Laap means ‘lucky’ so Lao people like to make laap when holding a party to bring auspicious meaning to their families
Those going overseas might wonder why there are not many Lao food restaurants there despite some Thai food restaurants also include some types of Lao foods in their menus.
One of the main reasons is that people in many countries do not know where Laos is, about its culture and what the popular food in this country tastes like.
Some Lao people who live and run restaurant business in foreign countries do not name their restaurants for Lao foods as it is risky to lose profits.
Of asked, why people don’t know Laos one of the main reasons is becaure the country’s advertisement is limited.
However, the growth of tourism industry has encouraged many thousands of foreigners to sample Lao foods and most of them appreciate the taste of the foods they eat here.
Ms Bang, owner of a Lao food restaurant at Inpeng village, Chanthabouly district in Vientiane said foreign guests to her restaurant have been increasing in particular those from Thailand, China, Vietnam and other westerners.
The food that people mostly order is laap (meat salad), especially laap made of turkey meat, followed by grilled Mekong fish and sausage with herbs.
Ms Bang said she likes to adjust the taste of the food to foreigners from different countries. For example, she reduces the number of chilli and does not put fermented sauce in food for people from the western countries, but for Thai people she puts more chilli with a little salty and sourness, and makes traditional style for Lao people.
“So, when guests order, we will write the country they are from so that we remember and cook food to suit them,” she said.
Laap means ‘lucky’ so Lao people like to make laap when holding a party to bring auspicious meaning to their families, and another thing is that laap is a food eaten by Lao people for generations.
Ms Bang, aged 50, is the third person inheriting the Lao food restaurant business from her mother and sister for several years. Her family and she operate this restaurant for 60 years.
Ms Bang said that at first, her mother sold laap, soup and grilled cows’ tongues in a small shop with thatch roof under a jackfruit tree.
“In that time, I did not think that my business would grow as big as it is today,” she said.
She added that this restaurant was published in a tourism book of France several years ago and broadcasted by a television of United Sates of America in 2006 and Korea television last year.
The restaurant opens from 11 to 2:30 and from 5pm to 9pm. One small plate of laap costs 20,000 kip and 30,000 kip for bigger plate. But some grilled Mekong fish cost up to 100,000 kip
