The best ways to discover food in Laos

Laos is an amazing country known for having spectacular landscapes, countryside, waterfalls, pagodas and extremely mellow people, as well as being the “land of a million elephants”.
You may not know much about how incredible the Laos food is, but it is certainly not any less tasty than neighbouring countries of Thailand and Vietnam.

1. Visit Luang Prabang
Having the most things to see and do, the fascinating town of Luang Prabang is the hub for most trips to Laos and suitably a great place to start your gourmet journey. Luang Prabang has all whatever if you look for learning about farming and rice cultivation, taking cookery classes or digging into spendthrift meals.

2. Visit Living Land Farm
One of the most favourite food experiences in Laos is at the wonderful Living Land Farm; here you can throw yourself into all 14 stages of rice cultivation, with the most important of all: eating. The farm is a wonderfully run project and with many different rice paddies, you can learn about each stage of cultivation.
Planting rice seeds in a fresh paddy field, beating down fully-grown rice and best of all – apart from the eating, of course – is ploughing the rice paddy with your water buffalo! Finish the day by making sugar cane juice and sit down with the family to enjoy a tasty lunch of different flavoured and textured rice dishes.

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3. Visit Buffalo Farm
If you are looking for a more exceptional farming location, then take a visit to the buffalo farm near the Kuang Si Waterfall to learn all about buffalo dairy products, such as cheese, yoghurt and ice cream. Take a tour and taste many products created from these majestic creatures after you learn about them.
Having a meal in front of the beautiful falls is one of the best parts of visiting Kuang Si. Avoid the crowds by heading here for breakfast, enjoying the peaceful serenity that the monks fell in love with.

4. Join Cookery classes
To taste Laos home with you, sign up for a cookery class such as at Tamarind Restaurant in Luang Prabang. Here you’ll learn how to make traditional Lao cuisine and try your handiwork after that! After class, you will also be given a cookbook to practice your cooking skills at home, a great way to share your travels with friends and family.

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5. Visit Tea and coffee plantations
Apart from Luang Prabang, there are many ideal food-based experiences throughout the country. Southern Laos is well-known for having some of the world’s best coffee, so a visit to the region is a must for coffee enthusiasts.
The beautiful Bolaven Plateau isn’t only home to some of Southeast Asia’s most stunning waterfalls but where you can learn about the cultivation and process of growing tea and coffee at the plantations, trying lots of samples as you go along.

6. Visit Vientiane
Visiting the capital city of Laos, you can enjoy a sunset foodie adventure sampling some of the most well-known dishes; with a variety of flavours, sights and smells it promises to be an amazing evening.
But for a traditional night out, spend an evening at a Laotian barbecue (sin dat) followed by playing everyone’s favourite game – pétanque. This friendly atmosphere is a great chance to make new friends in a place fellow travellers infrequently stop at. Arrive hungrily – all food and beer are included.