Laos Food 4
Vang Vieng

"Reviews of the Laotian food
in Vang Vieng"

laos food laotian food buffet cheap street food vang vieng backpacking tips asia
Laos food 4

Last updated on August 1, 2010
All information below is subject to change

Finding a place to eat is not a problem in Vang Vieng... Indulge in Lao, Italian, Indian, Thai and much more. Here are my favorites:

Food market

Your cheapest option is to buy your food at the food market in Vang Vieng. You`ll be amazed of how much different food the market has!

They sell fresh fruit, vegetables, pork, chicken, frogs, bats, insects, fish etc. You're going to notice that a lot of the food at the stalls and market are packed in banana leaf. Fish in banana leaf, bugs in banana leaf and so on. Throw in some sticky rice and you're good to go!

I also enjoyed the fried bananas packed in banana leaf at the market :-) NAM! Other goodies are Lao sweets, BBQ, salads and laaps.

For instance: You can get a noodle dish for 1000 Kip (under a dollar), salads for 1000 kip.

Where: There are several food stalls near the airfield offering fried and steamed fish caught from the Nam Song River, and in front of Kang temple every afternoon.

Return to top

Food vendors

Find food vendors on the Main road selling grilled meat, fresh fruit, fruit shakes/juices -- average price: 5000 Kip.

Other delicious meals:

  • Fried meat (chicken, pork) with rice: From 5000 Kip

  • Curry soups: From 2000 Kip

  • Vegetarian soups with noodles: From 3000 Kip

Return to top

Local Restaurants

laap national dish vang vieng laos food laotian food cheap street food buffet luang prabang backpacking tips asia
Laos food 4: traditional laap

Even though there's a tourist wave in Vang Vieng, you can still find traditional Laotian food!

Some of the restaurants in Vang Vieng offer "laap" -- their national dish. "Laap" contains chopped meat (beef, chicken or fish) with flavors of lime and fish sauce. The meat is mixed with rice and herbs. I tried the "laap" with mint. Unusual taste at first, but once you've come around the combination of rice, meat and mint taste, it actually tastes good.

Return to top

Luang Prabang Bakery

A great place to have your breakfast! :-)

They had fresh bakery goods, pastries, shakes, juices and so much more. I enjoyed my banana pancakes, fruit salads and cappuccinos. It`s hard to find good cappuccinos in Laos, so this was my favorite place!

But Luang Prabang Bakery was usually packed from 11 am -- this was usually the time when most travelers woke up after a long night.

So try to get here early... The seats outside are the best, but there`s only a few of them.

Where: You`ll find the bakery on a side street of Main road.

Return to top

Western Restaurants

laos food laotian food friends bar backpacking tips asia
Laos food 4: Watching Friends



laos food laotian food smile bar vang vieng food bbq backpacking tips asia
Laos food 4: At Smile bar, BBQ food!

Many restaurants on the Main road play popular Western shows like: Friends, Family Guy and Simpsons on a rotational basis. The idea here is to kick off your sandals, law down on the pillows, order food, and then watch a show while you're eating, drinking, smoking or whatever.

I went to two restaurants, one playing Friend and one playing Family Guy. I noticed that they had pretty much the same dishes on the menu: pizzas, fruit salads, sandwiches and pastas.

It can`t get anymore Western-like than this...

If you`re up for it, it`s not hard to find these restaurants. Just follow Ross` voice or Stewie`s posh accent. They play the shows really loud and are hard to ignore.

Average price for meals at the restaurants vary from 10.000-45.000 Kip.

Nisha Restaurant

laos food laotian food nisha tandoori chicken backpacking tips asia
Laos food 4: Tandoori chicken at Nisha

Nisha Restaurant on the Main Rd serves cheap, delicious Indian food!

There was a lot to choose from the menu -- masala and veggie dishes. We immediately went for the meaty dishes, and shared a tandoori chicken. All I can say is: Generous portions at reasonable prices.

Return to top

You`re done reading Laos food 4: Vang Vieng, where do you want to go next?

Back to Vang Vieng main page?

Are you heading south? Click here to read about Vang Vieng.

Heard about the beautiful Bolaven Plateau? Go here to read about Pakse and the Bolaven Plateau.

Return from Laos food 4: Vang Vieng to Backpacking Tips Asia Homepage.





Weather in
Vang Vieng

Plan your backpacking trip with these eBooks

Asia January 2012 Photo Winner
Photo of the Month Winner
  January 2012

"Life is a Beach - The Lingayen Gulf Luzon, the Philippines"

By Allan Militante
Baguio, the Philippines
Allan's website
New - February 2012 Asia Photo Contest
-- Submit Yours Now!

Connect with
Backpacking Tips Asia

Follow me on Twitter!
Follow GoBackpacker on Twitter

[?] Subscribe To
This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Add to Newsgator
Subscribe with Bloglines