The Wobbling Sprocket

Here are words I never expected to see in the same sentence-  fine dining,  fine wine and Laos.

The Sethha Palace in Vientiane and 3 Nagas in Luang Prabang are both high end hotels.  They are not really a good representation of what most of Laos is all about.

We did, however, find a good wine shop on the main drag in Luang Prabang.  I don’t recall the name but someone reading this might.  Here is a picture:

Luang Prabang

Wine on the main drag in Luang Prabang

What I do remember well is our adventures in fine dining on water buffalo.

Like the time Jeff C ordered water buffalo soup at Kem Khan gardens on the banks of the Nam Khan in Luang Prabang.  What Jeff didn’t know, until he had a mouthful, was that the water buffalo in the soup was skin.  Trying to chew water buffalo skin is something like trying to eat a radial tire….a losing proposition.  In Jeff’s case, too tough to chew and too big to swallow.

I also remember, from the Nov 17, 2009 tour, Boun Yang ordering water buffalo steak tartare for breakfast in Pak Mong (picture below) which he graciously offered to share with me.  “Ah, thanks Boun Yang!  but I try not to eat raw meat before 9am.”

Water Buffalo Tartare

Here is the article that inspired all this:

Asia: The really new world of wine