Luang Namtha Guide

Rambo Fusion

April 6th, 2013

I would like to present Rambo Fusion with two awards, for quirkiest name and best BBQ in Luang Namtha.

I guess it was the air of mystery that attracted Lizzie and I to Rambo, the name giving away little about the food and the location out of view from any road. We had been talking about going for a while, but didn’t really expect much. When we got there though, we were pleasantly surprised. The layout is very well done with enclosed booths for each group and lots of plant growth all around. The staff welcomed us instantly and seemed very pleased to get some Western customers. As is the case with most restaurants in Asia, the menu provided some entertainment. We decided to try beef breast and pig breast as our BBQ meats.

Before the food arrives, the barbecue must be assembled. This consists of a bucket of coals in the middle of the table and a metallic pyramid on top. You are then brought your chosen meats along with glass noodles, egg noodles and more vegetables than I care to mention. Not forgetting, of course, the obligatory Beerlao.

This style of barbecue can be seen in many parts of Asia. The idea is that you fry the meat on the slope of the pyramid, and all the juices run into the broth around the outside, which is where you cook the noodles and vegetables. By the end of the meal, the broth becomes the most flavoursome soup, definitely worth eating a few less noodles to save space for.

All in all the experience was great. The meat was good quality, the vegetables plentiful, and the surroundings pleasant. The concept of cooking your own food also makes the whole thing good fun, especially if you’re in a group. If you come to Luang Namtha, you should spend one night at Forest Retreat and one night at Rambo Fusion!

Empty plates and a satisfied customer

Tags: Asian Barbecue, Barbecue, BBQ, Food, food in Laos, laos, luang namtha, Luang Namtha food, luang namtha restaurants, Rambo Fusion
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The Luang Namtha Fresh Market

August 4th, 2012

So you think you have seen it all at produce markets in South East Asia?

Wrong! You haven’t seen the Luang Namtha fresh market; one of the coolest of the many we have seen throughout South East Asia.

For a start the local ladies running the market are lovely, encouraging you to try a free sample of the weird and wonderful foods they have prepared. And if you don’t want to buy they will still give you a smile as you walk away.

The diversity of fresh produce from the local river banks (where they grow all the food crops), the jungle and from southern china is amazing! You are sure to see many types of vegetables, fruit, herbs and animals you have never seen before and get some amazing photos to show people back home.

Highlights of the Luang Namtha fresh market:

The cooked food aisle: Sample northern Lao delicacies like boiled chicken innards (apparently the best part of the chicken!), dog liver on a stick, stuffed Rhinoceros beetles, dried water Buffalo skin jerky, bamboo rat or smoked squirrel. There are also plenty of snacks more appealing to the western palate like delicious fried bananas, sweet sticky rice balls flavoured with Pandan leaf, deep fried bamboo parcels stuffed with pork mince and many other palatable delights.
Local “wild” foods: Animals unfamiliar to us westerners gathered from the forest, rice paddies and rivers are still on the menu for the local Lao people. Freshwater snails, strange tiny fish and invertebrates from the river, huge beetles in swarming bowls, giant wasp larvae, Silk worm pupae, many varieties of frogs and even flying squirrels can be found for sale with enthusiastic owners telling you how good (sep lai) they are! Occasionally a protected wild animal will slip into the selection, so if you see a protected Lao animal be sure to take a photo and tell the vendor you will show it to the department of tourism; with continued education and reinforcement local people will stop harvesting the amazing animals from the jungle.
Awesome jungle fruit and berries: We are still finding new fruits and nuts we have never seen before from one tree or another in the jungle. Everything is seasonal and fresh and is only on sale depending on when the fruiting trees bear fruit. The vendors will show you how to eat whatever fruit/nut/seed/plant it is. Some highlights are giant purple fig-like jungle fruits filled with jelly, “pumpkin” fruit; a teardrop shaped fruit with flesh the colour of pumpkin and taste of pumpkin pie and wild cardamom berries (quite possibly the most delicious, aromatic fruit ever).
The meat section: Live fishes in small ponds is one thing but the butchery section has an impressive selection of offal and curdled blood jelly. It is amazing to see that no piece of animal goes to waste and if you are feeling peckish for that pigs face or water buffalo foot it can be found here. Vegetarians will rejoice in their choice of diet after visiting the Luang Namtha fresh market meat section; not to be missed.
The Chinese market: Located behind and to the right of the fresh market is the Chinese market where you can buy cheap chinese clothes, toys and electrical goods priced for the Laos market. The fashions are hilarious and most items break on first or second use. Worth a visit for the amusement factor.

Even after being here almost 2 years, we still see jungle fruits we’ve never seen before, vegetables that are out of this world, and parts of animal anatomy that we’d rather not see. The fresh market is always an adventure and highly recommended!

Tags: Luang Namtha food, Luang Namtha fresh market, luang namtha market
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Lai’s Place

June 18th, 2012

Our friend Lai has a small restaurant in Luang Namtha simply called “Lai’s place”. Close to the main road Lai has some pretty good food on her menu. And she also has some western food that is actually done correctly.

She is a young Black Tai (Tai Dam) mother of one who cooks at her restaurant/store with her younger sister Noi, their customer service is attentive and the food comes out in record time.

Lai wanted burgers on her menu, and she wanted to cook them correctly (western style), so she asked us to help, so we recently taught Lai how to cook Luang namtha’s first proper hamburgers. She now has such burger delights as vegetarian burger (tofu, egg, cheese, carrot, lettuce mushroom and tomato), cheeseburger, bacon and egg burger (with real imported bacon) and chicken burger on her menu. We worked very closely with her to explain exactly what and how much to put on the burgers to make them especially delicious, we even drew up diagrams!

Not only burgers, Lai has some great local Lao food and also makes the best Pad Thai and spring rolls with Peanut sauce in town. Other specialties are her thai curries, fried rice, rice soup, sticky rice pancakes with fruit and honey, homemage ginger juice with honey and traditional northern Lao noodle dishes.

We recommend you should eat a meal at Lai’s place on your next visit to Luang Namtha, tell Lai we sent you!

Tags: Luang Namtha food, Luang Namtha restaurant
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Luang Namtha Night Market

May 28th, 2012

The night market is a seemingly never-ending source of many new foods. Most of the foods sold there come straight from the jungle so the selection changes from day to day or week to week. Some things, like bananas, sweet potatoes, papaya salad are available all year round, but other things, like jungle figs come into season for only a few days.

Staples of course include sticky rice “Kiao Nieaw”, freshly cut rice noodle soup “Kiao Soy” and Bbq’d bananas stuffed with freshly grated coconut. Some of the more unusual (for a western palate anyway!) dishes are Rhinocerous beetles on a stick, intestines, duck embryo, and bile soup (a local favourite).

When visiting Luang Namtha you simply must pay a visit to the night market, even if you aren’t brave enough to try anything. The sights are amazing and the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed.