street food at food street

Everyday at around 5PM, Sisavangyong Road in Luang Prabang is closed to vehicular traffic and the Night Market opens for business. Near the end of that road is an alley everybody calls Food Street. You'll know you're in the right place when you see a building with a table flanked by "Bakery" signs in front, with some marked-down breads and pastries laid out. Banana cake at half price, anyone?

At the mouth of the alley, there may or may not be this lady who makes fresh, hot biscuits right on the sidewalk. (We saw her on Monday, and then she was absent the next nights.) Fantastic packaging-- completely biodegradable!

Along the sides of the alley are tables groaning under the weight of all sorts of edibles.

shopping without buying

We spent four nights in Luang Prabang, and every night we ended up at the Night Market. It was impossible to avoid it because it occupies practically half of the main strip, Sisavangyong Road. And Luang Prabang is so tiny that everyone, and I do mean everyone, congregates at the Night Market after sunset.

The vendors lay their wares out on the ground, either on a piece of tarp or a raised platform made of plywood, and then they settle down for the next four to five hours for some multicultural haggling.

chewing over lao cuisine

Arthouse Café is a very famous, highly recommended restaurant in Luang Prabang. Tripadvisor.com has ranked it second out of 73, and nobody seems to have anything bad to say about it.

But I hadn't read any of those reviews when I decided that we should try out Arthouse Café. We were just meandering along in the Nam Khan side of town when I saw it. It looked cozy and welcoming from the outside...

And the inside was not too shabby, either. The air-conditioned dining room on the ground floor was charming. The shiny wooden floors, the retro cane furniture, the French doors and lots of natural light-- I liked this place a lot.

But mostly I was attracted to the lunch special. Fried rice and a fruit shake for only 25,000 kip (a little over US$3)! That was a very good deal-- probably the best in Luang Prabang.

because it smelled good

Let's see... where was I? Oh yes, Luang Prabang.

I've already mentioned the French influence and the colonial architecture...

interlude: ma's birthday

Yesterday was Ma's birthday!

Baby cheesecake compliments of the Oakroom.