Lao Food in Vientiane

I enjoyed trying most of them on my 9-day visit there, from local Lao hawker food to Lao restaurant food; it was quite an experience.

The first dish I had on reaching my guesthouse hotel was the Chicken Laap. And I swear this was the best Laap I have ever tasted, considering Thailand also has a similar dish.

Lao deep-fried spring rolls.

Next on the menu were some mini Lao deep-fried spring rolls. Like the Vietnamese spring rolls, these were much tastier, and the sweet chilli sauce that came with it was less sweet than the ones you usually have. So, a thumbs up to me for the Lao Spring Rolls.

Rice Noodle Lao style

A typical Lao rice noodle with chicken and vegetable dish was also quite tasty as the herbs used here differed from the usual Chinese noodle dishes.

Overall, the food there was above average at the hotel guesthouse, considering one of the owners also runs a cooking school there.

Lao menu with 2 languages. Typos too.

Lao Food at Talat Sao Shopping Mall

To avoid confusion, there is also a food court located inside the Talat Sao Shopping Center. This restaurant faces the road.

Lao Papaya Salad (Tam Som)

The menu was in 2 languages, Lao and also English. However, one of the items on the menu was pretty amusing.

Lao Fried Rice

Lao Fried Rice

I also ordered Lao fried rice to be safe, and to my surprise, it was pretty nice. It was neither wet nor sweet, and many vegetables were chucked inside. It tasted quite alright.

Lao marinated deep-fried beef.

Deep-Fried Lao Beef

We also ordered the deep-fried Lao beef, which the local waiter recommended. The marination with local herbs was well done, and the final cooking resulted in a lovely texture that was a little crunchy outside. This was one of my favourites.

Lao fried flat noodles served with banana flowers.

Inside the Talat Sao Food Court, I got a little greedy and ordered a plate of fried flat noodles. They looked very impressive, and with the banana flower by the side, I could not wait to dig my chopsticks into this Lao noodle dish.

Sadly, to my disappointment, this was totally off my taste. It was different from the usual Chinese noodles, and I didn’t know how to eat that piece of banana flower. I ended up sampling this noodle and gave it a miss.

Location of this restaurant:
The ground floor of the shopping mall is at the Post Office Entrance.
Talat Sao Shopping Mall, Vientiane

A full meal for two people.

JoMa Bakery Vientiane

One of Laos’s more popular modern bakery-cafes, the JoMa Bakery, is where you can have a good, hearty breakfast and hang out with foreigners and expatriates in Vientiane.

Another outlet is located at Nongchanh Water Park, as there is more parking and the place is less busy.

You can take advantage of the place near the central fountain in the town area where all the cafes and restaurants are. JoMa is also an acronym for the 2 couples that started this place in 2004.

JoMa Bakery Addresses

Khop Chai Deu Restaurant and Bar (*image taken from KhopChaiDeu website).

Khop Chai Deu is the most popular place in Vientiane. Trust me, every day I passed it, it was packed with people. This was the Hard Rock of Vientiane for locals, foreigners, travellers, and backpackers.

No kidding, the crowds just kept pouring in, and eventually, I had to check out the place to see what was so special about this restaurant and bar.

Western Burger at Khop Chai Deu Restaurant and Bar.

We went for dinner at the Khop Chai Deu Restaurant and were greeted by some lovely Lao workers at the main entrance.

They even had a plate of fried bugs on the menu, but I gave that a pass. I stayed safe by ordering the burger and a good cold Lao Beer.

Yellow Lao Chicken Curry.

Walking around Thanon Fa Ngum Street in Vientiane would pull some surprises when eating at the local coffee shops. The main street is famous for where most tourists and travellers wander daily or at night.

They have outdoor tables where you can sit and watch people, so we decided to sit there. The menu was easy, with many local Lao and Western dishes available.

Fresh Lao Spring Rolls.

Lao Spring Rolls

Obviously, we went straight for the Lao food. I will start with some raw Lao spring rolls, similar to Vietnamese spring rolls. They tasted nice, too, and the sauce was quite tasty.

Papaya Salad, which is spicy.

Lao Papaya Salad

The next was the famed Lao Papaya Salad. I found it too spicy for my tongue, but my partner Lilian loved it. It was simple and effective, as the kickback from the chilli did get to you.

Local Lao food is available at most coffee shops.

We then had the Lao Chicken Yellow Curry with sticky rice. This was done superbly, as the taste of the yellow curry was really authentic. The flavours were simply incredible, and it was not spicy.

However, I still had not gotten used to eating sticky rice, so I had to complement the curry and order plain white rice.

Other Places To Eat in Vientiane, Laos

So, if you are exploring Vientiane, remember to check out the local eateries at Thanon Fa Ngum Street, along the Mekong River. This place is hard to miss.

One thing that stood out like a sore thumb was the local Lao coffee. Although it looks like a plain cuppa, when you actually drink it, it is mighty. Laos is well known for its coffee, and this clearly shows.

In fact, they usually serve coffee with condensed milk, and I can never forget how strong the Lao local coffee is. I only drink local Malaysian coffee today, which is different from this. If you are a coffee lover, you must try the Lao coffee in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.

Lao Baguette.

Baguettes are a common sight in Laos, so trying one was also on top of my list. After tasting one from a local coffee shop, I discovered they tasted so good here. They were simple and basic, yet they tasted fantastic. Fresh herbs and greens must have been used here.

The bread is also very nice. If you are in Vientiane or Luang Prabang, do make it a point to try these Baguettes. Usually, there is roast chicken in them, and one whole baguette can fill you up for a few hours.

Khambang Lao Food Restaurant in Vientiane.

On one of those nights, while asking the locals where we could get some authentic Lao food, we were directed to Khambang Lao Food Restaurant.

Apparently, more locals dine here; it is on one of those roads with little traffic. So, even more, it looked really authentic. By the way, we walked here from the town centre.

Selection of local Lao dishes.

At the Khambang Lao Food Restaurant, the people working there did not speak or understand a word of English, so we were in for a good time here. Trying to communicate with them was hell, as the menu had some pictures in the Lao language.

We must have spent 30 minutes trying to figure out the dishes, and when we did, the food came out pretty fast.

We had the famous Lao Beef Jerky, which was a tad spicy and served with three types of vegetables. We also had a bowl of soup served with plain white rice and some sticky rice.

Bring someone local to help you if you plan to come here. The food was good, but I had yet to learn what we ordered besides the Lao Beef Jerky and rice.

Le Provencal Restaurant Menu.

Le Provencal Restaurant is one of the few French restaurants in Vientiane that serve one of the best French Cuisines in the town. Located next to the Scandinavian Bakery near the central town fountain, this place is easy to find.

Ratatouille in Laos.

We had a fantastic meal at the Le Provencal, and for starters, I ordered the Ratatouille, which was really good. Prices were in US dollars, so it was easy to convert, and they were, in fact, very cheap compared to back home in Malaysia.

Apparently, the Le Provencal is run by a local family that lived in France for many years before returning to Laos to set up this little cosy restaurant. The main chef, Mr Daniel, runs the French-style kitchen with a French hybrid pizza menu.

Ribeye Steak with Roquefort Cheese.

I ordered a ribeye with Roquefort cheese, fresh cream, and white wine for the main course. The steak was juicy and medium-well, the way I liked it. The sauce was perfect, and this was one of the nicest steaks I have had in a long time.

Le Provencal Restaurant – Dark Lao Beer.

Nothing completes your Lao cuisine with a good bottle of Lao Beer. This time around, I tried the Beer Lao Dark. It was good, considering Beer Lao was the only brewery in Laos.

La Provencal Restaurant
Address: 73 – 1 Pang Kham Rd., Vientiane
Phone: 021 219685

You can read more about my Laos travels and Luang Prabang in my other Laos Articles, as I have written quite a bit about this fantastic place.

Edit 2015: This is an old post; some restaurants or cafes may not be there, but overall, you know what to try when you are here.