Luang Prabang Restaurants

This is a really small local hangout tucked away next to the old bridge in Luang Prabang. Run by a young couple (Loulou and Vanphaeng) its a great place to meet the locals and have some great food. No menu, no restaurant name sign but easy to find next to the river. Just ask for whats good on the night (usually duck or pork etc) and of course the ice cold Beer Lao!

Favorite Dish: BBQ Duck is a must try! Not sure what they marinate it in before grilling it but its wonderful. The pork is great as well. Ask for vegetables and sticky rice as a side dish.

While at the night handicraft market you may come across an alleyway on the Mekhong side that is lined with many stalls where you can eat. Halfway down on the right hand-side there are 2 vegetarian stalls with perhaps a selection of 20 different foods to choose from. Grab a plate and load it up with the selections you choose, this will cost 10,000 kip and will be well worth it.

Try taking your breakfast at one of the restaurants by the Mekhong where you can idle over your meal and watch the activities on the river. Many boats will be jamming the tourists in for trips upriver and other will be crossing to the other side. There are many restaurants at the side of the river, we tried a few, they were all reasonably priced and the food was fine

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When strolling around the night market you will come across a few hawkers selling baguettes stuffed with ham, cheese, veg, eggs, tuna or just about anything you desire. These are probably the best baguettes in the whole of Laos, and very filling too!! Also purchase a fresh fruit shake from some of the other stands, the fruit is already cut up and placed in plastic cups so you can have the shake of your choice. Recommend the dragon fruit shake. Baguettes start at around 10,000 and shakes are 5,000

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After a long day of tromping around Luang Prabang, I was ready to settle in for the night. At the last minute, I decided to check my email and headed to the lobby. I met one of the hotels owners who struck up a conversation with me. The conversation gravitated toward restaurants and dining in general. She suggested I try a place called Arisai who is operated by a friend of theirs. I decided to get my shoes on and headed toward town. It was one of the better travel decisions I've made and was I trilled with the selection! Their menu items change daily and young prospective chef's are brought in from all corners of Laos to train. The head Chef Sommay Inthavong is originally from Thailand but has trained all over France and America. He led me over to the giant picture window viewing the kitchen and preparation. What a show!

Favorite Dish: I decided to dine away from the crowd down stairs since I can't bare to be around smoking. I was alone but oh so near to the wine cabinet with a view of the empty school yard and hills over the Mekong. I ordered a salad with spring rolls to start and a Moroccan style main course of couscous and sausage served with lightly braised vegetables. Their wine selection is fantastic and so are their deserts! They scored a Conde Nast Travelers US Editor's 2009 #1 pick.

Whilst all the Lao standards are on offer here, along with a few concessions to Western palates, the speciality is the "Lao barbecue", very similar to a meal I had had in Thailand a few weeks before. As it was Xmas Day the first time I visited, I thought I would treat myself to a barbecue, although treat is hardly the right word, as my meal cost just over £2 (about $3 US). For those of you not familiar with the concept of the Southeast Asian barbecue, allow me to explain.

A metal brazier affair surrounded by a reservoir is put over a bucket of burning charcoal set in your table and you basically make a soup of barbecued meats, veg and glass noodles yourself, although I defy any one human being to eat the amount of food offered. You are served raw shrimp, squid, chicken, pork and beef accompanied by tomato, about three kinds of wild mushroom, the local watercress, pak choi, some sort of a flowering plant and Heaven knows what else. You barbecue the meats and seafood on the top of the brazier.

The photo gives some idea I hope.

The idea then is to fill the reservoir from the "soup" which is really stock and add the noodles and vegetables to cook. You then season the whole affair with tamarind sauce and chopped garlic and transfer to your bowl. It was delicious and a suitable repast for the Christmas meal. I was on the point of asking the waiter to send my compliments to the chef, then I remembered it was me and it might have seemed conceited.

The service was attentive and very friendly so, as it was Christmas, I had a couple of cocktails although I rarely drink spirits. The lychee martini was particularly good.

There are many barbecue places in Luang Prabang but this one is highly recommended.

Favorite Dish: The "Set 1" barvecue as detailed above.

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There is one lane, a small side alley around Wat Xieng Tong, where all the houses produce rice cakes, actualy the main ingredience is the Kassawa root. Hundreds of bamboo sheets hang there covered all over with fresh rice cakes to dry in the sun. And the houses there sell it like a factory outlet ;-) Cant get it any fresher I would say.

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Cai Pen: This really is a Lao specialty - not since his Hong Kong food hunter showed it on tv and brought it to the famous 5-star restaurants and hotels over this planet: the Mekong river weed/grass refined with chili, garlic and sesame.
Especially tasty when integrated into all kinds of meals like the Green Elephant offers - yummi!