Page 11 - Laos Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

TEA & COFFEE Words of Wisdom-Buyer Beware Lao tea comes from the Bolaven Plateau in Laos, where Bring your purchases home with you. Unless you are prepared to wait up plantations lay at an altitude of to a year to receive your merchandise, do not have it shipped -- not even 2,600 to 4,000 feet above sea level. by air freight. Weather and temperature are ideal for tea and coffee Do not purchase expensive goods of supposed high quality unless you are production and a very long rainy absolutely sure of what you are buying . season allows a superior quality and steady production Unless you are an expert in gems, antiques, artifacts, etc., you should not throughout the year. assume that it is of the highest quality or value. Lao coffee is often called Pakxong Always take the time to read the charge slips for credit card purchases coffee (cafe pakxong in Lao), before you sign them. This may seem obvious; but in the excitement of which is grown on the Bolovens making a foreign purchase, travelers sometimes overlook this and are Plateau around the town of unpleasantly surprised when they return home and are billed by the Pakxong. This area is sometimes credit card company. Taking a few moments to review the charge slip said to be the best place in before signing it (and computing the exchange rate to be sure you are Southeast Asia for coffee charged the right amount) can save you headaches later. cultivation. Both robusta and arabica are grown in Laos, and if FOOD you ask for arabica, there is a very good chance the proprietor Lao food is distinct from other Asia cuisines, although it is somewhat will know what you are talking similar to the food found in the northeastern part of Thailand in the area about. The custom in Laos is to known as Isan. drink coffee in glasses, with condensed milk in the bottom, Most Lao dishes contain vegetables and herbs, rice or noodles and fish, followed by a chaser of green tea. chicken, pork or beef. The freshness of the ingredients is very important to Lao people who like to prepare everything from scratch, rather than use ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES pre-prepared ingredients, as they believe this makes their food more delicious. Herbs such as galangal and lemongrass are favourites and The national drink of Laos is the padaek (Lao fish sauce) is found on every table. ubiquitous and tasty Beer Lao, made with Laotian jasmine rice. One of the staples of Laos food is sticky rice. As the name reveals this rice naturally sticks together so it is easy to roll into small balls, dip into food WATER and eat with your fingers. A traditional everyday Lao meal is simple and We recommend consuming only normally consists of sticky rice, some natural vegetables and at least one bottled water. kind of spicy sauce to dip the sticky rice into, plus perhaps some fish or meat.