Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant, Luang Prabang
Words: Alison Christ
Photos: Monica Tindall
Monica and I spent a glorious week in Luang Prabang, eating, drinking, and immersing ourselves in its rich culture. The final place to make it into print from our wonderful journey is Little Lao Culture Bar and Restaurant (along with its sister bar, the intimate Sun Song Social upstairs). Last and most definitely not least, as we are about to find out, is Little Lao Culture Bar.
Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant
Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant is in the centre of Ban Jek (an old Lao term for Chinese Village). Ban Jek refers to when the kingdom invited Chinese, Vietnamese, and other neighbouring area artists to help create the town of Luang Prabang. Ban Jek is the place where these artists lived and created. This vibrant main street has become the business, cultural, and spiritual centre of Luang Prabang. What a perfect spot to build a “Culture Bar.”
The day before we arrive at Little Lao, we receive the 14 menu items they want us to try. Monica says, “Wow, guys, that’s a lot, I don’t think we can eat that much, and we don’t like to waste food.” They explain that to experience the full pleasure of the culinary program, we must eat like they do at the ceremonial meals for monks at temples (usually with 5, 7, or 9 small dishes) and that the Lao people don’t eat one dish at a time, or eat alone, they have several and share. We are invited to try dishes from different sections of the menu, allowing the flavours of each dish to communicate with one another and to enrich the entire dining experience.
How can we say no? We have an idea! Sharing; we love sharing, so we invite Chef Ice from the Rosewood Luang Prabang to come along and help us. One thing that is abundantly clear in our time in Luang Prabang is that businesses here nurture and support each other. It’s really been blowing me away. Even businesses in direct competition offer support to each other. So, we don’t think twice that Little Lao will mind if we bring Chef along and “of course absolutely,” is their answer, and Chef says, “I would love to join you ladies for lunch.” “Great Ice, we are honoured you will spend your day off with us,” Mon and I chime in. Later, we find out that Chef Ice has a bar seat upstairs with his name on it (don’t tell anyone).
Wine List & Cocktail Menu
Our cushy Rosewood SUV chauffeurs us the 10-minute drive to Little Lao. We are greeted at the door by Nont, who is warm, welcoming and dressed to impress. I immediately love his style and vibe. I can already tell that I’m going to enjoy spending the afternoon with him. It’s lunchtime, Monica and I do love a little day drinking, Nont doesn’t waste any time at all. We are immediately served cocktails, and he pops open a nice Sauvignon Blanc from Château des Tourtes, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, France, 2022 (Kip 1,200.000) and puts it on ice to chill. Usually, when we get the food, we take some photos and then get cocktails or wine. By then, your girl over here (me) is freakin’ thirsty. I am stoked sitting here in this spectacular space with these fantastic people and a Mezcal cocktail in hand. I am ready to go!!! This awesome drink is a Lao Bloody Mary (Kip 220,000) with clarified Lao tomato, Sakaan wood, peppercorn, chilli and pickled cabbage. Pickled cabbage sounds weird, but it’s fantastic. I love Mezcal, and a Bloody Mary sure is the perfect day-drinking beverage of choice. There’s a small bite of yummy fried Kao Jee, fermented pork with bell pepper and fish sauce on the side.
As I am loving this cocktail, I take a while to soak up my surroundings. They call this place a “culture bar” for good reason. There are so many things to look at, and I want to get up and touch and feel everything. Nont slips me a menu, which is like an art book unto itself. He can see I’m admiring it and he tells me people do steal them! He also says he’d be happy to give one to someone if they ask (please ask). It’s admittedly thick, he says, and created to pay homage to the talented artists who have crafted the unique pieces that adorn the interior of Little Lao. The menu or art book details the individual stories of everything here, including the bar’s wood carvings gilded by the descendants of the late national artist Manivong Khatiyarat, one of the most influential artists of Laos and whose work can be seen and appreciated throughout this UNESCO town. As well as the beautiful bar top created by using a rare Ming River stone, found only in a few spots under the river. I get up and run my fingers over the bar’s beautiful stone top.
Now, I’m drawn to the corner of the room where a mosaic hangs, made of real flowers, a ceremonial flower wall. Easily 1000 individual Dok Sam Pi, three-year flowers, intricately placed by the hand of Grandma Mone and her friends. A recurring theme I see in Luang Prabang is longevity, with the food, the art and culture and spiritualism. Here, these flowers are chosen because of their longevity, which is up to three years, as the name suggests. This sacred flower wall is their blessing of longevity to the team at Little Lao, it is also Little Lao’s blessing to us (and to you). Since arriving in Luang Prabang I am really feeling the care and the sharing of love here – it’s like no other place on earth, deserving of a love letter. On the Little Lao menu, it’s written “Little Lao is our love letter to Luang Prabang,” splendid, simply splendid.
As I stand here admiring everything in the room, I am once again being taught the appreciation of living in the moment. We have truly stopped in a moment in time. I have to give a nod to Nammi, the talented designer, who has poured her heart into this project along with all the talented artists and craftsman including Mr. Vanxai from Ban Chan Pottery Village, who’s created all of the beautiful ceramic dishes our food will be served on and speaking of food… here it comes!
Little Lao Menu & Prices
One of the things that has moved me the most while on this journey in Luang Prabang is the Buddhist teaching of being in the present moment. This is something I learned the value of a long time ago, but it is a challenge to be successful at it. Always worrying about tomorrow and sad about yesterday. I am grateful for the powerful reminder to live for right now and the peace it brings. They tell us that this philosophy or way of being is a main influencer of the food menu here at Little Lao. Whenever possible, cooking with seasonal ingredients found in the market that have been harvested from the jungle or caught in the sacred Mekong, usually that same day.
While we are sipping on our fantastic cocktails, food is being ushered to the table. Soon, we will need to pull over another table to accommodate all the dishes. I’m happy to have Chef Ice with me, and I keep picking his brain for his thoughts on the dishes. The difference between these classic Lao plates that we had Rosewood vs Little Lao. I love to see the variances between the chefs’ creativity. An obvious and well admitted one on Chef Ice’s part is the use of heat, Chef tones down the chilli and Little Lao is firing it up. This makes this Sauvignon Blanc a perfect match and goes down like water.
Jeow
At the centre of every Lao table is a small basket of sticky rice along with a tiny bowl of Jeow or, as Litte Lao likes to call them, funky hot sauces. These add spiciness and pungent flavours to the meal. Every Lao family has their own secret family recipes. Little Lao’s team has gathered all of their favourites, 21 to be exact. The 21 Jeow or Funky Hot Sauces (a dip lover’s paradise) are categorized by heat level; medium spicy, very spicy and the Lao Burn. There must be at least 100 ingredients on the table now, and I am having a hard time keeping track of them and taking notes. I decide to just taste things and see if I can figure it out. This is fun! It’s like blind tasting wine. My favourite Jeow Khing Luang Prabang has ginger, peanuts, fried garlic, and chilli. It is like spicy peanut butter and so yummy. I work my way through the other Jeows and easily get the eggplant in the Jeow Mak Kuar with roasted eggplant, roasted garlic and grilled chilli pepper. The eggplants in LP are really something else. So pure and delicious. Honestly, I don’t love eggplant, but here I am really enjoying every one I’ve tried. Jeow Bong, Luang Prabang’s favourite of galangal, sugar, smoked chilli pepper, and buffalo skin, is a challenge for me to blind taste, so I cheat and look at the menu. Oh yes, galangal, I get it now. It’s so good.
Under the Lao Burn Jeow Pak Hom with fresh coriander, fresh green onion and charred chilli pepper is flavourful and definitely burning. I get the coriander right away, and then a flush of heat and salvation in my mouth. I can handle a bit more spice than Monica, and I tell her to be careful with this one. More Sauvignon Blanc, thank you. We have these round patties on a plate in the middle of the table, and Ice says, “Oh, these are great with the Jeow, try,” and hands me the dish of Kao Jee pan-fried sticky rice patties with fish paste and eggs (Kip 100,000). Oh yes, baby, get in there. I smother my Kao Jee in some Jeow Khing, and then try with the Jeow Pak Hom. All so good. The Jeows are Kip 60,000 each and come with their own selection of steamed vegetables, which are great as well, and the Lao-typical buffalo skin with some is also great for dipping. We are having fun mixing and mashing, and I am thinking back to what Nont said about how we are supposed to try many things and allow the flavours of each dish to communicate with each other (and with us)! Everything is talking and buzzing, and this meal is extraordinary.
Laotian Recipes
So many vegetables, I hear some pork calling my name… I stab my fork into a juicy piece of Sai Oua Kuang (Kip 100,000), deep-fried Lao herb pork sausage – delicious! Next, I see a stack of these green sheets of paper-looking things. “What are these?” I exclaim! Nont explains these are Kai Pan (Kip 90,000), crispy river weed with garlic and sesame seeds. This sounds strange, I think to myself as I shovel one into my mouth. What a pleasant surprise. I love this. Monica, try these; it’s river weed! They are umami and have a nutty flavour from the sesame seeds. We find out they are a superfood and very good for you. I immediately continue playing with my food and experimenting with the Jeow and the Kai Pan. It’s working great!
Luang Prabang Flavours
This is a blast! I take a breather to enjoy the next cocktail crafted by Little Laos resident mixologist Mimi called Sakahn (Kip 190,000) with gin, house-made bale and sakhaan spicy wood tonic. Mimi tells us Sakahn is a type of spicy wood used in cooking for its peppery flavour and tingling sensation. It’s one of Luang Prabang’s most treasured ingredients found deep in the jungle. The drink is smooth, woody, and herbaceous from the Lao gin made in Vientiane by a British expat who grows all his own herbs and botanicals. Monica (who is busy taking beautiful photos), get over here, I tell her (Mon loves gin). The Sakahn is a great food cocktail, and I am ready for more. Oh my – this is where the second table gets pulled over, and I see that eight, yes eight, more dishes have arrived. Oh Ice, thank goodness you are here with us.
Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant Traditional Recipes
I unwrap a beautiful banana leaf to find inside Mok Pa (Kip 120,000), steamed Mekong River fish with eggs, spices, and local herbs. It looks like an omelette, and it’s bursting with herbs and fresh flavours. It’s soft and creamy. We also have Nem Kao (Kip 110,000), crispy rice lettuce wraps with crunchy coconut rice, peanuts, herbs, and fermented pork. It is a simple, healthy dish, also allowing us some more play time as I pick which veggies I want to wrap up. There is also a vegetarian version of this one, but I am quite happy to have more pork. Soup Pak Salad (Kip 110,000) is a mildly spiced salad with steamed seasonal vegetables, roasted sesame seeds, and ginger chilli dressing. Again, I am feeling healthy with this dish and love the ginger and sesame.
Little Lao Cocktail Program
I look up and Mimi is handing me a vibrantly green cocktail in a pretty coupe glass. She tells us this is one of her new creations, not yet on the menu (but available). Lao Melon (Kip 220,000) is made with basil cordial and Lao gin. I take a sip. It’s very drinkable. I lick the frothy foam from my lips and ask Mini if it’s egg whites, and she says, no, it’s soy foam. Cool, it’s a first for me!
Mimi takes some time to tell us what has inspired their cocktail program. One of the oldest and most important rituals in Luang Prabang happens at the morning market, currently situated next to Wat Mai temple, a few blocks from Little Lao bar. Monica and I got to visit this market earlier in the week. For centuries, fishermen, hunters, foragers, and farmers have gotten up very early to go into their fields or the jungle or to the Mekong to find offerings to trade and sell at the market. This is how Luang Prabang wakes up each morning, and this is the inspiration for our cocktail program at Little Lao.
Laotian Curry
Two bowls of goodness are awaiting our attention in the centre of the table. The first is Pang Gai Curry (Kip 100,000) – Luang Prabang royal-style chicken curry with house-made curry paste, coconut cream, buffalo skin, and fried garlic. The second is Lon Som (Kip 110,000), a stew from the king’s court with pork belly, coconut, eggplant, longevity beans, buffalo skin, and sweet fermented fish paste. Ah, longevity beans, pork belly and coconut, what more could I ask for? Rice, oh yes, must have rice. I open one of the rice baskets and find sticky rice. I am about to scoop some onto my plate and Ice hands me a basket of purple sticky rice. Oh Chef thank you; you know me so well already. I add some of each curry to my purple sticky rice. I am slowing down, so pleasantly satisfied, but I love curry. I must continue. The Pang Gai Curry is in deed royal-style, so tender and juicy and flavourful. Monica loves this one too; it has just the right amount of chilli. The pork belly from the stew is literally melting in my mouth.
Cocktail Bar Luang Prabang
It’s time for a cocktail break… Mimi hands me a Mak Hung Dong (Kip 170,000) with Lao chilli tequila, pickled papaya, cucumber, and rice paddy lime. Pickled papaya is the star here, offering a savoury note to this refreshing Margarita-inspired cocktail. This is my drink, like a spicy Margarita with lots of complexity. I am in my happy place now. Compliments to Mimi on creating another very food-friendly cocktail.
Noodles, Soups & Wok Menu
Our last two dishes are from the Noodles, Soups, and Wok section. The first is the Kao Poon Nam Pik (Kip 110,000), with vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and herbs in aromatic pork curry and coconut broth. It smells so good! I can barely eat another bite of anything. We are all gleefully stuffed. I take a spoonful of the aromatic coconut broth. It is delicious, and I wish I could eat more of it. Here Ice, eat this, please. I pass him the bowl. He happily obliges. The final soup is Kang Mak Thang Soup (Kip 90,000), a cilantro root broth with ground pork, stuffed cucumber and aromatics. Cilantro root? What do you mean? Chef Ice and Nont go into detail about how the actual roots of cilantro (aka coriander) have the most flavour, even more than the leaves. All this time, I’ve been throwing the roots into my compost. Wow, I had no idea. I can’t wait to get home and try this. Now, I also learn about the three friends (which, ironically, I have been hearing this mentioned a lot in restaurants lately). They are cilantro root, garlic and peppercorn. These three friends spend a lot of time together in Thai and Lao cuisine. I like them. I consider them friends as well. They are having a lovely time in the Kang Mak Thang Soup. I savour my last few bites, sip some more wine, and slowly slip deeper into a food-induced meditative state.
Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant Luang Prabang
Nont and Monica ask me if I am ready to go upstairs and see Sun Song Social. Well, I most certainly do not want to take a nap down here! I must get up and move around. I have been having a wonderful time admiring all the art and hand-crafted details downstairs here at Little Lao Culture Bar. It is almost like visiting a museum. I am excited to see where this gorgeous cast iron spiral staircase with its intricate floral and geometric patterns will lead us.
Reasons to visit Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant: Nont and his amazing hospitality and team, cultural immersion, fantastic food fresh from the garden, jungle, and river, food-friendly cocktails, artwork and craftsmanship, 21 Jeows, sharing, stopping for a moment in time.
Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant
Banh Xiangmuon, 33, Luang Prabang, Laos
Link to Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant on Google Maps
+856 20 51 998 998
Little Lao Culture Bar & Restaurant Opening Hours
11 am – 11:30 pm
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