I ran into Joe and Jodi again at the alms walk and their guide took us through the Morning Market which was alive and bustling. The residents of Luang Prabang come here in the morning to collect what they intend to eat that day or evening, it was absolutely bursting with color—
I bought a couple coconut rice pancakes and found a little coffee shop in the middle of the market to sit and do some writing. The Lao coffee is surprisingly amazing.
After walking through town I had breakfast at the hotel and met up with Lan, the hotel manager, who arranged my cooking class for the day. There was a couple who would take the class with me. They were from the Bay Area, David and Lynn. Lan drove us to another market outside of town to talk about the Lao food and the ingredients we were going to use in the class.
This market was much bigger than the Morning Market and it had some gruesome bits in there which are not photographed— namely Buffalo parts, hacked to pieces on a table.
We returned to the hotel where they’d set up a kind of kitchen along the Nam Khan river.
Lan translated and Noy did the teaching.
Our menu included:
- Tom Kha Gai (tofu coconut soup)
- Som Tam (papaya salad)
- Gang Pa Nuea (jungle style tofu curry)
- Gang Buad Fakthong (Pumpkin Coconut Milk dessert)
And they gave us a printout so we can make it on our own when we leave.
And when we were finished they set a table by the river where we enjoyed all four courses.
