I don't believe in fine dining Asian. There, I said it. Before you shun me, I think there's a lot to pay respect to in Asian fine dining, looking at Momofuku, Spice Temple, and even Mr Wong's, but there's something nostalgic about a home cooked meal that I would pick a thousand times over 'fine dining'. Let me take you back to the old granny selling her homemade herbal jelly with condensed milk on the streets of Guangzhou or Banh Canh made by the pot in a little side stall cart in Saigon - this is not something a top chef can easily replicate, this is tradition.

Tradition sings no louder to me than here at Laos Village, located next to Fairfield station. There are three generations of the family working the restaurant, mums, cousins and aunts alike. Laos is often overshadowed by its highly Westernised neighbour, Thailand, whose basic people food like pad thai (ok, I love pad thai as well) gives it a bad rep. Much like Thai food, Laos food is fragrant, punchy and textural, but with influences from neighbours like China, Vietnam and Cambodia. 

Laos Village, located within the same building as a few other shops, is easily recognisable for its fly screen door and dinner queue. The interior looks much like a home in the village (hence the name?) with no frills fixtures and fluorescent lighting. Larger groups beware as the wait for a table could be a bit longer, but luckily our small party of two were seated within 15 minutes. After quick glance at the menu and the waiter pops by to take our orders.

BBQ Pork $11

Considering the full house our food arrived very quickly, which was awesome cause we were super hunger by then. BBQ Pork has become our staple order for every visit, and for solid reason. Lightly charred, tender and juicy. Such a simple dish but so, so flavoursome. Dip it a piece into the tangy chilli sauce and eat with some sticky rice that you have rolled into a little ball with your fingers - can't get more traditional than that. Though I have yet traveled to Laos, this brings back fond memories of the lined street food carts serving grilled meat and other dishes in Phuket Town.  

BBQ Ox Tongue $11

I absolutely love the texture of ox tongue, which is usually chewy but still really tender melt-in-your-mouth. The ox tongue today unfortunately missed the mark, being overworked and tough to swallow. 

Paw Paw Salad (Laos Style) $10

Given the option of Thai or Laos style paw paw salad, I always opt for Laos style. Unlike it's Thai counterpart, whose salad is usually very light and fresh looking, the Laos style is dark and murky. The main difference is the Laos style uses shrimp/crab/anchovy paste to give it that deep umami flavour, whereas Thai style uses tamarind and fish sauce. I've seen other places actually use little baby crabs as well for their Laos style! We got the mild because unfortuantely Rvr can't handle spice well, but even then it was quite hot! It was topped off with a big spoonful of dried shrimp to give it colour and texture, as well as saltiness. 

"Fried Noodle Dry" Chicken $11

There is nothing outstanding about this dish, but I love ordering it and I love eating it. It is simple rice noodles, stir fried with egg, veg and choice of meat. There's just something that makes it incredibly moreish to me, but also because I luff noodles ^_^.

Crunch Fried Rice with Laos Style Ham $10

This is another must order dish for for us, and it is ultimate. It's like when you leave the rice on pan that cooks for too long and the bottom slightly burnt but still edible. A mountain of rice fried with green onions, peanuts and Laos style ham, which has this almost gelatinous texture, with all these fun crunchy semi-burnt rice bits. Rvr was in awe that such a dish actually existed and that something so simple can taste so good. 

Our bellies were so stuffed and we actually had to get takeaway, another moment of defeat in Em & Rvr vs. Food. Here at Laos Village you'll find that service is fairly quick, the prices are cheap and the food is tasty - there is little to complain about. 

A giant banner outside that tells us its been established and serving up delicious Laos food since 1983. These are recipes past down from generation to generation, which probably has no exact measurements and you will never find them in a recipe book. This is tradition.