Laos Cuisine

My Laotian culinary experience was pretty mixed, with both delicious and disappointing food being eaten here.

Laos was part of French Indochina from 1893 until 1946 and still retains some of its French influence in its food. As a result, we had some proper croissants as well as some delicious hot chocolate. Unfortunately in Pakbeng however, what looked like a proper baguette and croissant turned out to be slightly off the mark.

Luang Prabang night market includes a range of food stalls and we ate here twice during our stay as there was so much variety. It can get very crowded though as the alley is pretty narrow!

A must have in Laos is the Laos sausage. Whoever thought of putting lemongrass in a sausage is an absolute genius! Throw in some chilli as well and it’s simply delicious!

Something I was less fond of was Laab, or buffalo salad. This was mainly because it contained uncooked coriander and mint, neither of which I’m a fan!

Charcoal is a popular method of cooking in Laos and there are lots of restaurants along the river that offer cook yourself bbqs. We had a very tasty dinner frying beef and pork, as well as cooking vegetables in a broth around the base of the bbq.

Finally, at the Luang Prabang airport, I had my favourite prepackaged ice cream ever - a chocolate and strawberry cornetto with chocolate sauce. Delicious!