Pattaya & Jomtien Beach Dining

Vientiane

Second Road, Pattaya

Marks (out of ten)
Quality: 8
Quantity: 9
Value: 8
Atmosphere: 8

ANYONE who has ever been to Laos will know the local cuisine is not one of the country’s strong points.

So a restaurant named after the capital city doesn’t quite put the saliva glands into overdrive.

Fortunately, this isn’t just Laos food; there’s a clever mix of north-eastern Thai (Issan), traditional Thai, Chinese, and even European dishes for true ‘this-stuff-looks-odd’ farangs.

Vientiane is a large, open-air restaurant covered only by a corrugated iron roof. It has the feel of a café but is better than that. Waitresses flit between tables in traditional silk dresses and slashes, and if you’re stuck for a dish, they know their food.

We went for hot spicy duck soup, or tom sep baet, (95 baht), spicy minced pork with tomato sauce and mixed veg (80 baht), deep-fried snake fish (250 baht) and a large bowl of rice. Despite there being only a handful of vacant tables, all three dishes arrived within minutes of us ordering them.

Snake fish (only so-called due to the facial resemblance) is usually a pretty-good bet, and this version came up trumps as there was vast amounts of flesh on offer. The deep-fried variety ensured the skin was crispy while the meat was firm but tasty. Three dishes – Laotian sauce, a spicy sour dip and the classic Laos Jao Bon dip – added some zip to the dish.

The pork was finely minced and placed in a small bowl, which sat on a green plate laden with green vegetables. It had a pungent aroma and a strong, but not too spicy, flavour.

Tom sep soup normally comes with beef, but duck is a good alternative. The soup arrived in an earthenware pot and holds a variety of lemongrass, herbs, tomatoes and fat-less duck.

The sheer size of the fish meant we were soon full but content.

Vientiane, ironically, offers a real taste of Thailand, away from just the spicy prawn soup and papaya salad so many places pretend is the only thing Thais ever eat.

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