Archive for September, 2007
Everyone has their own technique at making Phö, and in all my travels, I can truly say that I have never tasted any better Phö than the one made recently by Khamsene. To be exact, he didn’t actually make my dish, I am referring to the Stock or Broth that he made.
“Its a secret family recipe”, says Khamsene. So there is no chance of finding out the recipe, unless you are a part of his family I guess…. 
Another thing that we have been boiling is our 8 legged friend, the Octopus.
This Cephalopod is destined for a Salad, or “Yum”.
With all our High-tech machinery, we still prefer to prepare our herbs the old-fashioned way, with a Pestle and Mortar.
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Green Lipped Mussels are great for using as an Amuse Bouche.
Suri prepares our evening appetisers.
Dressed with Yuzu Vinaigrette and Grated Parmesan, they make a great mouthful. Never overcook Mussels or they can become rubbery.
Continuing the Sea theme, Saki gets his Sushi and Sashimi presentation ready.
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Moving away from the shore, we are proud to use local products, especially the Beef.
Khamsene, cleaning and trimming the Sirloin.
Most of the trimmings were used in a Larb for the staff! ;)
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Another Amuse Bouche that we used was Prawns with Sweet Sauce and Homemade Grissini (Celery Salt and Squid Ink flavour)
And for those with a sweet tooth…
Sangkaya, or Steamed Coconut Custard Pumpkin makes a welcome return to our Menu.
Most of our food photos that appear on the site are taken at the spur of the moment in the kitchen, so when it was time to shoot some photos in the actual restaurant, a little bit more “set up” is required.
Recent filming in our dining room allowed us to take advantage of the lighting etc…
I never imagined that a few seconds of film would require so much work.
Leaving everything to the professionals is a good idea.
With all the bright lights in the restaurant, the “take” of the food had to be quick.
Even for the “close up”, 7 or 8 “takes” were shot.
Perhaps the easiest part was preparing the food! :)
We decided to use a small selection of Sushi for the piece.
A short while back, Laoplanet had a huge make-over. In her own words;
“Laoplanet is (now) a social tag and bookmark system. Our main focus is on Laos and Laotian people around the world…”
It is now a great source for information about what is happening online about Laos and her neighbours.
“What has happened to the members?”, I hear you ask…
Well, they are all blogging at the (almost) new Lao Voices.
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On a recent visit to Lao Cuisine, I was introduced to some exciting websites that I want to share with you.
Kin Khao, two words that have many, many meanings.
Kay writes;
“Kin khao is the title of this blog because in the Lao language it means “eat rice”, but to the Lao people it means eat breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner and just eat food in general. The Lao people love to use that phrase….”
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Rob writes;
“I set out to write something different from the average travel blog, even though I am ultimately a tourist. I wanted to give more of an insight into the people and culture of Laos..”
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MsCinda, features some easy to follow and tempting recipes.
MsCinda writes;
I’m a simple girl with simple taste. It doesn’t take much to please me. Sunsets and rain drops make me smile.
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I think that we should all arrange a “huge get together” with all our visitors and our other Friends that are linked on the right hand side. What a great dinner that would be…. Guess I could always stay out of trouble and do the “dishes”
Duck, Liver and Mango is the name of our new dish that will be included in our Groups Menu.
Foie Gras is covered with wafer thin slices of raw Duck Breast, and dressed with Yuzu Sauce that has been heated in Olive and Sesame Oil with some Peppercorns. Shreds of ripe Mango adds sweetness.
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Mango shreds also feature in our new version of “Nham Dtok”, made with Beef Tenderloin.
Tenderloin is pan fried over a high heat until rare to medium.
The meat is then thinly sliced and dressed with chopped Shallots, Red Peppers, Coriander, Mint, Fish Sauce, Padek Juice, Lime Juice and Pounded Roasted Sticky Rice.
It is known on our menu as “Waterfall Beef with Mango”.
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Lemongrass Leaves play an important role in our Tom Yum. This soup has an array of flavours, and using the Leaves in the broth adds an intense aroma.
We always add freshly squeezed Lime Juice when the soup has been placed in the bowl just before serving.
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Its not all about Asian food at our restaurant, with a fully equiped kitchen and a team of great and loyal cooks, we also serve European dishes when requested.
Fillet of Beef with Grilled Vegetables.
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Sot l’y Laisse or “Chicken Oyster” with Yakitori Sauce has been our star Amuse Bouche over the past few days.
Marinated and lightly fried, these morsels with their crispy skin are an ideal start to a dinner.
Last week 2 of our Interns left us to return to France to continue their studies.
Sanya, who did a stage in the Service as well as the kitchen finally let us shave his head.
Sak, pictured with Sen, returned to Lyon. He completed his stage in the kitchen, and will be going to Hotel & Catering College.
Our 3rd (well, in fact the first to arrive) Intern, Suri (pictured with Junior) will be staying and has been given a full time job.
We hope that all the Interns learned valuable skills that will help them in their futures, and the whole team congratulates them on “a job well done”. :)
Our next opening for Internships will be in February 2008.
Sardines are a wonderful ingredient. They are cheap and plentyful. Apart from grilling them over coals, we love Marinated Sardines.
Many Tapas bars serve Marinated Anchovies, but we find them sometimes tart and over sour for our taste.
It took a while to get the marinade right for our new dish. We didnt want something too strong, that would take the taste of the Sardine away. At the same time we wanted to be brave and add subtle touches and aromas, yet still retain the original taste of the fish.
Marinated Sardine with Gari Sorbet, Coriander & Celery Oil and Fig.
We used Japanese Rice Vinager and Extra Virgin Olive (50%-50%) to marinade the fillets overnight, before removing them from the mixture and placing them in just Olive Oil.
The Gari Sorbet (Pickled Ginger, mostly used with Sushi) lends an interesting touch, the taste of the Ginger is cleansing yet leaves a “spicy” after-taste.
The result is a great combination of flavours. The Sardine taste and texture is soft and gently “oily”, the spiciness of the Sorbet is cut with the sweetness of the ripe Fig.
Initial tastings are sounding promising, and it wont be long before the dish is included on our Aharn Menu.
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It is true to say that our above dish looks like Deep Fried Snake, but we can assure that it is not
It is Fried Salmon Skin, which is used as a filling for Sushi Maki or Futomaki or served as is, with a glass of cold beer.
Crunchy and well seasoned, they can be quite addictive. (Kind of reminds us of Fried Frog Skin in Vientiane ;) )
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Suri adds the final touches to our desert, Green Tea and Mango Tiramisu.