If you were asked to associate a country with food and beverage, what would you associate Laos with? For me it has got to be Lao Coffee, baguette and pho!
Like any other country in SEA, there are plenty of cafes and restaurants in Vientiane that offers a wide variety of cuisine. From Laotian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Western, Italian, French to Middle Eastern. Side walk cafes with free Wi-Fi has also mushroomed to cope with the increasing numbers of travelers to the city.
If you are a coffee lover like myself, you would agree that Lao coffee (aka Pakxong coffee) is the best in the world! Taken either hot/cold, 1st first sip ignites all your senses, 2nd ignites all the ‘happy cells’ in your body and 3rd sip sends you to heaven and back… Yes, pathway to heaven in that particular order and can happen 3-4 times a day with every consumption of Lao coffee.
Lao Coffee with lotsa condensed milk. Yums! Price varies from 5000kip to 10,000kip. Click to check out coffee workshop in Pakxong
There are plenty of cafe in Vientiane, Joma Bakery Café being the most talk-about in Lonely Planet guidebook. Tried their Latte and it didn’t tickle my fancy. (sorry!)
I would however highly recommend True Coffee (originated from Thailand). They are so creative with their coffee menu! I tried Peppermint Peddy Latte and it was just….marvelous. Baristas were friendly and the ambiance felt like Starbucks (which is a plus!). Only draw back is that it doesn’t come with free internet. *shrugs*
True Coffee Cafe
Another good place that serve tons of cakes, huge coffee menu would be Sabaidee Coffee at the river front. Best of all, they provide fast speed Wi-Fi and its definitely a good place to hang out during those lazy afternoons.
I am not a foodie and I definitely don’t have a must-eat food list when I travel. I am also not very fond of eating meat at food stalls when I travel because it taste funny and I have a weak stomach. Therefore, if I can, I would rather go for vegetarian.
One of the cheap eats in Vientiane (and Indochina) is Vietnamese-type noodle soup also known as Pho. There are plenty of noodle stalls by the road side and its easy to spot. But the best Pho in Vientiane has to be the local eatery opposite of Champa Spa behind Nam Phu fountain.(Remember to go easy on the chilly flakes, its crazy potent!)
Vietnamese-type noodle soup, cheap eats in Vientiane. Price range from 10,000kip to 15,000kip
A common sight at cafe/street stalls. Add chili flakes, fish oil, soy sauce, sugar to your heart’s delight
Baguette is another once of my favorite cheap eats in Laos. My love affair with the Lao baguette happened 4 years ago when I first visited Vientiane. One fine night while I was walking alone hunting for food, I came across a small sandwich shop at Rue Samsenthai (near the Nam Phu fountain) and fell head over heals in love with the toasted baguette topped with pickled carrots, daikon radishes, cucumber, cilantro, Chinese celery and pate au foie du porc (I presume this is pork) to tuna, egg, marmalade, vegetarian and cheese (La vach qui rit).
Lao baguette. Prices range from 18,000kip for a full baguette and 9000kip for a half baguette. The shop also serves the best Lao coffee from only 5000kip.
So there you you go, my love affair with Lao coffee, baguette and pho in Vientiane, Laos.
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