After a day immersed within Luang Prabang’s temples and palaces, our thoughts turned to something more immediate: food. Craving something different to the night market fare, we decided to hunt down something local and unique. We settled on a seemingly small restaurant selling a local style of hotpot.
After spending the day in temples we first went for a quick rest. Back at the hotel, we found a cat lounging on our balcony, basking in the fading sunlight like it owned the place. I tried to befriend the little guy, but the moment I opened the door, it shot off like a rocket. I wasn’t going to be a cat whisperer today.
We found a place called Seendat BBQ near the night market that looked interesting. The pictures on Google Maps made it look like it could be something similar to Beijing-style hotpot. After a short walk through the night market we found the place.
It was smaller than expected, and very busy. We almost considered going somewhere else, but eventually decided to wait for a seat to become available. When we asked for a menu, they directed us around the corner to the back of the restaurant.
After a short walk down an unwelcoming alleyway we found ourselves in a large square full of tables, many already occupied by the restaurant’s patron. The square buzzed with energy, the hum of conversation mingling with the sizzle of grilling meat. The air was heavy with the smoky aroma of roasted meats.
We were directed to a table and given a menu to order. It was a list of food items with checkboxes: the idea being that you tick off or write a number on each thing you wanted to order. We were used to this – it’s very common with Chinese hotpot as well.
We ordered some meat and vegetables, as well as a beer. We were given a stove with some hot coals underneath, and placed above was a metal dome with a rim around the outside which was filled with a flavourless-looking stock. With the food that we ordered we were also given a lump of pork fat.
I observed what others were doing and quickly figured out how we were supposed to cook the food. I placed the lump of pork fat on top of the dome, watching as it began to sizzle and melt, sending rivulets of savory juices cascading into the stock below. The sound of the sizzling meat was music to my ears, and the rising aroma was nothing short of intoxicating.
You can then boil vegetables (or tofu, or crabsticks, or whatever) in the soup to get some extra flavour into the broth. This was a hotpot created out of a barbecue. It’s the best food I’d had in a long time, combining the fried goodness of Shaokao (Chinese Barbecue) with the aromas and flavours of a meaty hotpot.
I had thought we didn’t have enough food, but after finishing the food we had we were both full. We asked for the bill and the servers took away our blackened grill for cleaning. It was a satisfying end to a day exploring the temples around old town in Luang Prabang.
As we walked back to the hotel, full and content, I couldn’t help but marvel at how the day had unfolded. From the quiet reverence of ancient temples to the lively feast around an unusual grill. Luang Prabang had a way of feeding both our curiosity and our stomachs.
