Lao Village, Fairfield
18 June 2009
17 Comments
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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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