Cafe De Laos

SETTING

A charming, traditional wooden house with wall-hanging textiles and antique light fixtures allows diners to feel as if they are back in time or upcountry, enjoying home-cooked food. Windows look out on garden dining and a pond.

FOOD

Lao and Northeastern Isan food is different from Thai and this is a good place to explore variations of recipes you may already be familiar with. Start with a unique version of som tam poo nim for a spicy papaya salad using deep-fried softshell crab instead. Herb de Lao salad is a mustorder dish because it tosses together delicious lemongrass, betel leaves, lettuce, tomatoes, mint leaves and other greens in a fresh-tasting mix under a minty dressing. Fried whole fish with crispy lemongrass served with spicy sauce is heavily fried to almost a brown crisp, but can be enjoyable. Grilled sirloin with Isan sauce lays slices of beef alongside a fiery sauce — and is fine but ask for well done unless you want pink meat. Stirfried broccoli with prawns is good and includes Chinese mushrooms, oyster sauce and garlic. The vast menu offers photographs of each dish, and you may want to return for further exploration.

WINES

Mostly Australian, with a handful of Californian and Romanian. California’s Kendall- Jackson cabernet sauvignon is very good.

SERVICE

Personalised, professional, friendly service makes it easy to discuss specific dishes and ingredients, and adds to the pleasure and folksiness of eating here.

PRICE

Two with 1,500 baht can have a good meal without drinks.

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