Laotian food can be a touch gribbly (see grubs et al below), but in general is very tasty, simple stuff – a super-flavourful herb and spice paste, sticky rice, maybe some simple grilled meat. Lots of fresh herbs and lettuce for making wraps. Dip a ball of rice into the paste, and away you go.

There are some rather surprising flavours for a South East Asian cuisine: bitterness is a looked-for taste, dill is a prominent herb.

We also went out for some Swiss-Lao fusion food — lemongrass cream ravioli, and rolled stuffed water buffalo steaks.