Originally published by Two Thousand in 2015
Fried rice is a dish that deserves to be a stock standard response to the question “what’s your favourite food?” – right up there with pizza and burgers. The response that you just blurt out without any thought whatsoever, especially when it’s the fried rice they serve at Lao Village in Fairfield.
Nam Khao is the Laotian take on fried rice and they don’t mess around – balls of rice are deep fried, then busted into bits and served with pieces of sour pork, coconut, peanuts and herbs. It’s insanely good, and the best Nam Khao in Sydney is the star of Lao Village’s menu. As soon as you sit down you should order two plates of it, planning to order one more later in your meal.
Which isn’t to suggest that the rest of the menu is disappointing in the slightest. The Lao pork sausages are fatty, delicious and served with a selection of herbs and leaves that make for a combo so wild that you’ll almost regret ordering that third fried rice. The papaya salad comes two ways: the classic Thai style, sour and spicy, or Lao style, dank with salty anchovies. Also worth trying is the crispy quail and the ‘Lao beef jerky’: a plate full of gloriously greasy and surprisingly sweet pieces of deep fried beef.
Enjoy your feast with an egg soda (soda water + condensed milk + an egg yolk = delicious science!) and marvel at the many bizarre artworks adorning the walls, which include a few dogs playing poker, and a picture of a massive weed bud with the caption ‘SAVE THE BRAINFOREST’.
Where
Lao Village, 3 Anzac Avenue, Fairfield
When
Mon-Sun 12pm-10pm
How much
Almost everything on the menu is $10
Photos
Al Kalyk
