The Spirit

Nok Noy caught my attention at first sight. I couldn’t pinpoint the reason for that until I ate there. Among the many restaurants catering for tourists along the promenade and in downtown, Nok Noy is the closest thing to a traditional Lao restaurant. It has a simple menu of time-honored dishes, which are served in a simple, unpretentious environment, with all the grace natural of Laotian people. It is hard not to love the place and to use it as an exploration platform for the Laotian cuisine.

The Location

The restaurant is across the street from the gorgeous promenade looking over the Mekong River. The river cannot be watched while sitting in the restaurant, but a light breeze arriving from its direction constantly keeps it in mind. Thus, Nok Noy is ideal for a late dinner after a stroll along the riverside.

Opening Hours

Nok Noy opens between 7am and midnight.

The Prices

Even in Laotian terms, Nok Noy is an inexpensive place with main dishes costing less than two dollars.

The Food

Most of the dishes served here are based on rice and noodles, a fresh variation after the ubiquitous French restaurants in Vientiane. To the staple carbohydrates, vegetables and a meat (duck, chicken, pork or water buffalo) are added. However, there are two dishes which are slightly different and very Laotian in nature.

The first is called Laap and is a salad made of cooked and chopped meat, mixed with mint leaves, chilies, lime juice and a bit of fried rice. The best variation is the one prepared with duck meat. The result is extremely spicy and should be eaten with care, it is recommended to sample it carefully and if needed to take out the chopped chilies (even after that it will stay spicy). Laap is served with sticky rice and raw vegetables as side dishes; the portions are generous and elegantly served.

The second worthy dish is the papaya salad. It is prepared with long slices of unripe papaya and peanuts as main ingredients. The spicing consists of chilies and lime juice. The dish is extremely attractive in shape and spicy enough to burn its way up to the brain’s memory center and to engrave there a permanent and almost painful memory.

The Drinks

It is impossible to consume such spicy food without giving some consideration to the drinks. Nok Noy is a good place for tasting a cool glass of the excellent Beer Lao (called here Bia Lao); this smooth beer is highly priced even across the river, in Thailand. However, there is a better option. Laos offers an astonishing variety of fruits which are easily transformed into tasty juices, based on water or milk. Papaya and pineapple are the staples, but if arriving at the right time of the year a rare treat awaits the traveler. Rarmood is an indigenous fruit resembling a small, brown potato; its juice is extraordinary and justifies the long trip to Vientiane.