All posts tagged: Laos

9. Bolaven

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… Simple, light, warm, inviting with Laotian inspired touches. Love the floor to ceiling display of dried ingredients. Come here for… Laos food and regular cafe food by day. Laos food only by night. The most interesting thing on the menu… Sticky rice with fried egg and Jeow Mak Len (Laotian style salsa) Unexpectedly wonderful… Their hand drawn, hand written menu (swoon) Sticky rice in baskets (just like in Laos) Eclairs I would come back to try… Pho with all the trimmings Pork belly with sticky caramel, anise, braised egg, crackling & watercress Catering to… South East Asian food lovers, but also a couple of regular cafe dishes and plenty of pastries and baked goodies at the counter. A couple of options for vegetarians and gluten free, marked on menu. Expect to spend… $20-$30 per person The service is… Friendly and warm. Avoid if… You are in a tight …

No Big Players in Laos

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Like many others, one of the things I most look forward to when traveling to exotic locations, is the local cuisine. I always try to sample a nation’s well known dishes, as well as their lesser known ones. Far from home, the food can be challenging, comforting, and humbling. But even so, after just a few days of authentic food, all I want is a sinful pizza or burger or pasta. What is it about these kinds of meals that grab a hold of you and why do I feel so guilty indulging? While traveling through Laos last week, quite probably my favorite country to visit out of all the countries that I have been to so far, I was struck by how ubiquitous the pizza, burger and pasta menu is. Laos food is simple, fresh and delicious and I love how good it makes me feel. I am no food scientist, but it’s possible the free range and organic ingredients are the culprits. Almost every restaurant offers local Laos fare as well as pizzas, …

A Dinner inspired by South East Asia

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  I had a hankering for the stuff we ate while in South East Asia. Hot, sour and savoury soups, banana pancakes were eaten in balmy countries. But what about on a cold winter’s night? I thought they would translate quite well so I made a brothy soup with noodles with some nice sirloin steak. I made this up on the fly using some of the flavours I enjoyed in South East Asia. This was followed by a dessert of asian-inspired banana pancakes with melted chocolate. Yum. Bok choy is cheap and it is super easy to grow. I know this because I’ve grown it before. But at $0.50 for a bag of 2 or 3 bok choy at my local Chinese supermarket, I don’t bother to grow my own. So easy to prepare, just wash and slice into quarters lengthwise. Good rabbit food too. When we have bok choy, Tofu the rabbit also enjoys bok choy. Beef Noodle Soup Beef Ingredients 1 piece of sirloin steak enough for 2 (200-300g) A little sesame oil …

Breakfast buffets in S-E-A

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We had a few buffet breakfasts while traveling in South East Asia. These photos are the only evidence. The rest I’m afraid, has been destroyed devoured. Cafe Deco Macao The Venetian, Macau Cafe Deco offers 24/7 dining and seats 1000 diners. Breakfast at any of The Venetian restaurants was included with our suite so we picked the buffet option at Cafe Deco Macao. My breakfast was a croissant, a strawberry danish, smoked salmon, sausage, salami, ham, samosa, curried rice, chickpeas, corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, hashbrown, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried egg. I sampled about 10% of the breakfast dishes on offer. There were breakfast foods from many different cuisines including Chinese, Japanese and Indian. The buffet station stretched around the edge of this 32,000 ft² dining area and it’s possible to get lost on your way back to your table. I know this because I got lost! We begin with the most epic breakfast buffet I have ever laid eyes on. Everything about this hotel was decadent and over the top. 40 levels, 3000 suites, an indoor canal, …

Hawker Food: Banana Pancakes

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If you are up past bedtime in tourist areas of Thailand or Laos, you will find a banana pancake cart. Pancake vendors are one hit wonders and rarely make anything else. Hawker food or street food lends itself to specialisation. That is why I love it so much. These pancakes aren’t made from a poured batter. Like roti, a piece of dough is flicked and stretched out so big I worry it might tear. Oil and/or ghee is added to a hot surface and the pancake quickly but carefully peeled and put on the pan. The result is an oily crepe. As it cooks, a banana is expertly sliced and dropped into the centre and chocolate sauce and/or condensed milk swirled on top. The corners of the pancake are folded into the middle, topped with more ghee and the package is then flipped over. When it’s done, the banana pancake is transferred to a paper plate, cut into bite-sized squares and served with sticks. It’s perfect late night food for travelers and the average price …

Heading to Thailand on the Mekong River – Day 2

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At 6am the next morning, we left our guesthouse in Pakbeng with our pre-ordered, packed breakfasts and bag-carrying local boys in tow. The morning is cold there are no windows to close. We wear our layers and shrink our necks and hands into our clothing to keep warm. By lunch we’ve shed the layers and are happy in our t-shirts. We draw more, play cards, draw more and give most of the drawings to the kids on the boat. Kelvin’s drawing of the girl and the boat. Monk Bunny. Hilltribes Bunny. Buddha Bunny. Mekong River Catfish. We didn’t see any, but these fish get crazy big. As in 3 metres long and weighing 300 kg. Mekong River doodle. Lunch on the boat is a delicious Laos style feast made by the family. At 40,000 Kip / $7NZ / $5US each, we certainly ate until we were full. The chicken curry was the crowd favourite. Immigration is painless and we get stamped in for a 2 month visa for Thailand. Too bad we only need 1 …

Slow Boat on the Mekong River – Day 1

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After watching and participating in the monks receiving alms, we returned to our guesthouse to pack and say goodbye to Luang Prabang. Our slow boat for the next 2 days on the Mekong (pronounced May-kong) River was one of these long wooden affairs. I would highly recommend a slow boat trip if you have 2 days to spare getting from Laos to Thailand. The boat had comfortable seating as well as tables and chairs, a toilet, beer and snacks. The open air also made the smokers happy. The smooth trip meant that I never felt sick (unlike windy bus trips). Run by the captain, his wife and 3 kids, it was a family affair and The Koala quickly impressed the kids with his drawing talents. We both did a lot of drawing while on the Mekong River. 20 hours of down time makes for good drawing time. Locals panning for gold at the edge of the Mekong River. The return isn’t very good, but during dry season, there isn’t a lot to do and panning …

Luang Prabang – the working class

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We opted for a village tour with a local jumbo driver. The jumbo driver was great. He was lovely and had a great sense of humour. He had photos in his jumbo and one showed him and his wife at the Sydney Opera House. I found this surprising as so many people in Laos live on so little, it’s hard to imagine them not only being able to leave the country, but to spend time in countries where the living cost is so many times more than what they are used to. At $5US per head, the village tour was a fairly cheap way to spend the afternoon. Before the tour, we were told that the conditions would seem harsh to us because these are real working villages. The people we saw actually live in these villages and make things to sell. They actors in a museum, pretending to work for tourists. We visited a real blacksmith village, a real Lao Lao whiskey village and also saw the production of paper, silk and silver (tourist …

We Freakin Love Elephants

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The old name for Laos is Lan Xang which means the land of a million elephants. One of our fondest memories of Laos was meeting Mae San the elephant, her mahout (trainer) and her friends at the Elephant Village. “Elephant Village gives rescued elephants a new home where they are free from abusive work. Elephant Village provides local villagers a better livelihood, so they can stop their slash and burn tradition.” Many elephants in Laos were, and still are, used in the logging industry. They are mistreated, forced to pull loads that are too heavy for them, fed drugs to work longer and work in dangerous conditions. The sweet nature that elephants are know for are taken advantage of and some people use sharp hooks or knives to bend elephants to their will. It’s painful to learn about the lives these elephants suffered before being rescued. Elephants wear their hearts on their sleeves. It’s delightful to see them happy, but it’s also obvious when they suffer. How can people mistreat these animals? No one is that …

Fresh Food Markets in Luang Prabang, Laos

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Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s worth a visit to the fresh food markets in Luang Prabang. There are no supermarkets here and locals buy fresh food daily from the markets. Markets in Auckland are a weekend activity and even then, only a small percentage of the population actually do their shopping at markets. I love seeing all the ingredients in their uncooked state. Ingredients look so fresh and lovely in daylight. When was the last time you bough vegetables that hadn’t seen fluorescent lights? The tourists here are just touristing, people don’t tend to cook while on holiday. We eat out a lot instead. There were plenty of familiar things at the market and also lots of unfamiliar  stuff to concern yourself with. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but where do you think the local restaurants get their fresh meat and produce from? Street Food There are plenty of snacks to be found at every corner. Fresh Meat This uncovered, tepid meat might horrify the NZ Food Safety Authority, but think about …

Hive Bar and Utopia, Luang Prabang, Laos

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Hive Bar and Utopia are two bars that we loved in Luang Prabang. It wasn’t suprising that while we were at Utopia with New Zealand friends O and M, we bumped into some lovely ladies from our Intrepid Travel group. Utopia is one of those venues that has many little areas and while it’s all technically outdoors, there’s plenty of covered and cushioned spots that feel very cosy indeed. The food is pretty good, they great cocktails, they have shisha and best of all, they were playing Fat Freddy’s Drop while we were there. If you don’t feel like relaxing, eating and drinking, there are plenty of other activities to do at Utopia such as foos ball and volleyball. Yup, the have their own volleyball area away from spillable cocktails. The Koala was very happy with his burger and chips but I didn’t feel like a proper meal so got a couple of dishes to graze on. Luang Prabang sausage and grilled tofu with pesto complimented my Bloody Mary perfectly. After that we head to Hive for …

BBQ dinner at Lao Lao Garden in Luang Prabang, Laos

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I’ve been so busy with cooking at home these days I realised I haven’t blogged about our epic South East Asia adventure in 2 weeks. So back to it. My last post was was on Vang Vieng so our next destination was a bus ride away in Luang Prabang. On our first night in Luang Prabang, after a quick tour (too quick) at the extensive night markets, we have a group dinner at Lao Lao Garden. Ranked #1 thing to do on the Lonely Planet for both Luang Prabang and Northen Laos, it probably doesn’t need much introduction if you have been in this area before. Lao Lao is the local whiskey and that’s probably all I need to say. With the fairy lights and glowing embers from the BBQ, Lao Lao Garden has a lovely ambience and a great range of both Eastern and Western foods. Bring a friend or a date because there’s a whole menu of 2 for 1 cocktails. I laugh now when I read back through my notes: “The Ombeyonce is off da …

Balloons over Vang Vieng, Laos.

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Every sunrise and sunset, a white or a yellow hot air balloon can be seen floating low across the sky in Vang Vieng. On our final morning in Vang Vieng, the yellow balloon was ours. It was the first time any of us had been ballooning and what a way to say goodbye. We got off to a scary start as the balloon threatened to tip over, but once the 12+ men let go, we shot straight up into the air. We were in the air for about an hour total and about 15 minutes into the ride, the sun rose over the mountains…Pictures are better than words right? Ballooning Highlights: Watching the sun pop up over the mountains. Ballooning Tips: Just do it! Take a camera.

Eating in Vang Vieng #3

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The following day was we continued to celebrate M’s birthday at a local Thai restaurant for breakfast. We had Tom Kha Gai and pineapple fried rice and enjoyed an amazing view. Overnight, the river was stained a terracotta colour. The locals said it was the first time it had it had happened and the rumour was that some construction upstream had caused it. In any case, we were glad that we weren’t tubing in the river that day. A shop in town carved figures from stone and also personalised them with a stamp on the bottom. We got our company logo carved into an elephant figure for only about $20 including the personalisation. He carved the logo backwards from a sample of our business card and it was ready to pick up later in the day. What a legend! Lunch was only ok, but at least the view was good. My laap was way too spicy and the green chillies were finely chopped and resembled the green beans which were also finely chopped. The Koala got …

Eating Vang Vieng #2

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The morning of the second day in Vang Vieng we get a breakfast of an omelette and an American breakfast around the corner from our guesthouse. The bread in Laos is amazing. I’m not a huge fan of bread, but I like this. It’s hard on the outside and beautifully fluffy on the inside. When you break it open, steam rises from it. Tubing in Vang Vieng is not to be missed. Think of it as a pub crawl in the sun, on the river, between limestone mountains. Everyone on our Intrepid Travel group are up for tubing and The Koala and I also meet up with an old friend O, and his girlfriend, M. It was M’s birthday and what better way to celebrate than by tubing. We begin at a shop in town where we hire a tube each and go by tuk tuk to the starting point on the river. Then it’s up to you to float down the river back into town or if you don’t make it by the time …

Eating in Vang Vieng #1

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We left Vientiane in mid/late January and our group shared a large bus with another group of tourists. The 4 hours bus ride to Vang Vieng was pretty easy as the countryside is really picturesque. Rice paddies, cows, goats, children playing. At one point we drive past a long line of young monks. They are called novice monks when they are still learning and the procession was for a funeral. Vang Vieng is home for the next 2 and a half days. It can be lovely and peaceful and the surrounding limestone mountains can be seen from every part of town. This was the view from our guest house Kham Phone. One of the first sights we saw when we got to Vang Vieng was a herd of cows strolling through the town. They ate every potted plant in their path until they were chased away by unimpressed plant owners. Our first meal in Vang Vieng I had a yummy mango fruit shake and a chicken lao noodle soup and The Koala got a a bbq mix …

Vientiane: Buddhas and Temples

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Vientiane Attractions We didn’t spend the whole time in Vientiane eating. Honestly, we didn’t. After sorting out our Thai visa at the embassy in the morning, The Koala and I spent the rest of the day apart from our group, touristing around on our own. Haw Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha have lovely grounds and is now a museum of buddha relics. A 45cm jade Buddha figurine was housed here for a time many, many years ago but now resides in a temple in Bangkok, Thailand. Wat Si Saket is just across the road. Come here to see buddha figurines and a temple. How cool is this leaning chair? Then we hopped onto a jumbo. A jumbo is like the Thailand tuk tuk but with 2 benches so that the passengers face each other. They can comfortably fit 6 although you could cram 8 or 9. Tuk tuk seats face forward and comfortably seat 2 adults, although you could cram in 4. Our driver didn’t speak a word of English, but he had …

Vientiane: Joy Restauant on the Mekong Promenade

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In the city of Vientiane, the Mekong Promenade is wide, the river being very low during dry season and during the day the promenade is peaceful and quiet. You kind of wonder where is everyone? But come sunset, pop up bars and restaurants line the streets and finding a good spot to watch the changing sky is easy. Just before another pink sunset, we find ourselves at Joy Restaurant on the Mekong Promenade. The colourful display of food entices us and after a Beer Lao or two, we choose a few dishes by physicall pointing instead of choosing from the printed menu. It’s so much better to be able to select from a kitchen rather than trusting translated menus. This allows you to order dishes that look good on that day rather than picking your usual favourites. The wiggling bits coming out of the shells told me that the cockles are still alive. The prawns looked particularly plump. The Koala had never tried cockles before and it’s a novelty to get them at all let alone fresh …