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Editorial Review

Reviewed in the June/July '07 issue of Ciao! magazine

Vientiane (named after the capital city of Laos) is located at the end of a modest strip mall in St. Boniface. Between neighbourhood regulars and across-city newcomers, a seat is tough to come by on the weekend, but stick around because the service is quick and it’s almost impossible to go wrong with this delectable menu.

Stuffed chicken wings are a delightful version of a quintessential North American appetizer. Prepared with precise hands, the chicken is removed from the skin and bone, minced with herbs and vegetable, and then carefully stuffed back into the wing. It’s served with sweet chile sauce and the result is an aromatic, mouthful-of-meat chicken wing, with no nibbling around the bones required.

Although a little more Thai-influenced because of its sweet coconut milk base, the tom kha gai soup and matsaman curry are must-have items. Creamy chile broth is loaded with fresh mushrooms, peppers and broccoli. It has a pleasing tangy note that is added by the lemon grass. The curry is rich and thick, with cubes of potatoes and chunks of chicken that melt in your mouth. Miang is a popular street food in Laos, and Vientiane is the only restaurant visited which offers this lettuce leaf-wrapped snack. Miang puck (as it’s called on the menu) is served as a platter of tidbits—ginger, green onions, lime, lemon grass, dried shrimp, pickled garlic, chile peppers and rice noodles. In do-it-yourself style, diners wrap their choice of ingredients into a lettuce leaf. It’s fun, healthy and bursts with flavours.

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