A classic lunch spot
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Cilantro Shrimp and Spring Rolls
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Well it looks like two months into Winnipeg For Lunch and I am already rolling with a crew of
Adrian
and
Kevin
to lunch places. Kevin kind of has vast knowledge about the Winnipeg lunch (and dinner) scene and he has been recommending [many] places to eat. Since Adrian has never been to
Lao
Thai
, and I've always been a fan, figured I'd make Lao Thai stop number two.
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Souk Gai
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This small eatery, seats maybe twenty-six people, so you may not always get in or get a table right away. It was still busy when I arrived, shortly after 1pm, Adrian and Kevin had arrived minutes earlier and a table was cleared for us once we were all there. Within 10 minutes we had water in front of us and our orders were taken.
This family run business cranks out tons of good food, and we definitely ordered more than we needed to - spring rolls, cilantro shrimp (one of my favs), souk gai, ham nam, and gang pet.
A few of these dishes were new to me, and Kevin swore the souk gai was amazing. About 10 minutes after we ordered the shrimp and spring rolls came out. Both were tasty but that combination of cilantro, lemongrass, onion, ginger and shrimp just gets me. The peanut sauce for the springs rolls was pretty stellar as well.
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Gang Pet
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Moments after we finished our starter dishes the souk gai and gang pet was put in front of us. Souk gai is Laotian-style spicy-Langy soup with green onion, ginger, garlic, cilantro and chiles. And I say this far too much - but Kevin was right - it was amazing. Don't hesitate to order this. We got it with two chilies. If you can handle a bit of spice this is perfect for you. If you want more try three (that's what I will be doing next time).
The gang pet, red curry with green beans, red peppers, onions, and broccoli in coconut milk, was also tasty and not too spicy. We used a bit more of the white rice in this one than the souk gai. As I was digging in to this the ham nam came out.
Now this looked like pilaf with ham to me but I trusted Kevin's judgement on ordering it. I really didn't expect much of just putting a bit of pilaf in lettuce. We used lettuce leaves to wrap the crispy-sweet coconut and ham rice pilaf, with a helping of cucumbers, cilantro and mint on top. I was surprised by the crunch and fell in love. The texture of this dish brings everything - hot, cold, crunchy, juicy, meaty.
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Ham Nam
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Of course we didn't have to spend as much as we did. One dish each and splitting just one appetizer would have sufficed. Needless to say our final bill was still only $47, which means I was fully stuffed for the $15 lunch I just had. It cracked the $15 mark which means I have to give it a 1 out of 5 in the rating system devised for
Winnipeg For Lunch
but this is one of those lunches where I ate more like a full dinner, and the food is worth much more than what it actually cost. Trust me I am already rethinking this price rating system....
If you've never been to Lao Thai I highly recommend it. It isn't really a place to go if you only have an hour. You could probably make it work in time but you'd be cutting it close. We sat down and ate and paid in exactly one minute under one hour (so if you factor in travel time you need a bit more time likely). They do also deliver, so you can take advantage of that very easily.
Taste
: 10/10
Speed
: 2/5
Price
: 1/5
Overall
: 13/20
Lao Thai
763 Selkirk St
Winnipeg, MB R2W 2N5
(204) 589-0065
