Vegetarian & Vegan Food (and coffee) in Luang Prabang, Laos.

If you’re vegan or vegetarian and have travelled in Southeast Asia you know it can be sometimes challenging to find decent, if any, vegan or vegetarian options. Maybe with the exception of Chiang Mai in Thailand, or Ubud in Bali. We just settled into Luang Prabang in northern Laos for 12 days and quickly got down to finding what’s available and checked out a bunch of places. Our place did have an awesome kitchen so we had a backup plan to cook our own meals if needed.

The first morning we headed to the morning market. These are common all over Asia. A place where the local produce is displayed early each day along with prepared foods, meats and lots of other stuff. In Luang Prabang we heard about things like frogs, bats, rats, and larvae but didn’t see any in person, although we weren’t looking real close 🙂 The morning market in Luang Prabang was disappointing, small and really lacking a good selection of fruits and veggies. Next, we checked out a few “supermarkets” that were equally disappointing. Plenty of boxed and processed foods but again, almost a total lack of fresh fruit and veggies. We started to scour the restaurant menus for options where we found things like buffalo skin and frogs. Yikes!

The first place we identified as veg/vegan was Two Little Birds, right around the corner from our apartment. The small cafe is run by a warm, friendly family and has a good selection of fresh, healthy and very tasty food. We tried the Pad Lao and the Stir Fry Tofu and Veggies. They also have smoothie bowls, salads and soft drinks. We ate here several times and really enjoyed it. They close fairly early every day around 17:30 (5:30PM) so plan ahead.

Next on our list was Bouang Asian Eatery which had great reviews and a few veg options on their menu. When we arrived the place was closed. This was common in Laos. Check the website before you head out. Places need a day off and they seem to differ from place to place.

Right next door to Bouang was a place called Yuni Yupoun. There were a few veg items on the menu and there were a bunch of people eating there (always a good sign). We tried the Stir Fried Tofu and Eggplant along with the Chickpea Burger (fries included). Both were good although I did burp up the sauce from the stir fry later on.

Coffee is big and important in Laos. They grow it and roast it here and they’re proud of it. One hotel manager told us Lao coffee was #1 in the world last year. I’ll have to look that up 🙂
We had coffee almost every morning starting out that first day at the morning market.

We tried Saffron Coffee’s Espresso a couple of times and the coffee and service was really good. Joma Bakery Cafe has 2 locations both with large spaces to hang out in AC. Good coffee drinks of all kinds and if you’re a Thai Iced Tea fan be sure to try it here. Zurich Bread Cafe has good coffee and croissants.

There is also a lingering French influence here from the 1950’s. Really nice bread and baked goods abound. At the top of our list is for coffee, breakfast and baked goods is Le Banneton Cafe French Bakery. The coffee, the service and the breakfasts are great. We loved the French toast and the scrambled eggs with baguette. And the selection croissants and breads were amazing. But get there early because by mid morning things start selling out. Do not miss this place!

Another favorite of ours is Luangprabang Cat Cafe. Cat cafes are just what they sound like – a cafe with cats roaming around. It’s a thing in Asia. We visited our first one in Chiang Mai back in 2018. Laurie loves cats so these are always on our list when traveling. Aside from the cats and the good coffee drinks here, their Pad Thai is amazing, some of the best ever. We also tried the banana peanut butter Dutch pancakes – think larger than American, but thinner like French crepes. Delicious. The space is modern and super clean and the service is top notch.

If we have the opportunity when traveling, we like to take cooking classes in different countries. So far we’ve done them India, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, and now Laos! We stopped by Tamarind Restaurant and order mocktails and dessert. I had the bael cinnamon iced tea while Laurie had the ginger & lemongrass refresher. We were served a small plate of bamboo chips and kaffir lime leaves. Yes, wood chips like potato chips. They were tasty. Our dessert sampler plate came and included egg and coconut custard steamed in a pumpkin wedge, purple sticky rice, some jelly-like cubes, and I believe some tofu something or other. It was good and we signed up for their 4 hour cooking class to be held the next day.

We arrived at an offsite kitchen where the cooking classes are held. It was about a 20 minute ride out of town and located in a serene, jungle-like area. There was a large pond (Tilapia farm) on site. I believe this location also houses the staff for the restaurant in town. The setup was impressive. They had stations set up for about a dozen people, although there were only 3 of us on this day.

We spent time with our chef, Sit, who explained everything in detail and led the group through a bunch of recipes. It was one of the more interesting cooking classes that we’ve taken. We prepared dishes like stuffed lemongrass, mushrooms steamed in banana leaves, purple sticky rice with coconut sauce, tofu salad, roasted eggplant dip, and tomato salsa. We learned about Lao spicing and how to roast some of the items right on the fire. We used a mortar and pestle for a lot of the dishes. Once everything was cooked we were left alone to eat a gigantic delicious meal that we had prepared.

The final few days of our trip to Laos we stumbled upon a recommendation for “Secret Pizza” in Luang Prabang. They are only open 2 days a week. I love the business model! It was a 20 minute walk from our place that took us down dark streets and alleys, and finally into a pretty fancy neighborhood. We walked into the huge front yard of the residence that houses Secret Pizza. There were a lot of people there. They had 2 brick ovens going and a whole lot of staff. Our order was taken and the pizza came quickly, as we watched them make it right from our table. The pizza here is super-thin crust, not very filling, but certainly tasty.

Our final night in Laos we did a sunset cruise and headed to Popolo Cantina for pizza and mocktails afterward. This place had a great atmosphere and was very busy. Pizza and mocktails were both great. We wrapped up our 12 days in Laos and headed home for a good night’s sleep before our travels back to Bangkok to catch a flight onto Bali.