Lao Village, Fairfield
Fancy some Lao cuisine ?
What’s up with Thai restaurants and funny names ? Thai-riffic, Thai-na-town, Thai-tanic and the list goes on. It seems there is an infatuation with this naming convention and it’s almost weird seeing a Thai restaurant with a normal name such as Lao Village. But of course, Lao Village is Lao and not Thai. Yet you often find the food can be quite similar, a bit like Middle eastern food.
'Local' feel in this restaurant
Coconut juice
I’ve been to Lao Village a lot in recent years. It’s a testament to how good it really is if it’s still operating after 15 years. Not much has changed, the food is traditional, it’s cheap and it has the ‘local’ feel to it. You won’t see this place with Ikea furnishings or scented candles that’s for sure. But that’s the beauty of this restaurant and it’s appeal to the Lao and Thai locals of Fairfield and it’s surrounding suburbs such as Cabramatta. You know the food will taste awesome, your more than likely to see a few familiar faces dining there, yet if it was your first time there you wouldn’t feel intimated either.
Complimentary salad
Finding this place is easy for the regular, but it’s actually behind the renovated Fairfield RSL which looks like the Las Vegas of the West. Lao Village is hidden behind a dodgy looking door with a fly screen, but once you walk in to the packed restaurant (on a Saturday night) you know your in the right place.
bbq marinated ox tongue ($7.50)
Grilled ox tongue is one of my favourite thai and lao dishes regardless of which restaurant it is. It is grilled until brown and crispy yet it retains it’s softness inside. There is a slight unique taste, it’s hard to explain in words. You know your not eating ‘meat’ but in fact another organ. First timers should not think about and just eat it because it tastes delicious.
Fried quails ($12)
For $12, we get an extremely generous serving of crispy fried and tender quail. It’s a refreshing scene as these are often dry and tough in a lot Chinese restaurants as they are usually served as part of a discount banquet. The salt and pepper with lemon juice dip gives it a little bit of kick.
Fried rice with seafood ($8.50)
Lao and Thai style fried rice is a bit different to normal fried rice. The usual ingredients are there but it is usually served flat on a plate with the top part crunchy.
Fried noodle with seafood ($8.50)
The thick pieces of rice noodles are a favourite due to the copious amounts of seafood. It isn’t outstanding, as you can only do so much with fried noodles.
paw paw salad thai style ($7.50)
There are two types of paw paw salads. we opt for the Thai as opposed to the Lao. The main difference is that the Lao version is prepared with brined crabs whereas the Thai use more of a fish sauce and shrimp paste base for it’s flavour, that’s from what I can gather anyway from various trips to Thai and Lao restaurants. The salad is fresh and pungent, with a tasty variety of flavours and textures. You have the paw paw and tomato providing the base elements of a salad, the fish sauce and shrimp paste providing flavour and saltiness and the peanuts and dried shrimp introducing a bit of crunch and texture.
chicken feet salad ($7.50)
The chicken feet salad was gobbled up in no time. Sadly, I can’t find much about it on Google. It’s base ingredients are chicken feet and onion with a spicy sauce. Once again, it’s the contrasting textures of ingredients that win me over.
Sticky rice $2.50
I always go for the sticky rice as it’s perfect for absorbing all the sauces from the various salads. A $2.50 is enough for 1 person, or 1 between 2 if ordering fried rice and noodles. Lao Village is one of the best bang for buck restaurants you will find. Each dish is enough to be shared between 2 people. The food is traditional, cheap and delicious. They keep the menu small but do it very well. You’ll see families of all walks of life there, young couples, groups of Thai and Lao teens going for a feed as well. If you ever get sick of the modern varieties of Thai food, you should try the Thai and Lao restaurants out in the Suburbs for something a little different. The flavours are less bold, but at least it gives you an indication on what you would get if you visited Lao.
Lao Village 1-3 Anzac Avenue Fairfield NSW 2165 Opposite Fairfield RSL Phone (02) 9728 7136
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By Howard
We started eatshowandtell in 2008, it was meant to be just a journal of where we ate. The first thing I usually do when I'm looking for a restaurant is check out eatability and the restaurant website. But what is usually missing is pictures of the food, how do I know I'm getting what I expect? This blog hopefully plugs that gap.
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This article was written on 18 Jun 2009, and is filed under Laos, Sydney, South West, Thai.
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Food from the ‘burbs… I like! I’m especially interested in the chicken feet salad. Are they whole feet? Or have the toes been cut off and tossed through? (Sounds so gruesome).
.-= shez´s last blog ..shanghai noodles with pork mince =-.
I love laos food! I always find it similar to cambodian food too. I’ve never eaten it at restaurant before its always been at friends houses bbqs you know the typical asian bbqz with nem nuong grilling away lol
Totally eying the fried quail. Cant remember when i last ordered quail at a viet restaurant.
Apparently there’s supposed to be a really chilli hot laos restaurant in Canley Vale? Ive been meaning to try there cos i’m a chilli freak but i always forget.. viet food always seems to be the easiest for us.
Awesome photos. You always make things look nice and i’m sure they represent that
.-= Leona´s last blog ..Food Bloggers Unite 4 ChocolateSuze! =-.
I remember coming to this place with my parents when I was a kid. Those walls were still blue back then and it looks like they’ve had a recent paint job from your photos. Good to know that it’s still around and still great value.
I’ve got a massive craving for ox some tongue and paw paw salad with a big handful of sticky rice now. I’m lucky to have Laotian aunts, family get-togethers are like all you can eat paw paw salad
.-= Mr Taste´s last blog ..About Life – Rozelle =-.
I love these kind of places in the ‘suburbs’! Never seen this place, I normally go for Viet food when I’m in that area, but I will give this place a try next time
.-= Betty´s last blog ..Fort Denison Cafe & Restaurant =-.
That looks so good! I love the lemon, pepper salt dipping sauce that goes with the quail. It’s so good that I’m always dipping stuff into it long after all the quail has been eaten. Have you tried the quail at Bach Dang? Definitely on the to try list next time I’m in the area!
.-= Forager´s last blog ..Something different: homemade gnocchi =-.
I love hearing about your hidden gems. It’s funny the way places tucked in back streets can get a big following. Must be the good food!
.-= Arwen from Hoglet K´s last blog ..Campsie Food Festival =-.
Ooh what a great find. That’s really impressive that it’s been open for so many years. Love the sound of the chicken feet salad, ox tongue and quails-very intriguing! Yay for cheap, good food
.-= Steph´s last blog ..Bonta Vita, Sydney CBD =-.
Ahh niicee! The ox tongue has got my eye.. it looks Lao-riffic -___-
.-= FFichiban´s last blog ..Chocolatesuze turns 1! Wagaya – Sydney =-.
No baby egg howie??
oooo
heheh, yeah this place is bang for buck and i love their fried rice
I love lao food! Awesome memories of super SUPER spicy laap, grilled fish and sticky rice.
Glad to hear good things about this restaurant (I put it on my -to eat- list for people who want to take me out to dinner, now I hope they pick this place over and above the fancy ones.
.-= lili – pikeletandpie´s last blog ..Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Soup =-.
So did you find it a little like Middle eastern food?
IF you look on eatability and search Laotian food, a majority of them are in Fairfield!!
I believe ive tried about 4-5 Laotian restaurants in the Fairfield area, 3 are similar in taste, one which is closest to Fairfield rsl (I agree, its like Las vegas, they closed like 4am,thats just CRAZY!!) is really cheap, the most expensive item from memory was $10-12 and that was seafood!!
it’s always fascinating when u found some local gem in the burbs. I like my chicken feet fried then braised, steamed is rather elastic and fattening feet is very disturbing at times. What’s the spicy level of Laotian food compare to Thai?
.-= billy@ATFT´s last blog ..My perfect breakfast =-.
Chicken feet salad?! That I would like to try!
Hmm to be honest, ‘Laotian food’ didn’t really ring a bell to me but the food looks great! I better go check it out!
.-= Yas´s last blog ..quick update: tea break! =-.
@Shez : They are not whole feet, just the skin. It’s better that way as you can have a whole mouthful without dodgy pieces of feet!
@Leona : I think there is 1 Lao restaurant in Canley Vale, but I know for sure there are a few in Canley Heights which is up the road. Canley Heights is turning into a Food hub, and it’s all on Canley Vale Road as well. It’s great for supper, they open till 3am (some restaurants)
@Mr Taste : Yeah, it’s awesome this place has been around for so long yet not much has changed.
@Betty : The great thing about the area is that you can find anything sth east asian, it really is awesome!
@Forager : Yep I’ve been to Bach Dang a few times, they make really good crab but are on the more expensive side of things.
@Arwen : There are usually queues at this place despite it’s dodgy location, a sign that the food is good!
@Steph : It’s super cheap, not even sure how they make money
@ffichiban : lol laoriffic, you should start up a restaurant in that name.
@DavidCC : Baby egg, I have a hard time eating it! But it is nice once in a while with some Hennesy or something strong.
@Lili : If your ever in the area let me know, we can go check it out together. I love coming here it is so cheap!
@Sydneyguyroejoe : I meant that Thai and Lao food is a bit like middle eastern food in the sense that despite it being different countries, they taste kind of similiar yet unique in their own right. Seems that Fairfield is the Lao hub!
@Billy : It’s not too spicy, but they ask you what level of chilli you want.
@Yas : It’s not a cuisine which has hit ‘mainstream’ for lack of a better of term, a bit like Cambodian or African food.
[...] am amused to see that I-San seems to share the same wholesaler as Laos Village, serving up their sticky rice servings in these cute bamboo containers. Is this a Thai or Laos [...]
I love Lao food! Lao cuisine is spicier than Thai as long as you know how to order. The chefs may tone down the heat if they know that you’re not Lao. But overall, Lao spicy is out of this world good!
Spicy Laap salad with sticky rice and spicy Lao papaya (paw paw) salad is to die for. I also enjoy eating Lao sausages with sticky rice…yummy!
For curries, I prefer a Lao curry noodle soup called Khao Poon. For non-curry soups, I love Khao Piek Sen (Lao chicken noodle soup).
You have missed out 2 of the best dishes at Lao Village – Lao Pork Sausage and Dried Beef. Do try the BBQ pork too.
I love their crunchy fried rice (I tell them not to put peanut in it though)! I always have to order that dish whenever I am there! Perfect!
[...] of time in Fairfield. While it lacks the character and home style feel of food which my favorite Lao village offers, it makes it up with a cleaner dining atmosphere and competitive prices. One things for [...]
[...] Nam Khao from Lao Village in [...]