Tamarind – Luang Prabang, Laos - Luang Prabang - TravBuddy

Tamarind, located at the end of the Luang Prabang “peninsula” by Wat Nong in the old quarter specializes in very authentic Laotian food.  It is run by an Australian woman and her local partner and has excellent a la carte lunches and sample platters allowing you to get a diverse taste of real, local food (this is harder to do than you would imagine in Laos).  The food is excellent and the beer is cold.  They are currently only open for lunch but Tamarind also hosts special, book in advance meals that include a visit to the local market and preparation ranging from the authentic to the bizarre (with grubs and larvae, etc.).  Carolyn who runs the place is very nice and very informative and actually helped us decide to forgo the Plain of Jars and instead go on the Vat Phou River trip (see the blog for details of that great time.)  They also have a lot of local gourmet items that you can purchase and are working on a cookbook (10/06).  If you are in Luang Prabang, do yourself a favor and go eat here!