You just can’t deny it. The Chinese are everywhere. In every country and in almost every city. Laos and Vientiane are no exception. About 2% of the population in Laos are Laotian Chinese. And in the future, there will probably be many more anyway. The Chinese government has invested a lot of money in Laos and helped, among other things, in the construction of the main road. For this reason, they’ve been given a huge area to build a Chinatown in Vientiane. So of course there are already some Chinese restaurants, although not that many yet. Either way, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to try Chinese food. Some dishes have established themselves and are also sold by the Laotians. Either in restaurants or on the street.
Chinese food in the restaurants
As mentioned earlier, there are actually not that many Chinese restaurants in Vientiane. Most of them are Lao or other Asian restaurants that offer Chinese dishes in addition to their standard menu. One of the few exceptions is the Chinese Liaoning Dumpling Restaurant. It is located in the Rue Friendship Lao-Thai. Here you can try all sorts of authentic Chinese dishes. For example, kung pao chicken, Chinese roast duck, Chinese dumplings and mapo tofu. You’ll even find the typical Chinese liquor. And no, we’re not talking about plum brandy, which is often sold in Western Chinese restaurants. What we are referring to is the Baijiu. If you’ve never tasted it, try a sip. But don’t be cocky. The liquor is really not for the faint-hearted. And the taste … well, maybe you like it.
Chinese food on the street
Chinese food is very present in Asia. Many dishes have established themselves and are also sold by the locals. In most cases a little modified. However, this is by no means the case of large dishes. You’ll certainly not find a Peking duck on the street. We’re talking about things like Chinese meatballs, dumplings or noodles. Of course, you probably can’t find such things on every street corner. Laotian or even Thai street food is far more common. However, in the larger markets such as Vientiane Night Market, you can expect to find a lot of Chinese street food.
Prices for Chinese food
Since most Chinese dishes are available on the street or from small restaurants, the prices are quite cheap. There is almost no expensive Chinese food in Vientiane. Exceptions are only the larger restaurants. But there are only a few. Personally, as a relatively high-priced restaurant, we would only consider the Chinese Liaoning Dumpling Restaurant, which we mentioned earlier. So, if you want to enjoy Chinese food, you usually won’t have to pay much. The prices normally are quite similar to Laotian or Thai food.