Fullboy - Laos - Luang Prabang - Real Men Don't Eat Quiche

We arrived in the town centre and to be honest we were both a little surprised by our surroundings. Bakeries, wine shops, art galleries and trendy cafes, this place seemed a world apart from Luang Nam Tha. And yet somewhere behind this facade, there was a local population getting on with their daily lives. Not that you saw that much of them, the streets of Luang Prabang were occupied by older European tourists who seemed to be lapping up the luxuries on offer. We sat at a cafe and quaffed a couple of beers and Melissa made a new friend, a pregnant cat. I found us a nice place to stay next door and went out and bought us a bottle of gin from the booze shop across the road. After a few of my special gin and tonics we found the night food market and enjoyed some BBQ meat and pre-cooked vegetables. The dark sausage was possibly buffalo sausage and was extremely rich and tasty. After a few snacks, the long bus journey had got the better of us and we retired back to our guest house.














The next morning, I went downstairs and immediately outside our guesthouse there was a lady cooking up soup and noodles. I asked her if she made coffee and she told me to sit down and wait whilst she left her workstation. A few minutes later she returned with some deliciously dark looking coffees with generous helpings of sweetened condensed milk perfectly formed at the bottom of the glasses. Laos coffee is some of the best coffee around and it really makes you realise what you're missing out on if all you're used to is instant coffee. We decided to go to the same lady for breakfast seeming as her coffee was so good. As soon as we sat down we were presented with a really fresh looking plate of herbs, green beans, chillies and fresh limes. I ordered the beef noodle soup and Melissa ordered the chicken noodle soup. Both were fabulous, the beef soup having a spicy kick and topped with toasted slivers of garlic and the chicken soup clean, clear and wholesome with juicy quarters of tomato floating on the surface.






















































After the delicious breakfast we took a leisurely stroll around the very picturesque town, admiring the French colonialists work as we walked past the gorgeous architecture. We finally succumbed to the Gallic charm and the Laos heat and sat down for a glass of midday wine and a light lunch of quiche and salad. Yes... we ate quiche in Laos, and bloody good quiche too! We ordered the quiche Lorraine and the cheese and onion flavour. When they arrived we cut them in half and had half each, both were divine but for me the winner was the cheese and onion, the onions slightly sweet and caramelised topped with a thick, melting cheese crust, a perfect match up.























After another meal in the night market that evening, both of us unfortunately succumbed to a bit of a nasty tummy bug, we're not sure if it was food or viral, but we were both feverish, sick and off our food. So unfortunately, the next few days in Luang Prabang consisted of pretty bland food as we tried to nurse our bellies back to health. One of the more exciting snacks we ate were the excellent baguettes being made all over town, another lasting legacy of the French. Our favourite was probably the chicken salad as the pate baguette was a bit of a let down, the meat a little too coarse and salty. The actual bread was always crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. I have to admit... it was nice to have a baguette sandwich after months of noodle soup and rice!