Lao Kitchen – Best Neo-Lao Cuisine

 
I’ve been to a bunch of restaurants here in Vientiane. Thankfully, low food costs let me to go a lot. It’s a great change from Moscow where dinner for one person could be $40 (minimum, no drinks!) at a casual dining restaurant.

Unfortunately none of these great restaurants are near my house or the embassy , but I’m still looking.
My embassy's Community Liaison Office let me know about a new restaurant opening in Vientiane: Lao Kitchen. This restaurant is within walking distance of the Embassy (for me anyway..) and serves up some of the best Lao food I have eaten in a modern, clean, and inviting atmosphere. I’m going to contact the owner about getting a copy of her menu for posting. Wish me luck!!
On one of my days off I went to see what it was all about.

First thing to come out was the Sinsavanh I ordered. Sinsavanh literally means meat of the heavens. It is very similar to beef jerky found in the west but often cooked in oil here and definitely more spicy.  It’s also pretty sweet and tangy. It is traditionally served with Jeow Som (Sour Sauce) but I have had it served with Jeow Bong (Savory sauce made from roasted skin of buffalos) My article on the sauces is coming soon..


My main course was Yam Ngua (Beef salad, lit.) Yam Ngua is one of my favorite recipes!! My love for minimalism and utilization can be seen all throughout this dish. The main features to me are the beef, mint, lemongrass and fish sauce. There are other ingredients but that will be in a later post. This dish surprises me in that it takes a tiny amount of beef and makes it into an entire dish full of flavor and yum. I think in my serving there was maybe 3”x1” of steak! Anytime you cook some steak or even have leftovers (especially?) you can use your leftovers to make huge amounts of this salad.
All of the staff were very friendly. I’m not sure if they speak English, as every time I went I spoke Lao with them. Their owner does speak English very well (I think she is married t0 a Westerner) but it’s impossible to know when she will be there. If you see a VERY tall Lao woman named Noy (lol) then you’ve found the right person Lao Kitchen is located just to the right of the Cultural Hall (when facing)


I'm still trying to figure out the best way to show location. Please let me know what you think or if you know of other ways to show location.
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