An Honest Review of the Luang Prabang Food Tour I Took

The first thing on my itinerary when I travel anywhere is a food tour. Yes, the tour where you walk around the city with a local and eating so much food you could explode.

Why? Because I think the fastest way into a culture is its food! It doesn’t matter how awesome you think Bangkok is. As long as you have cheeseburgers for lunch, it’ll always be just a theme park to you. But the moment you start eating Thai food, Bangkok becomes your experience.

So of course, what I did on my first morning in Luang Prabang was walk around the city with a local and getting to know as many Lao dishes as I could (19, specifically). Not only did I learn about the dishes, but I also learned a ton about Lao culture from our guide, Toun.

If you’re looking for the right food tour to book for your trip, let me help you decide by sharing my exact experience. Every stop, every dish, and whether I felt like it was worth my money.

The Burning Question: Can I Do This On My Own?

Yes, you can. You can totally look at my recommendations for the best restaurants and Lao dishes, and then go have your own experience around the city. However, I don’t think I can ever match the cultural knowledge you’ll get from a Lao guide.

Plus, the last stop on this tour was to the only old-school baguette factory left in the city. We could go inside to watch them do everything because Toun knew the folks. That was amazing!

So, yeah. You could eat Lao food on your own with a bit of research, but you’ll never be able to recreate the experience this tour gives you. It’s a yes-and-no type of answer!

Here Are All the Lao Food We Tried

Let’s be honest, we all know that we’ll get a lot of food with 15+ tastings. But what food are we paying for? Right? Here are all the Lao dishes I got to try on this tour.

• Khaonom Khuu
• Traditional Lao Coffee
• Khao Soi
• Ba Bin
• Kanom Krok
• Kanom Moh Tod
• Khaiphaen
• Fried Bamboo Shoots
• 5 Chili dips (Jaew Khaiphaen, Jaew Bong, Jaew Nam Poo, Jaew Nam Pak, Jaew Mak Kaen)
• Nam Kao (with eggs)
• Nam Kao (without eggs)
• Roasted Chicken
• Luang Prabang Papaya Salad
• Assorted iced desserts
• Khao Ji (Lao baguette)

My Honest Stop-by-Stop Review

The tour starts at Pasaniyom Coffee Shop, inarguably the most famous breakfast joint in town. No, not the one that serves you Egg Benedicts. The local Lao breakfast.

It took me about 10 minutes to walk there, so I planned to get there a little early. Our guide was already waiting there. He had a black puffer jacket on (it was pretty freezing that morning) and spotted me immediately.

He introduced himself as Toun, and told me to sit down at a table while he waited for the other tourmates, who seemed to have gotten lost. In the end, the tour started at 8:35 AM.

Stop 1: Pasaniyom

Toun first gave each of us a wet tissue to clean our hands with, as we were starting our morning with Khaonom Khuu and Lao coffee, the ultimate breakfast snack set.

This one, I already knew because Thailand has them, too. We just call them Pa Tong Go. Coffees also taste similar.

As we enjoyed our first set of breakfast, we listened in on the coffee and tea cultivation in Laos. The south is huge on coffee plantations, while the north is focused more on tea.

After finishing the coffee, we all got up and walk literally ten steps from Pasaniyom to my favorite Khao Soi shop.

Stop 2: Maliwan Noodles

Yes, I willingly admit that this place became my favorite Khao Soi spot thanks to this tour. The name’s a little confusing, though. Google Maps says Maliwan, but I read Maneewan from the sign in Lao script. Oh well… 🤷🏻‍♀️

We sat down at the bar seating and each enjoyed a hearty (and spicy) bowl of Lao Khao Soi. Toun gave us a solid 15-20 minutes to finish, then we got up and made a U-turn, straight into the morning market.

Stop 3: Morning Market

Having heard about the morning market, I was super excited for this one. Following Toun into the small alleyway, there were almost too much for me to see, even as the “neighbor from Thailand.”

Most shops sold dried goods like raw Khaiphaen, dried bamboo shoots, dried buffalo skins (people snack on these or put them in stews), and chilis. Once every few shops, there were old-school merchants selling fresh vegetables on tarps, too.

We stopped at one vendor stand to try three coconut-based snack bites. Ba Bin and Kanom Krok both exist in Thailand, too, so those felt like a hug from home. Kanom Moh Tod, however, was completely new to me, and the most delicious!

Stop 4: Jaew Mae Ouan

We actually went into a sit-down spot inside the morning market, a shop selling chili dips called “Jaew Mae Ouan,” This was where I first tried Khaiphaen and was immediately converted for life.

Another regional snack from Luang Prabang that we tried were fried bamboo shoots. Toun said that it’s eaten in other parts of Laos, too, but is most prominent here.

Along with fried bamboo shoots and Khaiphaen, we tried five types of chili dips (Jaew Khaiphaen (the love of my life), Jaew Bong, Jaew Nam Poo, Jaew Nam Pak, and Jaew Mak Kaen).

After the Jaew party, we exited the morning market and hopped onto a Tuk-Tuk and headed over to the next stop, which is a bit further away.

A small note about Lao Tuk-Tuks… They’re the two-row passenger trucks called “Songtaew” in Thailand. What’s known as Tuk-tuks in Thailand, meanwhile, are called “Sam Lor” in Laos, which means “Three-wheeler.”

Stop 5: Nam Kao Pa Tun

Nam Kao, not to be confused with Nam Khao the crispy rice salad, are like rice noodle dumplings stuffed with pork, eggs, or mushrooms. They’re usually eaten with a clear, watery sauce that’s slightly salty and slightly sweet.

We tired two versions, one with eggs and another without. I preferred the one without.

Personal note: The bathroom at this place really was something else. You gotta walk down very narrow wooden stairs into what looked like their storage space. It wasn’t pleasant, so if you could hold it for the next stop, hold it in.

Stop 6: Visun Roasted Chicken

After another Tuk-Tuk ride, we ended up in the Visun neighborhood, at the most famous roasted chicken spot in town. Here, we tried their famous roasted chicken with Luang Prabang Papaya Salad (Sticky rice, too, of course!).

Toun also bought us Mok Khaiphaen (steamed river weeds wrapped in banana leaves) on his own money. He said it wasn’t part of the tour menu, but he saw it and wanted us to try something really authentic. It had a really nice aroma, but I wasn’t a fan of the texture.

Wasn’t that sweet, though? I never had another food tour guide buy me anything extra before. That was super thoughtful.

Stop 7: Kavy Lao Dessert

After the big lunch, it was finally time for dessert. Being Lao’s next door neighbor with a similar food culture, this dessert stop would have been the most boring stop for me… if it weren’t for Ang Pao, a Welsh Corgi price who owned the place.

As I expected, he loves butt rubs and ear rubs. I definitely spent 90% of my time focused on Ang Pao. Poor dessert…

Stop 8: Khao Ji Factory

This last stop was the most awesome experience for me. Did we eat anything mind-blowing? No. But was it the kind of experience I never would have gotten without Toun? Absolutely.

Khao Ji refers to the baguette. Yes. The same kind you get in France. Because they were once a French colony, the locals learned how to make baguettes and have incorporated them into the local cuisine.

Of course, there are many factories producing Khao Ji nowadays, but the one we visited is the only remaining old-school factory, where the shaping and baking were done by hand in a stone oven.

We walked inside and watched them make a few batches using nothing but a few long wooden boards and a basket. Then we were given a freshly-made, like burn-your-hand kind of fresh, baguette to enjoy with a bit of sweetened condensed milk.

The tour ended right at 12:30 PM. We hopped back onto the Tuk-Tuk and were dropped off wherever we wanted in the city.

Do I Think This Tour Was Worth My Money?

Yes, absolutely. A hundred times yes. I loved the pacing overall and the mix of walking and riding tuk-tuks. I also went in thinking I’d be dead after the tour because they advertise so many tastings, but the amount of food felt very manageable.

As a Thai person, a.k.a. next door neighbor, I learned a ton about the food culture in Luang Prabang thanks to this tour. Imagine how much knowledge is waiting for you if you’re visiting from somewhere completely different.

But what I appreciated the most was the group size. I don’t believe in food tours that take in 10+ people, with the guide giving out food on a tray. It feels much too commercialized compared to this one with me and three other people 🥹

Final Thoughts

Even if you wanted to DIY your own food experience in Luang Prabang by following my recommendations, you’d be hard pressed to cover half of my list with a few days in the city. (I built my recs after a week there… which is a lot of time according to the locals)

But you’ll get to eat half the local food I recommend, and almost half the restaurants I love, on this food tour. It’s like a speed date with the food scene, taking less than half a day!

Check out my Laos Cultural Travel page for more ideas, including my favorite cafes with the best views and desserts!

Plan the Rest of Your Trip

Below are resources to help you get ready for your trip. If you’re still looking for somewhere to stay in Luang Prabang, read my guide on the best walkable neighborhoods.

Don’t forget to check your visa requirements before the trip.

• Make sure you have travel insurance. I always use SafetyWing or Heymondo.
• Stay connected in Laos (and Asia) with this eSIM
• Must-have Apps: LOCA, Google Maps, WhatsApp

Grab My Trip-Planner Template

To help streamline your planning process, I’ve decided to share the template I’ve created and have personally used to plan my own trips. You can grab a copy of it for free below!

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