6.065 Grilled Babyback Ribs

katch4246

11 years ago

6.065

11 (Wed) March 2015

Grilled Babyback Ribs

3.0

at Thonglor Restaurant

-Chanthabouly, Vientiane-

with MG

Mission to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic + Personal Deviation to the Kingdom of Thailand, Day 2 (see previously 6.063 Fried Sun-Dried Venison Meat).

Starting today, I’ll be in Vientiane for work until Friday evening. The purpose of the trip is meet with various ministries, including Health, Justice, Planning & Investment, Foreign Affairs, Industry & Commerce, Finance, as well as the National Assembly, to discuss strategies for strengthening their tobacco control laws.

Lost Opportunity 1 : For lunch, the team walked down the street from the Ministry of Health to a small road-side diner offering simple noodle and rice plates. It was a rare privilege to eat local food at a local establishment with the locals, just as they would on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I neglected to get a photo of the restaurant exterior or interior.

A better shot of the condiments/seasonings would’ve been nice; options included soy sauce, fish sauce, salt–yes, they like sodium–chili sauce, chili paste, ground chili, chili vinegar, sliced chili–yes, they like heat–sliced scallion, minced garlic, chopped coriander–yes, they like aromatics.

Shrimp Fried Rice (3.5)–AWESOME; as per Lao style, noodle/rice plates typically come with a fried egg; Laotians also insist on fresh veg, such as raw cucumber, with every meal; less than $2 per plate.

Lost Opportunity 2 : Left to our own devices for dinner, MG* and I wandered around the neighborhood for awhile before settling on a random grill restaurant near the river. Whereas the food overall was kinda crappy, my bigger regret is that I failed to order anything interesting.

This section of Vientiane, comprising a 1-km square area of the Chanthabouly district directly north of the Mekong River, has the highest concentration of white people (as customers, of course, workers all being local) that I’ve ever seen anywhere in Asia–seriously–even more than, say, Melbourne.

I’d intended on starting with a couple safe choices then moving on to more adventurous items…

…such as one of these salt-crusted river fish; although certain not to have enjoyed it–reportedly tastes muddy, like catfish–I would’ve appreciated eating something that in theory could’ve been caught a stone’s throw from where I was sitting; next time for sure.

*MG is my intern/volunteer. First one that I recruited directly (by contrast, MK had been working in a different division when she asked to transfer to ours under my supervision (see generally 5.089 Calamares al Ajillo)). Italian, law background. Started Monday. Two days later, he’s in Lao on a mission with me–had to push some buttons to make it happen.

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