Review: Bounmy guesthouse and restaurant, Pakbeng, (Overnight stop on the slow boat from Chiang Khong to Luang Probang) Laos

There are a few options for getting into Laos from northern Thailand.  Some chose to take the bus which is generally the route people take when heading to the north of Laos for some trekking.  Most however, want to take advantage of the chance to travel down the great Mekong river and into Luang Prabang, the charming, quaint French colonial town.

When travelling down river you are faced with two options, a ‘fast’ (bumpy!) boat which takes 6-8 hours or the slow boat which takes 2 days with a stop along the way overnight in the tiny town of Pak Beng.The slow boat is the cheaper option AND safer!  Also by taking the slow boat you really begin to absorb the pace of life in Laos as you can soak up life along the river and amaze at the stunning beauty and peace around you.

As you can probably guess we opted for the slow boat!  Despite this option feeling a little ‘touristy’ as there are hundreds of people each day taking this option it is fantastic and was the perfect beginning to our time in Laos.  If you are travelling alone and want to meet other people it is a great opportunity to spend a lot of time talking to others in a confined space!  It is also perfect for recharging and reading books, listening to music and taking in the surroundings.

Towards sunset on day one the boats moor up at Pak Beng for the night and you are greeted by what feels like the entire town!  Everyone is trying to offer you a room for the night, and a deal at their restaurant and bar!  You will hear horror stories about Pak Beng from other travellers about it being horrible, people’s possessions being stolen and it being a party town.  Try not to let this put you off and just don’t feel pressured into making any quick decisions!  It's so small that you would be silly not to check out the place before agreeing to anything.

We were very lucky with where we stayed and met a welcoming friendly family who really made our evening fantastic.  The Bounmy guesthouse was up the hill and to the left – away from the busy part of the town so we slept perfectly to serene calmness and were only briefly intimidated by a passing pack of dogs barking!!  We spent the evening drinking a couple of beer Lao, enjoying the company of the friendly family running the guesthouse and eating some incredible food.

Our first taste of food in Laos was certainly a taste of what we had to come and it was gorgeous.  We had heard that the food in Laos was not too great, not very exciting and that people couldn’t wait to get to Thailand for food….well I’m not sure what these people had been eating as our experience was fantastic.  The food was unbelivablely tasty, full of flavour and kick, cooked with love you could feel and very cheap.  We enjoyed a spicy soup and stir fry dish and couldn’t wait to eat our packed lunches the next day!!

The guesthouse provided us with a fried rice lunch and some baguettes both of which were really really tasty.  The rice had great flavour and was very moorish and the baguettes were some some of the best baguettes I have ever enjoyed!!  We went on to discover that Laos and Vietnam both excel in the baguette making department with delicious spicy fillings!!

Very simple, friendly kitchen!

Food Glossary: Phad/Pad/Phat Thai

Pad thai is simple and delicious!  It is one of my favourite thai meals as it always guarantees to be satisfying and yummy!  It is a noodle dish using tamarind as the base of flavour and egg fried and mixed in along with bean sprouts, pak choi, spring onions, prawns and/or tofu and chicken.  When served traditionally it comes with peanuts on top and a wedge of lime to squeeze over it.  The mix of textures is brilliant and you can make it as spicy as you want (or not) by the amount of chilli you add.  This is one of Thailand's national dishes so make sure you try it when visiting the country!  (note - the 'pad thai' sold on the street on Koh San in Bangkok is not the real thing - it is not using tamarind as the base so it is really just a stir fry, which although is nice is not half as good as the real thing - but is very cheap!)

Food Glossary: Srabi Solo

This sweet snack is made from rice flour and coconut milk which is mixed together and fried.  It usually has a piece of fruit or flavouring inside.  The snack comes from the city of Solo in central Java.

Food Glossary: Soto Soup

Soto soup is another popular Indonesian dish that can be found across the island chain in a variety of ways.  I tried chicken soto in Yogyakarta's Janur Cafe.  A thin broth with meat and vegetables and a delicious base made from a variety of herbs and spices this stomach calming soup is a tasty lunch meal.

Review: Omah Dhuwur, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Looking for a fancier restaurant for an evening meal where you can get a little dressed up and enjoy the attentive service of a more fine dining experience?  Then take a short taxi ride over to Omah Dhuwur (at HS Silver) and relax and take in the delicious food and tranquil surroundings.

The prices here are higher than your average backpacker meal, but they really are reasonable for what you get.  The menu is succinct and neat which is sometimes refreshingly easy after being in places with pages and pages of choice!  However, its still a tough call as there are some tempting contenders.  We settled for chicken and thiwul and a steak which were both beautifully presented.

The meat on both plates was really exceptional – especially the chicken and gorgous sauce it came with.  However, both of us were not huge fans of the cassava…it is a very distinct flavour and one I imagine produces love or hate emotions!  Luckily there was so much else going on with the dishes that we were not left hungry though…the vegetables were delicious the balance of everything on the plate worked perfectly.

Food Glossary: Bakso

An Indonesian meatball soup which is incredibly popular with the locals.  The meatballs are traditionally made from ground beef and tapioca flour, but you can also get chicken, fish or shrimp bakso.  The meatballs are served in a broth with yellow noodles and crispy wonton and sprinkled with shallots and celery on top.  I personally did not love the texture but I am not a huge fan of meats such as salami and different sausages which the bakso reminded me of so don’t let me put you off!

I sampled bakso at the Janur Cafe in Yogyakarta in Java Island where the staff were really friendly and let us watch the whole process which was fantastic!

Food Glossary: Mie Goreng

Mie Goreng is the noodle version of Nasi Goreng and also extremely popular across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.  In my opinion not quite as satisfying as Nasi Goreng but still a great option that can be found on any street corner.

Food Glossary: Ayam Goreng

A Yogyakarta speciality, this dish is simply fried chicken.  However, I would argue that it is more than just fried chicken!  It is first poached to marinade it slowly with a mixture of garlic, palm sugar, shallots, tamarind and other spices.  Served with fresh spicy sambal this dish is delicious and is easy to replicate yourself.  I think it is delicious eaten straight from poaching, or fried.

Review: Milas, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Milas is an essential stop for the veggies out there craving some creative and exciting dishes on your travels!  I would also say it’s a great place for non-veggie’s too as there are some really tasty meals, including a popular tempe steak which some believe to taste very similar to meat or better!

The restaurant is set in a gorgeous garden setting with atmospheric seating and is just one part of a larger organisation based on ‘the dream of a better world’ whose work is focused on education, health and environmental issues.  So it’s an interesting place to visit just for a drink or even if you’re not hungry as they have an arts shop (stocked with handmade crafts made by young adults who are involved with Milas programs), a small food store, papers and magazines to read, games to play, a multi-lingual library, a children’s play group and different workshops and information about activities and groups in the local community.

I always think it’s amazing if you can enjoy a taste-tastic meal AND be supporting a worthwhile cause so this is another reason I would recommend eating at Milas.  I am very aligned with the ethos and purpose of Milas – to raise awareness and offer healthy alternatives at a local level in a world full of fast food and mass production.  Milas uses locally produced and organically grown ingredients wherever possible and also does not use any MSG or artificial flavours in its cooking.

All profits from the restaurant and shop are funnelled into programs in the area from health care and informal counselling to practical skills training in sewing, papermaking and woodworking.  Their inspirational work with street children links education, the environment and improved health by providing them opportunities to work at their organic garden, an organic farming training project, producing arts and crafts and working in the restaurant itself.

We enjoyed some really great food at Milas and there is an incredible range of drinks of offer too.  The bandrek here was superb as were the smoothies….I tried the avocado and chocolate one!  Just be warned the menu is so large and appealing you may find it difficult choosing something so try and leave time for a second visit or go as a group and share a few dishes!  Anything tempe is fantastic and the gado-gado here is apparently very good.

Review: Via Via, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Cozy, welcoming, funky music, arty walls, attractive and comfortable setting, friendly staff, free wi-fi, information about interesting social activities in the area, sustainable tourism, sensational smoothies, social and meeting place, and delicious food ….these are all suitable descriptors for Via Via café.  After discovering this café on our first evening in Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta or known to many as Jogja) we made multiple return visits as do most who go!  The café has an irresistible lure that just keeps pulling you back!

Yogyakarta, one of the oldest cities in Indonesia and known as the ‘cultural heart’ of Java, is a great little city with a lot going on and a real buzz to it.  In addition it is very popular due to its proximity to the amazing Borobudur and Prambanan temples.  After travelling for 2 days on bus, ferry, bus, and train we arrived from Bali, via Surabaya and stayed in the popular backpacker area of Jalan Prawirotaman.  This area was perfect as there are lots of nice little cafes around and it is easy to arrange things and get around from here.

Via Via cafes can be found from Indonesia to Latin America; from Africa to Europe.  They call themselves ‘traveler’s cafes in the far corners of the world’ where travellers can ‘rinse off the dust of the road and meet travellers and locals.’  As a social enterprise the idea for Via Via was born in 1994 over a camp fire by a group of Belgian friends who were worried about the impact of growing mass tourism on the environment and local people.  So Via Via was established with sustainable tourism in mind and each cafe has been set up in synch with its unique specific environment in mind with the menu's boasting local delicacies and ingredients and activities ranging from tango lessons in Argentina, to motorbike temple tours in Indonesia.  Along with this the cafes host live music, debates, and other events.

Part of the Via Via profits go towards supporting educational, social and cultural projects in Yogyakarta so it's nice to know that your money is going towards worthwhile projects as well as tasty food.  From Via Via not only did we immensely enjoy the diverse range of food available to order, but we also booked a fascinating and fun batik course with a local producer and a cooking course with their in-house teacher and chef.

The cooking course was amazing and I cannot recommend it enough.  Of all the cooking courses I have

now attended in Asia this has to be my favourite because it was just the two of us with the teacher and it didn’t have the regimented/slightly conveyor belt feel that some lessons can have.  We selected a starter, main and dessert to learn but our teacher added in a few more recipes around what we had selected so we came away with many more cooking ideas!

She was a real mum sort of character, warm, friendly and really easy-going.  The lesson takes place on the roof of Via Via where they have café seating and another kitchen which is used primarily for the lessons.  At the end of the lesson you get to enjoy feasting on all the delights you have made.  We had so much food that they offered to keep it overnight for us so that we could come back the following day for lunch and have the leftovers!  This was amazing value as for just 14 dollars, we had an in-depth and hands on cooking lesson as well as two really tasty meals!

During our lesson we learnt how to make the following:  

• Nasi Goreng
• Terong Balado (Aubergine/eggplant in a spicy marinade)
• Ayam Goreng Kalasan (Chicken in a tamarind based marinade)
• Tempe Curry
• Krupuk

As I recreate these dishes in the UK I will post recipes and share secrets!

Food Glossary: Tempe

Tempe is simply delicious and I am so happy to have made this discovery...I just hope I can get hold of it back in the UK!  Vegetarian – often used instead of tofu and is much nicer in my opinion.  Tempe is a traditional soybean product from Indonesia and is especially popular in Java.  It is a fantastic source of protein, and in fact has a higher protein and vitamin content than tofu due to the fermentation process and the beans remaining whole.  It can be used in a number of ways such as curry, steak, and stir-fried.