When visiting and exploring new cities, my husband and I always crave Lao food. Recently, we visited Seattle for a few days. We spent a considerable amount of time exploring and eating all the delicious foods at Pike Place. So by the 3rd day, we were ready to find a Lao restaurant to refresh our tastebuds.
We found a Lao Restaurant called Viengthong, about 10 minutes from downtown Seattle. This restaurant had a good number of positive reviews on yelp and the menu had many authentic Lao dishes, such as Nam Kao and Lao style Papaya Salad. Unfortunately, it didn’t have Kao Piek which is a Lao version of chicken noodle soup. The drizzly weather in Seattle was perfect for a nice bowl of hot noodle soup, so I was a little disappointed that they didn’t serve it.
Outside, the restaurant didn’t look very impressive. But inside, it was clean and had traditional decor. The dim lighting gave it a cozy atmosphere. There was a bar area and it was a pretty big restaurant with many tables and booths.
Our waitress greeted us at the door and I responded with “Sabaidee” which means “hello” in Lao. She let us sit wherever we wanted. We came on a Sunday evening so it wasn’t very busy.
Although the restaurant was advertised as Lao-Thai, which is not unusual. We opted for traditional Lao dishes which included Kua mee, a sweet and savory fried noodle dish. Our second dish was BBQ chicken, which was marinated in coconut milk. For our third dish, Lao style papaya salad which is a spicy papaya sauce and had the special ingredient called padek. Padek is a fermented fish sauce and it has a really strong salty flavor. And last but not least, sticky rice. Sticky rice or glutinous rice is a must in a Lao meal, especially if you have BBQ chicken and papaya salad.
The food came out pretty quickly, but then again the restaurant wasn’t packed.
The kua mee with pork was hot and the noodles were soft. This noodle dish is suppose to be the perfect balance of sweet and savory, but I think it could’ve used a little more sweetness and saltiness. But overall, it was a tasty dish and because I’m used to eating this noodle dish cold, it was nice to have it hot.
I ordered a medium spicy papaya salad. It’s always hard to gauge how spicy dishes are in a new restaurant. Turns out medium is not very spicy at all. Now I’m not a level 10 spicy kind of gal, but I do like a little heat in my papaya salad. There’s a Lao saying “bor phet, bor saap”, meaning it’s not good, if it’s not spicy. So it wasn’t as spicy as I was hoping, but I do think it’s better to be not spicy enough than being too spicy. I’ve been in that situation before when I couldn’t even eat it. The papaya was hand shredded giving it a nice crunch. The flavors were a nice balance of salty and sour, but not too sweet.
BBQ chicken was our third dish. It’s always the perfect dish to pair with papaya salad. The thigh meat was tender and flavorful, although the skin wasn’t as crispy as I would’ve liked. On the menu, it was described as being marinated with coconut milk, but I didn’t taste any coconut flavor.
The nice portions of each dish made it a value meal. The prices were very reasonable and we could’ve easily shared this meal with 4 people. One thing I must warn you about, is that the restaurant only accepts cash. We failed to notice the big sign which was posted as you enter the restaurant. We were a few bucks short and my poor hubby had to walk in the rain to the nearest bank. The waitress was very understanding and pointed him to the right direction. While waiting for my husband, I got to speaking with the waitress and she told us the restaurant was her sister’s and that they’ve been in business for 26 years.
Overall, this restaurant was a good choice. It’s no wonder they’ve been open for 26 years. The reasonably priced tasty dishes, quick service and cleanliness of the restaurant makes this a great place to visit if you’re craving Lao food in Seattle.