 Cecil Street, #02-09/10/11, Singapore 069547, is a hands-on cooking school and rental kitchen on the second floor of Frasers Tower, a short walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT. Its public classes run on Saturday mornings, last three to three and a half hours, and end with lunch made from what you cooked. The dumpling class is S$185 per person, the Peranakan and Thai classes start from S$135, and every menu on the current calendar has a gluten-free option, which is rare among Singapore cooking schools.

Commune Kitchen was set up by two co-founders: Cecilia Lau, the CEO, whose background is in holistic wellness and food education, and Nicke Wong, the COO and a chef and F&B consultant who describes his cooking as plant-forward. Two resident trainers, Cindy Low Mui Ling and David Ang, teach alongside them. That plant-forward leaning shows in the menus. Several dishes on the current timetable use mushrooms, tempeh or vegetables where a classic recipe would use meat, without turning the classes into vegan-only sessions.

The Peranakan Cooking Class on Saturday 14 November 2026 runs from 10 am to 1.30 pm and is the one to choose if you want to understand Singapore's own food. The class description explains that Peranakan, or Straits Chinese, cooking mixes Chinese, Malay, Indian, Thai, Portuguese, Dutch and British influences, built on rempah spice pastes, tamarind and coconut milk. The menu is nyonya achar, a sweet, sour and crunchy pickled vegetable relish; long beans stir-fried with tempeh; a mushroom rendang; and kueh dadar, pandan crêpes rolled around grated coconut cooked in gula Melaka.

The Thai Street Food Cooking Class on 21 November runs from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm and works through pad Thai, tom yum, green curry, green papaya salad and mango sticky rice, which is a full meal from soup to dessert. The Traditional Chinese Dumpling Masterclass on 7 November, also 10.30 am to 1.30 pm, starts from homemade dumpling pastry and two fillings, sweet potato with zucchini and water chestnut, and cabbage with bean curd and mushroom, finished with a homemade chilli oil. Lunch on that day is the dumplings you fold.

The dumpling class costs S$185 per person, while the Peranakan and Thai classes are listed from S$135, and the lunch is included. The Thai and Peranakan prices are starting prices, so check the option you pick before you pay. Full payment is taken when you book. There are no extra charges listed for ingredients or equipment. Commune Kitchen also sells private classes and team-building sessions, such as a Mystery Box Challenge, chocolate-making and a pizza and pasta party, but those are booked separately for groups rather than as individual seats.

Every public class on the current calendar offers a gluten-free option, and the Peranakan, Thai and dumpling classes also have halal options. The dumpling class has a vegetarian option as well. Mention your preference when you sign up, because the school says last-minute requests may not be accommodated. Be clear about what the gluten-free option means: Commune Kitchen is not a gluten-free kitchen. It takes precautions against cross-contamination from utensils and flour in the air, and if you are coeliac or very sensitive, tell the school and it will do a thorough clean before your class.

For public classes, cancellations made at least 48 hours before the class may be rescheduled or refunded, subject to administrative fees. No-shows and cancellations inside 48 hours are not refunded. The kitchen is a shared commercial space where nuts, dairy, gluten and seafood are all present, so anyone with a severe allergy joins at their own discretion. The school can refuse entry to anyone whose behaviour is unsafe or disruptive. Classes are fully hands-on, so expect to stand, chop and cook rather than watch a demonstration.

The school pitches its classes widely: couples looking for a date, colleagues on a team outing, children and teens, and domestic helpers who want to build their cooking skills. That last group has its own programme. A 6-week Helpers' Culinary Program runs on Tuesdays from 27 October to 1 December, 10 am to 1.30 pm, and this round is fully vegetarian, covering meal planning and meat alternatives as well as cooking. For a visitor, the Saturday classes are the ones to book, since they fit around a weekend and finish in time for an afternoon out.

Come hungry, because lunch is the meal you cook and there is a lot of it. Take notes on the spice pastes and sauces rather than the quantities, which you can look up later. If you are coming as a pair, book both seats in one go, since places are limited and the school says classes are expected to sell out. The dumpling class is the easiest for complete beginners, while the Peranakan menu has the most new techniques, especially the kueh dadar, which needs a steady hand with the crêpe pan.

Frasers Tower is on the edge of the CBD, so there is a lot within ten minutes on foot. Lau Pa Sat, the Victorian cast-iron hawker centre on Raffles Quay, is the obvious next stop if you want to compare your cooking with the city's. Walk north along Telok Ayer Street to Thian Hock Keng, one of Singapore's oldest Hokkien temples, and the shophouse lanes behind it on Club Street and Ann Siang Hill, where the afternoon cafés and bars are. Tanjong Pagar Road itself, lined with restored shophouses, is the quickest way back to the MRT.

Commune Kitchen, 182 Cecil Street, #02-09/10/11, Frasers Tower, Singapore 069547. Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar. Public classes on Saturdays: dumplings on 7 November, Peranakan on 14 November and Thai street food on 21 November 2026. Dumplings S$185; Peranakan and Thai from S$135 per person, lunch included, paid in full at booking. Gluten-free and halal options with notice. Cancel at least 48 hours ahead for a reschedule or refund, less fees.