Tam Mak Houng, Lao Papaya Salad in Vang Vieng

Tam Mak Houng 

Delicious, Filling, Healthy Laotian food 

in Vang Vieng, Laos 

Tam Mak Houng

After a long bus ride from Vientiane to Vang Vieng, I'm craving some delicious and filling Laotian food. I explored the small town on foot, and decided to have lunch at Vela Restaurant because it look really nice and relaxing.

I read through their menu and decided to order Tam Mak Houng and Chicken Larb. Of course, a basket of sticky rice on the side is a must!

Tam Mak Houng is Lao green papaya salad. Papaya salad is a popular dish in Thailand (where it's called som tam) and in Laos (where it's also known as tam som). The dish contains shredded raw papaya, tomato, and peanuts with side vegetables. They asked me how spicy I wanted my order. I can handle a medium amount of spiciness, so that's what I asked for. As a warning, papaya salad can be really spicy! Be careful if you aren't used to spicy food! 🌶️

The sticky rice was served in a traditional woven basket (called a kratib in Thai, but I'm not sure what it's called in Lao) that keeps the rice warm and fresh. I'm so excited to try my first bite and YES! It's as I expected. It's so good! The fresh papaya is so crispy, which means that it's a really high-quality papaya salad. It's especially nice when I take some peanut in the same bite. Sweet, sour and a little spicy are just perfect.

Vela Cafe & Restaurant is a very nice. It's very clean, staffs are very useful and friendly. They have wide varieties of food including western meals. It's just right on the street. You will have no trouble to find this restaurant.

You can read more about Larb Chicken here

Vela Restaurant and Cave, Vang Vieng, Laos

menu at Vela Restaurant and Cave, Vang Vieng, Laos

Price:💲
Location Vela Cafe & Restaurant