Lao Restaurants – Page 3

Ban Lao Cuisine

September 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

**** Ban Lao Cuisine has closed

Ban Lao opened up a couple of months back. Located next to Que Huong, I believe this used to be a taco shop if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, the place sure took its sweet ol' time opening up. Since their opening I've visited about 6-7 times.

The interior is bright and clean….and nicely air-conditioned; a big plus over the last couple of months.

On one of my visits, I looked up…..and noticed that they'd built a little platform for their offerings and such. Interesting.

The menu is diverse; with all the usual suspects.

So of course on my first visit I ordered the Nem Khao ($8.95) and Lao Sausage.

The Nem Khao was decent; better than the version at Mekong Cuisine in my opinion. Though it was a bit more chewy than I enjoy; I could actually make out the hints of coconut in this, there was also a good amount of sour sausage as well. Strangely, the dish was served on the cold side and there were only two leaves of lettuce provided.

The Lao Sausage ($6.95) was decent, nicely charred.

The sausage had a nice chew, though it didn't quite have enough lemongrass and herb flavors. So in this case, I think Mekong Cuisines version is better. That jaew; the dipping sauce had a nice citrus kick to it.

I really liked the folks working here, they were mellow and friendly. So, I ended up coming back quite a few more times. Here's a rundown on some other dishes.

Kha Pao Thousand Year Old Eggs ($9.95).

This really had me wistfully thinking of Yai Cuisine, as the eggs weren't fried right, the batter had turned gummy and the eggs were rubbery and still slightly cold inside. Not enough basil to really give this umph.

Sour Sausage Fried Rice ($9.95).

The rice was a bit more "wet" than I prefer, but man; there was a ton of sour sausage in this. Nice flavors, though some of the chunks of sausage were on the large side and could have been chopped a bit better and more evenly incorporated into the fried rice. Not bad though.

I'm on the fence with regards to the Crying Tiger ($9.95).

At this price point I don't expect a really good cut of beef, but this was better than I expected; a bit toothsome, but not too bad. The beef, while still lacking in a good amount of seasoning (I'm looking for sweet-savory flavors), had a nice crust. And darn if this didn't go real well with a dip in the jaew and a ball of sticky rice.

Lao Style Papaya Salad ($7.95) was cut much too thick.

Man, this was pretty heady stuff; even more pungent than the version at Thai Papaya. It was bit too rustic for my tastes and wasn't very spicy (I ordered spicy). Strangely, I find the pungent flavors from whatever they use for Padek here in the states to be mainly pungent, sometimes almost bitter and lacking in the savory nuances like what we've had in Laos. Of course at the markets in Laos, there are many different versions on Padek available; at different stages of "fermentation". There was a good amount of preserved blue crab in this as well.

The Chicken Wings ($7.95) was another dish that came close.

The wings were nicely fried; though there was a good amount of blackening around the bone, the meat was tender, the skin fairly crisp. Seasoned "salt and pepper" style. I really didn't care for the bitter fried lemongrass that topped the wings.

The Beef Jerky ($7.95) though, was good.

The Sien Savanh, though not totally dried, which might have been a good thing, was pleasantly chewy, the flavors had permeated the meat nicely. This was delicious with sticky rice…and it didn't even need the jaew.

The Stir Fried Pak Bong with Garlic (Ong Choi/Water Spinach) looked over-cooked, but it was not.

Nice and crunchy; with the perfect amount of salty-savory notes and a light hint of sweetness.

By now, I thought it was time to just go for it. I went ahead and ordered the Beef Larb ($10.95). The really friendly woman working was shocked when I said "Lao style" and nodded yes, when she asked me if I wanted it "rare".

As you can see; by "rare" she basically meant raw. There was a good amount of nutty rice powder on this, though I wish it was more spicy. What really made this "Lao" for me was that it had no citrus, but a good amount of puckery-bitterness, which goes really well with the mint and other herbs. I'd learned of the importance of beef (water buffalo) bile in koy and larb during my cooking class in Luang Prabang. Though no one else in the class would even try the stuff, I found the flavor quite interesting. Here, I could have used a touch of citrus as well; I'll have that done the next time I have the dish. As for the bitterness? Well, I had a nice discussion with the woman working and was told they pick up fresh beef bile from a specific farmer once or twice a week.

In the end I enjoyed several dishes from Ban Lao and will gladly have them again. when the weather turns cooler, I'll try some of their soups as well. While it's not quite on the level of Vientiane in Garden Grove, it'll do in a pinch.

And sometimes, because I try not to do "just one visit", things turn out well for me.

Ban Lao Cuisine
4126 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Open Daily
11am – 930pm

Mekong Cuisine Lao and Thai

May 15, 2017 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

**** You can find updated posts here and here

I'm not sure why I waited so long to visit. I recall seeing the new sign back in March of last year. Perhaps it was because Sang Deuan really never satisfied my craving for Lao food, even though it was fairly close to work.

Recently, for some reason, I've been craving Lao and Thai food….especially Lao…man, has it already been 8 years since we visited Laos? For some reason, Laos, especially Luang Prabang really got to me.

So, I decided to finally visit Mekong on one recent, bright, sunny day.

To get a measure of if I should go more toward the Thai or Lao side of the menu; I asked the Server, a very nice woman, who told me the family (I believe she is one of the owners) who runs this restaurant is Lao.

So in looking over the menu, I noticed a couple of my favorite Lao dishes, which I ordered.

Of course, I started with some Nem Khao, which was a very large portion.

Good lord, this was a lot of food. In terms of flavor, it was not bad; there was a slight touch of coconut something that some Lao restaurants don't include in their Nam Khao, but my favorite version that I had in Vientiane had in spades. The amount of herbs in this was decent, though it was really fried too hard…..almost all fried, so it lacked that textural contrast that makes versions, like the one at Vientiane Thai Laos in Garden Grove enjoyable. The rice was way too hard and the pieces of sour sausage, while quite large, would have been better chopped smaller, thus spreading the flavor thru the whole dish.

Mok Pa, fish cooked in banana leaves is another of my favorite Lao dishes; I make a steamed version at home, though I learned to make it on a brazier (Tao-Lo) in Luang Prabang.

The flavoring of this was good, nice dill, kaffir lime leaf, perhaps a bit short in spice. The fish was very moist; but the quality of fish wasn't to my liking as the flavor was very muddy.

Still, this was a decent meal; in terms of flavor, it was pretty close. I also noticed that there were several tables of Lao as I left….they ordered Lao dishes….everyone else; Thai. That set the stage for my next visit.

I had noticed that two tables had ordered the Sai Ou (Sai Ua), the Lao style pork sausage that is usually full of herbs. So I made sure to order it.

And of course I got some sticky rice. Man, this sausage was very good. The casing had been browned nicely and was crisp; the porkiness was very distinct, I loved the lemongrass flavor in this. The tamarind based sauce isn't really needed, but it does add another dimension. I took the leftovers home and the Missus loved it and the well prepared stick rice as well. From this point on; I'd order this on every visit; sometimes also having an extra order to go as well.

Unfortunately, the Mok Nor Mai didn't fare as well.

This steamed bamboo shoot dish really lacked flavor, though it did have the gooiness of something that's made with yanang juice. The earthy flavor of the bamboo shoots really needed a bit of heat, shallots, fish sauce, lemongrass, or something else to bring things together.

Next visit; well more sausage of course……

And the Lao version of Papaya Salad, which is usually a lot spicier and more pungent due to using Padaek and fermented crab.

This was fine; we'd ordered a heat level 3 on a scale of 1 to 5, not taking any chances, and should have gone up a bit. Not too bad; a bit of fermented funkiness, for some reason the papaya didn't seem as crisp as I prefer; but I'd have this again. I think of Lao papaya salad as being more savory than refreshing and this was a tweener.

Finally, on my last visit….well sausage of course; but I was curious about the Nam Tok. This was basically the See Nam Tok that I've had a local Lao places.

Basically, seasoned, seared beef, served with a sauce. Years ago, Asia Cafe made a decent version of See Nam Tok. I expected the beef to be on the chewy side and it was; the beef didn't seem to be seasoned, as it usually would have some lime, salt, lemongrass, or the like. The dipping sauce was quite weak; though it wasn't bitter as I'd experienced the last time I had this dish. Though bitter wouldn't have been bad since I enjoyed the flavor it added. Still this, while being quite a generous portion was very mild for my taste….I probably just enjoy the Thai style Neua Nam Tok I make at home a bit more.

Still….there's that sausage and the really nice folks here. Plus, I still haven't ordered anything from other than the first two pages of the menu…perhaps when the weather cools down I'll have some Khao Piak…and maybe, just maybe, It'll take me back to that little hawker booth located at the end of the Fresh Market in Luang Prabang. A lofty goal for sure….but one can always hope.

Mekong Cuisine Lao and Thai
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Tues – Thur 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm

Midweek Meanderings: Banh Mi Bakery and Cafe Coming Soon, Boiling Passion Replaces Pho Paradise, and Mekong Cuisine Replace Sang Deuan

March 23, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

A new shop coming soon and two new places for hump day……

Banh Mi Bakery and Café:

For some reason, this strip mall on the corner of Clairemont Mesa and Ruffin Road always eludes my attention. But on this past weekend, a sign with "Banh Mi" on it caught my eye, so I drove into the parking lot to check it out.

This is the strip mall with Giovanni's. This shop is right next to Palomino's #2, which Cathy has written about a couple of times.

9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Boiling Passion Replaces Pho Paradise:

You can find my post on our visits to Boiling Passion here.

I noticed the sign when driving to pick-up a bento at Nijiya. I noticed that Pho Paradise had closed back in January. Boy did they turn this place around quick. But did they really want to name it "Boiling Passion"?

When I sent off a photo and text to my friends; "John" quickly texted me back asking if this was a massage parlor. I quickly sent off a string of texts about "meat" that isn't really appropriate for this blog…..I'll let your imagination go with that one!

3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Mekong Cuisine Replaces Sang Deuan:

I went up the parking lot to turn around and noticed another change.

I hadn't even noticed this one! Sang Deuan sure didn't last long. Well, another place to try. They kept the "Lao & Thai" portion of the old sign, so I'm thinking the menu is probably similar to Sang Deuan's.

3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

So there you go….have a great week!

Sang Deuan Thai & Lao Kitchen

March 16, 2015 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

**** Mekong Cuisine Lao and Thai has replaced Sang Deuan

Back around Thanksgiving, I saw that a new "Thai and Lao" restaurant was opening in the place of The Philadelphia Sandwich Company. The one thing that caught me eye was the Thai and Lao Kitchen portion of the sign. Lao cuisine is a favorite of mine, I really enjoyed many of the meals I had in Laos. So needless to say, I was somewhat excited. Then I heard that this was going to be the sister (brother?) restaurant to Sang Dao, which made things even more interesting. I've eaten at Sang Dao quite a few times; dating back to their old location on National Avenue back in 2005! Ed from Yuma, Howie, Candice, and I had an interesting meal at Sang Dao back in 2009.

So I visited soon after they opened. The place look fairly nice. The interior somewhat "bistro-ish". The young lady who served me during all three visits was quite efficient and reasonably amiable.

I did notice just a handful of what I'd call Lao dishes on the menu; Khao Piak, Papaya Salad, that sort of thing. Nothing like what Sang Dao has. So, I decided to use this visit to see how some of the usual suspects were done

My favorite dish that gauges the stir fry skills is Pad Se Ew. I went with the shrimp version.

This didn't turn out very well. The noodles were mushy and lacking in flavor. As you can tell, there's no "wok hay" no scent, essence, caramelization, nor personality of the use of a hot wok skillfully. The shrimp were dry and the dish really lacked flavor and came across as being kind of greasy.

I also ordered the Nham Tok. Not being asked for a "heat range" can be a mixed blessing. At places like Vientiane Thai Laos in Garden Grove it's great because you'll get served it as spicy as they think appropriate. On the other hand, there's always a chance this happens.

I got "gringo'd"….this was maybe below a 1? The meat was fairly chewy, at least they used roasted rice powder, but the overall flavor was kind of weak.

Man, this wasn't quite the start I thought I'd have here. Before leaving, I asked the nice young lady about some other Lao dishes that weren't on the menu. Apparently, there's a whole world of items that are "off-menu". Among them is my personal favorite Nem Khao, the crispy rice dish made with Lao fermented sausage. So…..in spite of this shaky start, I just had to return.

Unfortunately, when I did return, they had no Lao Sausage, and I was told they "weren't ready to serve nem"…….so what to do?

I went with the Salted fish Fried Rice.

This was pretty good. The salted fish was very finely minced so it wasn't as "in your face" fermented-savory as the version at The Original Sab E Lee, nor was it as salty. It was closer to the milder version at Sab E Lee Santee. It was adequately stir fried, you could count every grain of rice. Decent flavors; not bad at all.

Still, I hadn't gotten what I came for. This only meant that I had to return and give it one more try. This time they had Nem Khao.

Accompanied by a plate of sparkling fresh lettuce and herbs my rice dish arrived at the table. This was a nice dish, less sour and not quite as crisp as my favorite versions, but it had some nice spice and a decent flavor overall. Not bad, I'd have it again.

What I won't have again is the Crispy Pork with Chinese Broccoli. I had optimistically hoping for something like what we get at Yai Restaurant. What I got was this.

While the flavor was decent, that familiar soy-garlic-etc, the gailan was overcooked and the pork was hard, not tough, definitely not crisp, but hard. I'm thinking that the two pieces I managed to swallow are probably still floating around in my GI tract somewhere….well hopefully not.

That said, service was nice, the salted fish fried rice and the nem khao was good…..I'm thinking that they must make the green bean salad that I always enjoyed at Sang Dao……so I guess I'll be back.

Sang Deuan
3904 Convoy St. Suite 112
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Tues – Thurs 10am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 10am – 10pm
Sunday 10am – 9pm
Closed on Mondays

It’s been a while week: Asia Cafe seven years later……

July 24, 2013 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants

**** Asia Cafe has closed

Seven years….my goodness. Asia Cafe….aaah, yes, it's been a while, over seven years since my last post if I recall. This wonderful little mom-and-pop-shop once held a place in our rotation and I'm not sure how it just kind of slipped off. Perhaps it was our trip to Laos and our experiencing the depth of the cuisine, the sour-bitter-salty vibrant cuisine. Or maybe it was Vientiane Thai-Laos in Garden Grove that did it. I'm not sure. Even though I haven't posted on this place for a while, I've gone back to Asia Cafe a couple of times, though not for at least about five years or so. So I'd say a revisit post was more than warranted.

If there's comfort in the familiar; Asia Cafe surely hit the mark for us. Not many changes, new banquet style chairs, fresher paint perhaps, and it seemed a lot cleaner than I remembered.

The menu looked to be the same rather worn menu and we decided to order items we enjoyed on previous visits. It had been so long since we visited that the husband and wife who run the place no longer remembered us, which suited us just fine.

Things started off with the Yum Asia; a seafood salad of sorts.

This struck us as being a mere shadow of it's former self. The dressing was extremely sweet, throwing the whole balance of the dish off-kilter. Not enough lime or fish sauce and without a doubt not enough heat. Perhaps we were getting the "gringo" treatment after not returning here after so many years?

See Nam Tok was also another dish we used to enjoy. A simple charred flank steak, well seasoned with a salty-bitter-sweet dipping sauce.

Slightly chewy, this was not bad and an improvement over the Yum Asia. They still do a decent job with this, though it was a bit too charred. The dipping sauce was extremely bitter. Now bitter flavors, as in "sweet makes you dizzy, but bitter makes you healthy", so lets get another spoonful of that water buffalo bile in our Koy or just another piece of Sa-Kahn, bark of the Piper Ribesoides. But this was no fun.

Asia Cafe had always made very good sticky rice and it was nice to know they still do. Perfect in texture, not overly sticky, but perfect for forming that all too important three-finger ball of rice. It had me wishing for some good Jeow (a type of dip) for dipping.

The one item that I thought Asia Cafe made better than anywhere else in San Diego was Nem Khao, one of my Desert Island Dishes.

When made well, this crispy rice salad is a symphony of flavors and textures. Crunch from the rice that is fried….rice are made into balls then fried. The external rice becomes crisp adding that great texture. Fermented sausage adds the sour-meaty layer and the rest is delivered by various seasonings…..places in San Diego, or even Vientiane Thai-Lao doesn't use a whole lot of coconut, but the best version I've had in Laos did. Strangely, this was ok, but not quite as good as I recalled. Not enough sour sausage, it was also missing that "umami" that I enjoyed. somewhere along the line, it seems a decision was made to make this as "crunchy" as possible, which messed up the glutinous and crunchy textures. The Missus doesn't always agree with me, but sadly, this time She did. This wasn't bad by any means, just not as good as it used to be for us. I could tell that this bothered Her as She kept mentioning how sad She felt about the Nam Khao for almost the entire following week.

In the end, the folks here were wonderful as always, the prices so reasonable, unfortunately the food seemed a mere shadow of it's former self. I'm not sure; maybe we were "gringo'd", but that never happened to us here before.

Asia Cafe
4710 Market St
San Diego, CA 92102

Road Trip: Vientiane Thai Laos Restaurant – Garden Grove (Orange County)

July 9, 2012 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip, Thai Restaurants

The Missus asked me what I wanted this past weekend, I'd been craving Jiaozi since we got back from our trip. So I thought a trip to Qing Dao Bread Food would be great. But the weekend rolled around and it was on the warm side…..and man, it had been a while since I had Lao food! So I thought what about grabbing a bite at Vientiane Thai Lao? The Missus jumped at it….which made me a bit suspicious. My suspicions were confirmed when She directed me to drive to South Coast Plaza. A half hour later, She had a new pair of Christian Loubitouns and I was going to get my Lao food. How's that for a trade off? Well, it could have been worse, She had spent some time checking out jewelry at the Chanel store…yikes!!!

We were rather surpised when we stepped into Vientiane…..the place had been renovated since we last visited during the beginning of 2010. It looked nothing like what I remembered.

I sure hoped that the food was the same! We were waited on by a couple of really friendly young men, who did their job adequately and with good humor.

There were two dishes we'd driven up for; the first was the Raw Shrimp Salad ($7.99):

I appreciated the fact that we weren't asked how spicy we wanted it. It would be interesting to see what we got. I think my tolerance has gone down quite a bit now that I don't eat as much spicy food as I used too. After a couple of bites I had sweat pouring down my face. But that didn't prevent me from really enjoying this dish. In spite of the chilies, you can still get the slight sweetness of the shrimp coming through. Nice tangy flavors from the citrus, a bit of garlic, fish sauce, chilies, all jockeying for top spot in the flavor battle…what's not to like?

We also ordered the Ka Na Moo Krob($6.99). If I recall, Moo = Pork and Krob = Crunchy, or something like that.

I know some folks don't enjoy the chewy texture of roasted/braised, then deep fried pork belly, but I kind of like it. The pork had decent flavor, the Gailan (Chinese broccoli) was fresh. The sauce, which tasted like Kecap Manis, or some type of sweet soy, along with some oyster sauce, and perhaps some bean paste(?) edged on the salty end of the scale. It was fine when eating at the restaurant….in fact, we ordered some sticky rice with the sole purpose of soaking all the sauce up. The leftovers tended to be much too salty….note to self: next time finish it all!

Next up, one of those dishes I'll request before the executioner pulls that lever……Nam Khao ($6.50). I just love the sour-salty-crunchy-nutty-savory goodness of Nam Khao.

You know, Nye has a wonderful looking recipe for this on her blog, but I just can't bring my self to make this. I guess making this would eliminate the air of mysterious wonderfulness that dish provides….so I just avoid it. what I really enjoy about this version is that's it is less salty and probably quite low on the MSG scale if there's any in it at all. You can make out the coconut, the sour sausage, the nuttiness of the fried rice……

The last dish we ordered is I believe a version of Or Lam, a typical stew dish called "Meat Stew with Dill and Herbs (Aww)" on the menu ($6.99). Given that the Missus pretty much doesn't eat chicken, beef, or pork, we went with the fish version.

The catfish was too muddy for my tastes, but the Missus liked it. I thought the eggplant and the kabocha were cooked quite well, the Missus was especially taken by the kabocha, soft, but still holding shape, the sweetness coming through with each bite. The broth looked fairly dark and funky, and you could make out what was probably either a bit fermented fish or shrimp paste, which actually took a back seat to the generous amount of dill and kaffir lime leaf flavoring everything. Overall, the Missus enjoyed this much more than I did.

It was a nice meal since we'd been talking about Laos a bit recently and our bill came out to a tad over $30, with leftovers for dinner, a pretty good deal. I'm sure we won't wait two years to return next time. Maybe it was worth the price of those Christian Loubitouns….well, maybe not, we could have over 20 of these meals for those pair of shoes….but who's counting, right?

Vientiane Thai Laos Restauarant
10262 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove,CA92843

Hours: Mon – Thurs 10am – 9pm
Fri – Sun 10am – 10pm

Asia Cafe- As good as ever

October 26, 2011 Cathy Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Lao Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping in to look at mmm-yoso!!!, our food blog. Kirk is not blogging today, nor is ed(from Yuma). Cathy is sharing another meal she has enjoyed.

The first time I went to Asia Cafe, I met up with ed (from Yuma), who drove to San Diego for a visit. It was as wonderful as Kirk had described in his three posts in 2006 and I immediately understood why ed(from Yuma) would drive in (from Yuma) and make Asia Cafe one of his first stops here. Asia Cafe became part of the 'rotation' for me and The Mister. I realized the other day that that part of our rotation had somehow fallen away, probably because the wonderment which is Lao-Thai food showed up walking distance from our home in Santee, in the form of Sab-E-Lee.

Located in the corner of a small mall anchored by a Laundromat, on Market Street and 47th, Asia Cafe is easy to miss or just overlook; There's a car repair shop in the middle of that mall. However, business has always been booming, either

with most of the six tables with 28 chairs filled, or just with people picking up phoned in orders.

The menu, written in Thai and English, is only 3 pages long, has sections including Pho, Com and Bun as well as stir fried meats and fried rice dishes right next to a section of larbs, Lao-noodles, soups and curry dishes. I must say that each item I have had here is very well prepared and tasty.

So, we started this visit with deep fried spring rolls- (6 for $3.75). These were filled with pork, vegetables and clear noodles and did not have an excess of spring roll dough and were fried perfectly. Served with lettuce leaves, mint and cilantro-which complimented the Lao sweet and spicy sauce (fish sauce with a kick), these are better than average. I don't think any place else serves cilantro with fried spring rolls and the flavors seem so right together.

The other two dishes we ordered, both of which I craved, were (top part of photo) the Crying Tiger ($5.50). Beef larb, basically with at first a heat/spice level you may not have expected…but at some point the lemongrass, lemon juice, onions and fine powdery rice coating on the meat becomes so satisfying and you realize that you can taste all the flavors. This is addicting.

The bottom dish in the photo is chicken cashew nut ($5.50) A simple version of stir fried chicken, onions, straw mushrooms, scallions and cashews. The sauce is a bit sweet, but needs to be in this dish. Steamed rice is $1.50 and sticky rice is $2. One order is enough to share.

I'm so glad that Asia Cafe is still here and that the food, prices, owners and even the interior is unchanged. I do like consistency.

Asia Cafe 4710 Market Street San Diego 92102 (619) 527-1917

Closed Tuesdays. Open 10:30-6:30 M-W-Th-F, 11:00-6:30 S-S

Madison – Lao Laan-Xang (Williamson St location)

December 13, 2010 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Madison, Wisconsin, Thai Restaurants, Travel

**** This location of Lao Laan-Xang has closed

One of the restaurants I had on my list from my previous visit to Madison was Lao Laan-Xang. Though it seems that many regard Lao Laan-Xang as a Thai Restaurant(and the sign does say Laotian Cuisine), the Owners are Lao, and there were more than few Lao style dishes on the menu…… and it had been a while since I've had good Lao food. Luckily, the weather had cleared by my last evening in Madison, and I was able to head down to the Williamson Street location of Lao Laan-Xang.

The tiny, but very warm and welcoming shop brought back memories of my first experience with Thai Food at the tiny Keo's on Kapahulu Boulevard back in the very early 80's. Keo's has of course gone to greater things, but my memories of that tiny but welcoming restaurant stay dear to my heart. This was before the great Thai food boom, and indeed I recall when I told one of my dates that we were going for "Thai Food", she asked me if "this was a chicken place?" (Thigh food, got it?) Which had me laughing the whole evening……. it was also on that very evening we saw a very petite woman with big hair and big…. ummm….well, anyway it turned out to be Dolly Parton. On another night, I spied Steve Perry from Journey having dinner there. And though this dining room would never reach the orchid filled heights of Keo's, there was something cozy that just reminded me of that place.

And amongst the Crab Rangoon, Fried Rice, and Curries, there were two of my favorite Lao dishes. The first was hard to find since it was under it's Thai name of Khao Tod Nam Som…. but there it was, what I call one of my "Death Row Dishes" – Nam Khao ($9.50):

Before I continue, let me apologize for the photos. It get's pretty dark on "The Willy" at night. This version of Nam Khao was not bad, but lacked the amount of crunchiness I enjoy. Also, it was less sour, lacking that fermented sourness I enjoy. Still this was ok, I've had worse, though it was miles behind the versions I've had at Aisa Cafe, Vientiane Restaurant in Garden Grove, and not even close to what I had in Vientiane…. as in Vientiane, Laos. It was also fairly pricey, about 30% more than what you'd pay in San Diego.

I also ordered the Mok Pa ($15.99), with some reservations, as the only decent version I had of this dish was at Vietiane in Garden Grove. But this was very good.

I had learned how to make this dish after taking a cooking class at Tamarind Cooking School in Luang Prabang, and loved the complex flavors so much that I've made this at home, though I end up steaming it rather than grilling it. This dish did not disappoint; the fish was wonderfully moist and tender, but not over-cooked, and did not have any muddy flavor at all. The flavor of dill was there, adding that refreshing clean taste without over-powering the dish. The lindering flavors of the herbs was excellent. The portion size was quite large, almost enough for two.

About the only thing not very good about the whole meal was the very low quality of the sticky rice. It was off-white and I bit into some terribly hard pieces of rice. i'm thinking it must be pretty hard to get good quality sticky rice in Madison.

I won't go into the bland steamed "gringo" vegetables, because heck, this happens everywhere in San Diego as well.

We received good service, our Server was friendly, and our waters were refilled. The food was quite good, so I'll surely be headed back here the next time I'm in Madison.

Lao Laan-Xang
1146 Williamson St
Madison, WI 53703

Thai Garden Restaurant (I think) next to Muang Lao Market #1

June 22, 2010 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants

**** Thai Garden Restaurant has closed

On a recent weekend morning, I was driving near Market and 47th, and decided to see what was up on the corner of Imperial and Market. That corner has housed a number of markets and small restaurants over the years with one thing in common; they were all Lao. Back in 2006, it was Vientiane Food to Go, a couple of years later Imperial Thai Cuisine. As I drove to that corner, I noticed that the place had been painted, and now housed a restaurant called Thai Garden, I think.

First thing I noticed as I entered was that even though the lay-out was the same, things looked bright and clean. A fresh coat of paint, some new tile, clean stainless, and paintings will do that to a place.

The menu consists of a couple of dishes written in English on a greaseboard. Like many of these places, I'm sure they make much more than this. The woman working behind the counter next to the greaseboard was hard at work. Directly opposite another woman was working in the "hot kitchen".

The lady behind the counter was friendly, if a bit cautious at first. But when I started asking about various dishes, and where she was from in Laos, she began to open up a bit.

Surprising her, I ordered the Beef Larb. "You know it is raw….." I assured her that enjoyed the stuff. "You like bitter….." To which I said, yes. This meant that in the true Lao style, beef bile was being added to the dish. "How spicy?" To which I replied, "Thai spicy is ok, but Lao spicy is too much." Which made her smile. "Sticky rice?" "Oh, yes, yes….."

And in a few minutes, a plate of Beef Larb appeared at my table.

Topped with mint leaves, and accompanied by really good long beans and fresh cucumber, this was not beginner's larb. The raw beef and tripe had been swimming in heady and heavy, salty fermented fish sauce and paste, which launched an immediate pungent attack. It was pretty salty, but not very spicy. I even munched on the chilies with minimal effect. There was a good amount of puckery bitterness courtesy of beef bile. The mint helped add another dimension to the dish. Looks light, but it's a pretty substantial dish.

Along with the sticky rice…….

This was very satisfying…….

The woman was rather pleased with my efforts, and brought me a plate, say "you try, you try, we make this here….." And proceeded to deliver a sausage to me.

This was pretty good sausage, not overly sour, with a good balanced flavor. The flavor of lemon grass and garlic came through well, and unlike the larb, it wasn't overly salty. The filling was perhaps a bit too dense, and the fat content too low, but I still enjoyed it. In fact, I bought a couple to go.

As I was leaving, the woman told me, "next time, order Khao Piak (Lao Rice Noodle Soup), not on menu, but it is very good." Which is how I usually start finding out and eating the "good stuff". I'll be back, and I hope this place does better then the previous couple of restaurants.

I'll say this much; it sure has been cleaned up.

Thai Garden Restaurant
110 47th St
San Diego, CA 92102

Our most memorable meals part 2

January 22, 2010 mmm-yoso Hanoi, Lao Restaurants, Laos, Luang Prabang, Peru, Travel, Vientiane, Vietnam

Maybe I should've made a few resolutions for the New Year. First on that list would be "completing things I started sooner….." I realize that I did part 1 of this post on December 30th. I could, of course make it sound even farther "upstream" by writing something like "last year"…. Of course, I still haven't finished my posts on Guatemala, or even Thailand, I hope to get those done before we leave on our next big trip. So without further ado….. these are in no particular order, but it's the meals that the Missus and I talk about most often.

– Can Cau Market

I've always been fascinated by markets of all shapes, sizes, and types. You learn so much about the people who live in these destinations, by checking out the market….. The Sunday Market at Bac Ha is well known as a gathering of the various Hill tribes. The Can Cau Market is less well known, but we found that we enjoyed it more…. it was less touristy, and it seems a bit more laid-back, not that the term "laid back" in anyway describes anything in Vietnam.

Here in the hill country of Vietnam, the colors worn by the people are vibrant and colorful; the Flower H'mong, Red Zao, Giay, the Blue H'mong.

We had made it clear early on that we don't do tourist food, and ended up eating where everyone else was; sitting on low benches a few inches above the hard-packed dirt.

The fare was simple, boiled pork, noodle soup, pickled greens, and the star of the show, Ruou Ngo, the local "moonshine" poured into used plastic water bottles from "Jerry cans"…. the equivalent of 50 cents got your 16 ounce water bottle filled to the brim with Ruou.

And then the inevitable happened, we became the current novelty…. Our guide approached with cups of Ruou telling us that two of the gentleman sitting across the way "want to have a drink with you, because tourists never eat with them. They are very happy and proud that you would eat the same food." This of course, was only the beginning, of a scene we've encountered almost everywhere we've been in SEA, "they don't believe you're American. They say that you cannot be American, you don't look like Americans. Americans rarely come here, and those that do are afraid of the food, and won't drink with them. They take their pictures and leave right away."

Just as we are curious about the lives of people who seem so exotic and different, they are just as fascinated with us. You'd lose so much by keeping things at safe distance sometimes…..

What sticks with me was a toast the proprietor of the pork stall made before we left. Finding out that the Missus is Chinese, he made the following toast: "to Vietnamese and Chinese, we are brothers and neighbors, and brothers sometimes fight, but in the end we are still brothers". In the end, we are all brothers, under the same moon and sun……

– A Very Special Dinner in Cusco

Peru was a delicious and fascinating trip, and words cannot describe Machu Picchu.

Without a doubt, one of the highlites of our time in Cusco was dinner with the family of a friend of ours. We were told that they'd be making us a meal of Cuy, something that got me rather excited. That excitement was dampened when I had a terrible meal of Cuy the night before. Man was it bad, but there was a reason for that I was to find out later.

This family opened their home and hearts to us. And the Cuy was wonderful!

Crisp skin like roast pork, Cuy is all dark meat, and does taste like dark meat pork. I nibbled on the legs, the little bit of meat by the back spine is fabulous. And of course we had a drink after dinner to "kill the Cuy" as they say.

So why did that Cuy we had the previous night taste so bad? It was because they were fed a diet of meal that included fish and other ingredients to make them grow large quickly. The traditional food for Cuy is Alfalfa.

We spent a wonderful evening talking about all sorts of subjects….. humor is universal! When it comes down to it, we are more alike then we are different…..

– Astrid y Gaston, Lima

I usually don't do posts on fine dining and the like in San Diego. Like I've written many times, there are many other great food blogs and sources for that kind of info. Our meals during our travels are a different story…..

At the time of our visit in 2007 Astrid y Gaston, Gaston Acurio's flagship restaurant was on Pellegrino's top 100 restaurants in the world list. The concept of Novoandina Cuisine was very interesting to us. The unique cuisine of Peru had us entranced, and Astrid y Gaston really delivered.

Of course the Missus got Cuy, yet again.

Appetizer, drinks, and mains for two, for the equivalent of $80/US! Plus, a glimpse of the future of Peruvian cuisine…….

– Dinner at Tamarind: Luang Prabang

After attending the Tamarind Cooking School, we made reservations for dinner at Tamarind. And what a dinner it was, I had to do two posts to cover the meal. The meal we made reservations for was called the "Adventurous Lao Gourmet", and after checking out the local Wet Market, I could only imagine what we'd be having…..

And for the equivalent of $12 per person, this degustation style meal surely delivered.

From various "Jeow" (dips)…..

to "Fish Poo"…..

And steamed pigs brains…..

And of course, the various insects….. some of which I enjoyed more than others.

Even beyond the "look at what I'm eating" attention seeking thingy, I learned so much during this meal. Joy, one of the owners presents each course, and explains a bit about each dish.

Remember the quote from Brillat-Savarin: "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." Well this meal displayed to me resourcefulness, "Thao" a wonderful Jeow made from Spyrogyra, what some call "pond scum", salt-pickling, fish curd, and yes, even "Fish Poo" where the intestinal matter of the fish is used for preservation displays one of the most basic means of preserving food without modern refrigeration. The steamed pig brains is a cherished item, as Joy told us it "what you'll make for your children if you love them."

All of which was eaten with that Lao staple, sticky rice.

There's a peaceful, gentle, friendly tolerance we encountered everywhere in Laos.

– Dinner on Shores of the Mekong

Vientiane was quite a contrast from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and even Nong Khai. Sometimes you happen upon just the right meal at the perfect time. And this was it. There are a huge number of stands along the Mekong river. For some reason, we decided to stick with the one we first passed early on. It was wasn't a huge set-up like the other stands, but the folks running the stand seemed so warm and friendly.

Sitting on a makeshift bamboo platform, I could feel all the tension and worries lazily drift down the Mekong. Of course, the Beerlao didn't hurt!

Some of the food, like the stir fried Morning Glory was good.

Other items like the whole fish, was just okay……

What really sent this meal to the "memorable list" was the act of thoughtfulness by the folks who ran this stand. You'll have to read the post to get that story. Let me just say, that along with being the best Nem Khao I've ever had……

It was a great introduction to the thoughtfulness of the folks in Laos.

And hey, that sunset wasn't too bad either!

So there you go…… Five memorable meals. There are a few more that I could probably add.

But it's those five that we talk about the most…..

You know, there's a song I've been listening to quite a bit lately. To me, it's got a great hook….. but I also realized that there's a line of the song that always makes me smile:

"Seems like everywhere I go
The more I see
the less I know" – Say Hey (I Love You), Michael Franti & Spearhead

Keep warm and dry this weekend! Thanks for reading!