Udomxai
Eat and meet
Udomxai
The Sinphet Restaurant is an excellent spot from which to watch Udomxai life go by. Take a seat at the roadside and enjoy the comings and goings. The restaurant itself is run by a happy family who weave in and out of the tables, smiling, laughing and generally making the atmosphere light and welcoming. The menu is large and boasts the usually Laos/Thai favourites, Chinese and a nice selection of western dishes. The chicken and fries were a particular delight.The food is reasonably priced. Sit back and enjoy the experience.The Keomoungkhoun Restaurant is one of the largest in the area, and while the back is set up like a huge living room, complete with cuddly toys and parked motorbike, the front opens up on to the road and is filled with tables and chairs. Right at the front is a display of plastic cannisters filled with coloured powder, used to make tasty fruit shakes for 3,000 kip. The menu itself boasts a variety of dishes, fairly similar to the other restaurants in the area, but prices are a little cheaper. The food is good and the service friendly, when the family can be torn away from the TV. They are also happy to make dishes on request.
With a lovely wooden balcony overlooking the river and the greenery on its banks, the Khemko Restaurant has a great atmosphere. It has those popular large round tables, making it a good place to come with a crowd, and with the Chinese-inspired menu it's more appropriate to eat shared-style too. Most dishes feature just one item, so to get a balanced meal you need to order several dishes.
The small, bamboo-fronted Supailin Restaurant is the only place serving standard Lao-style food in a town full of Chinese-run businesses. Menu includes soups, noodle, rice and stir-fry dishes, papaya salad, and laap, all at good prices. It has a book full of recommendations by travellers from all over the world. Praise is mostly for the very friendly woman who runs the place, but also aimed for the delicious food. The pad Thai is particularly well-reviewed and is indeed tasty. Hanging in the shop are shirts for sale -- some from ethnic minorities such as Tai Dam, Khmu, Lue and Yuan - for between 50,000-100,000 kip, along with some pretty modern Lao-style shirts too. Slightly off the main street, it's a quieter spot to relax.
