With just about a month to go, my thoughts are turning to food. I have read many of the posts about LP but wonder if anyone cares to give a few recommendations here. I just finished the Laos chapter in Tim Parker-Bowles new book, The Year of Eating Dangerously in which he writes of a soup at a stand in LP as "not only the best soup I have ever tasted but probably the finest dish of the trip so far." Of course I made note of the place, Madame Nom's.

Anyone with recent experience care to post here...?

Just got back 2 weeks ago from LP and would recommend the Apsara (best for lunch, but I'm sure fantastic for dinner as well)...as well as the restaurant at La Residence (we stayed there--and consistently had some of the best food on our trip their)--it's not as cheap, but worth it for at least one night. Also liked L'Elephant a lot.

By far, though, the best bang for your buck is going to be at Indochine Spirit, which is in the middle of town--right near Maison Sovannaphoum. It's a fantastic mix of Lao and Thai cuisine--the setting is an old wooden stilt house--and the price (at least for us) was around $8 for appetizers, main courses and beer for 4!

I'd also really enjoyed JoMa Bakery in town for great quick bites and/or lunch. It's a little French bakery with some great pastries, soups and sandwiches.

Happy travels!

i second all of the above...

We also liked the food at Tum Tum Cheng/Bamboo (Cheng is slightly farther from the main drag and Bamboo is right in the middle of it, both owned by the same person).

Joma bakery is really good in the morning, especially after you've just seen the monks.

I read around on the net about Scandinavian Bakery, but we were less than impressed. Not worth the money, imho.

Ah, and we also loved the sandwiches you get in baguettes!

River Weed and a beer lao at any of the local places down on the river.

Try different places. Everyone puts their own touch on the way the weed is fried as well as variations on the dipping sauce, if any.

In the book I mentioned above, the author raves about a dish of baby bee(!!) Does this sound familiar? He also mentions restaurant Mali...

Thanks for the ideas..please keep them coming. I have 5 days there and plan to sample lots of places!

We were just there and had great food at all of the following:

Blue Lagoon
Tamarind-only open for lunch
L'Elephant
Apsara
Indochine Spirit

Also, there is a vendor on the street just past JoMa Bakery that sells unbelievable donuts.

The food is great all over town.

An article in tomorrow's New York Times, which touts Laos as THE place to go in 2008, mentions the tasting menu at 3 Nagas..has anyone tried this?

Also, do I need to reserve any of these places in advance of arrival, since I will be there in mid-January?

No, you do not need to reserve too far in advance. make reservations at the 3 Nagas and L'Elephant a day ahead of time.

Speaking of the # Nagas. We did not try the tasting menu, but it was the most disappointing meal we had in LP. We followed the suggestions of Amanda Hesser and were unimpressed.

Where are you staying in LP?

Hi - we really enjoyed our meal at 3 Nagas - didn't order the tasting menu but had some really interesting dishes - photos on the blog here

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/2...ang/index.html

We ate twice at Cafe Toui - a little place on one of the side streets off the main street (is that clear?) It's on the Mekong side - I think it's on the street where Villa Santi is on the corner...........anyway it's not that hard to find!

As others mentioned Apsara is good (we had appetizers there).

Where are you staying?

We ate at a restaurant called 3 elephants (can't remember the lao word for elephant) across the street from Villa Santi. It was excellent and reasonably priced. Also went to a bbq place (up closer to Phou Vao) where you cook your own food listed in lonely planet...can't remember the name but it was GREAT.

Staying at Residence Phou Vao for 5 nights in January...

Another place in the Parker-Bowles book is Mali ( which I believe may be spelled Malee...)

Please keep the ideas coming...!

Elizabeth, Loved your photos, which brought back wonderful memories. We just loved the small-town, low key atmosphere, friendly people, and great food. Hope the atmosphere doesn't change with all the publicity and increased tourism. GPanda, surprised you didn't like 3 Nagas. Don't remember Amanda Hesser's suggestions, but we loved the food and atmosphere. Also enjoyed coffe and pastry at Joma, where we met an interesting woman from Philadelphia who fell in love with LP and stayed.