Vientiane is not the prettiest of cities, and it may feel like there is nothing to draw you here except as an unfortunate stop on the way to a more exciting destination, but for gastronomically inspired travelers, it is the best place to sample the fineries of Lao cuisine.
A Gastronomic Gamble
Like all of South East Asia, rice is the staple of any meal, but Laos offers up a variation on a theme: sticky rice. 85% of all rice grown in Lao is this variety, and it is served up to accompany most dishes. The rice itself is, as the name implies, sticky, and the correct way to eat it is to roll it into small balls and dip it into a selection of dishes.
It is perhaps because of this tradition of dipping sticky rice in multiple dishes, that the culture of eating in Laos is that of a communal experience. A group of diners will either sit on a reed mat on the floor (common if you are fortunate enough to find yourself invited into someone’s home), or around a table, laden with a variety of dishes. People eat with their hands, sharing rice from bamboo baskets. Traditionally diners will even share the glass that they drink from, usually full of BeerLao, passing it round the table until everyone has had their fill.
Local Laap
The most common dish, almost synonymous with Lao cuisine, is Laap, a spicy salad made of minced meat, usually chicken, pork or beef, mixed with a selection of fragrant herbs and spices. In rural areas, the dish may be served raw, but in cities the recipe has been adapted to Western tastes and weak constitutions. The overpowering flavors are fresh lemongrass, lime, mint and hot, hot, chilies, and the result is delicious, especially when scooped up with a handful of rice and washed down with Lao Lao, the fiery rice wine consumed liberally in Laos.
Another classic is Gai Ping, or grilled chicken, which can be found on almost every street corner, and all along the banks of the Mekong. You can purchase a quarter chicken, just the breast, or, if you are feeling adventurous, a whole chicken, complete with head and feet (both are considered a delicacy here). Typically the meat will be seasoned with garlic, coriander, galangal root and lemongrass, before being heated at a low temperature. The end result is slightly drier than most Westerners will be used to, but when dipped into the accompanying hot sauce it becomes moist and the rich array of flavors are brought to life on your palette.
Adventurous eating
Of course, there is another side to Lao food. A side no doubt caused by the poverty and food shortages that the country suffers from. Lao people will eat, literally, anything. No part of an animal goes wasted; no road kill goes un-grilled; there is not limit to either the cruelty or the grossness of what the animals here endure in the name of nutrition.
Intestines are a good example. If you’re lucky, you simply end up with some intestines pretending to be noodles in your soup, which you can gently pick around. Sometimes you catch a glimpse of the whole large intestine of some poor beast, uncooked, and sometimes uncleaned, for sale in the market. Do not mistake it for sausage and try to eat it. That would be wrong.
The next level of disgustingness is reserved for the live wasp larvae. Photos do not do justice to how gut wrenchingly wrong it is. They pulse. They writhe. They make an odd sucking and squelchy noise. They hatch and little wasps come out. The men here apparently eat them as a natural Viagra and often stuff them inside whiskey to create a vitality drink.
And if that doesn’t quench your thirst for food oddities, the extremely brave can opt for another popular snack; steamed duck eggs. Doesn’t sound too bad? It isn’t, until you get to the steamed fetus in the egg yolk. If you can feel feathers tickling the back of your throat you know you got a good one!
Gourmet Lao
If you want to go local and try the very best that Lao cuisine has to offer, there is only one restaurant worth considering: Lao Garden, situated just two kilometers outside of the city on Tha Deua Road.
The restaurant is gloriously, and obliviously, kitsch: in the middle of the restaurant sits a water fountain, replete with cherubs, while a giant carving of Ganesh watches over patrons from the bar. Attractive BeerLao girls move with grace between candle lit tables to top up beers while a local cover band belts out a mix of Thai, Lao and Western pop music (which, on some of our many visits have included James Blunt, Ronan Keating and Westlife songs – but don’t let that put you off).
The crowds of local people that form here, particularly on the weekends, is testament to just how good the food here is – if you are looking for Lao food at its most refined, this is the place to come.
Culinary Exploration
These are just a handful of the meals available in Vientiane – the real joy comes from taking your time and finding your own favorites. Most are discovered by stumbling across them or by word of mouth, rather than by following the advice of guidebooks.
The best advice is to be adventurous. Hire a bike, or hop in a tuk tuk, and escape the center of town, look for where the locals eat and ask for some of what they’re having. The worst case scenario is that you throw away a few dollars on some inedible body parts (duck head is very popular), but you might just find a tasty treat, and you are definitely likely to have an experience you will never forget.
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