Kayiwa · · 1 min read
Lao food is the least understood in the region, and Vientiane is where I’d start fixing that. Not in a restaurant. On the street, at night, working through a handful of stalls one bite at a time.
The five bites
- Mixed skewers. Beef, pork, chicken, sausage, tofu and vegetables, picked from the tray and grilled for you
- Flaming beef skewers. Exactly what they sound like, and the best part to watch
- Lao-style spaghetti. Not Italian, and not really trying to be
- Sticky milk. A sweet, creamy drink that cools you down after all that chilli
- Lao-style pizza, to finish
Each one has its own chapter in the video, so you can skip straight to whatever looks best.
More Vientiane street food
- Sihom Night Market, an hour of BBQ skewers, crispy rice rolls, iced Lao drinks and noodles
- The Omelette Lady’s omelette rice roll, soft egg wrapped around seasoned rice, on Rue Hengboun
- The night market I found in my first 24 hours in Laos
- Two hours of the best street food in Bangkok and Vientiane, if you have the evening free
The practical bit
- Where: Vientiane’s night markets, including Sihom. The Omelette Lady is at 52 Rue Hengboun
- Start with: mixed skewers, so you can try a bit of everything
- Getting there: the direct train from Bangkok is the easy way in, and here’s what it’s like
The Laos guide has the rest: costs, routes and the dishes to look for.