The ghost of Luang Prabang haunted me ever since I was forced to give it up for an outcome harvesting workshop in Manila in 2019, and it was only after PG 941's bumpy landing at the Luang Prabang International Airport that a fierce afternoon sun exorcised it forever.
Luang Prabang is the mystical royal capital of the deposed Kingdom of Cambodia, home to 6 of what tasteatlas listed as the 9 best sai oua in the world and ancient temples where monks beat oversized gongs to usher the Festival of Light through Google Maps to the Tamarind Restaurant and Cooking School along the Nam Khan River and what is said to be the best sai oua in the world.
But the tounge got confused by five bites from a Lao sampler plate and the amazing offerings from pricey Manda de Laos (right below) and 3 Nagas (left below)so I came back for a second sampling and confirmed that Tamarind's (middle below) is way below its #1 ranking from tasteatlas.
In fact, my ranking for Tamarind's is even below Silk Road Cafe's sliced version (left below) and that of Khmu Restaurant's fried offering (right below).
All of them though will be in my #10 but my #1 ranking in terms of authenticity, taste and value for money will be that for an unnamed stall at the Luang Prabang Morning Market (middle below) that represents what sai oua should be minus the hubris of plating,presentation and a fine dining.
Yes, Luang Prabang is indeed the sai oua capital of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site too since 1995, its rich history seamlesly fused into an ensemble of well-preserved traditional and colonial architecture that packed the Old Quarter to the seams where every morning, my imaginary bike tour cruised through ancient temples and a line of monks performing the daily alms giving ceremony for a horde of tourists.
The gears of the complimetary mountain bike from our fancy hotel doesn't work, its sticky handle bars reminded me of the many chewing gums I've sat on in my lifetime but it carried me to temple pit stops (Wat Sensoukharam, Wat Sop Sickharam, Wat Wisunnarat), the placid headwaters of the Mekong River, the early morning market show, and a unique crossing across a French-era steel bridge.
I have 5 wonderful days in Luang Prabang supporting a regional workshop on enabling social protection, taste testing its famous sai oua, and biking through the narrow streets of the Old Quarter.
The triumvirate of Marx-Lenin-Ho hanging from the walls of the Luang Prabang Federation of Trade Unions was a strange encounter so is my failure to find a souvenir plate at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center.
And there were nights of Lao Beer at a "comfortable grilled goat shop", Luang Prabang Beer and grilled fish at the night market, and more beer and deep fried bufallo skin at Sopha's place where everything smelled of cheap soap and perfume.
The Phra Bang spoke to me and I will be back for more.
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