Lao food is having a moment. More accurately, it’s witnessing the hard-earned fruits of a decade-long movement. After years of the cuisine being folded into Thai and other Southeast Asian menus, the food is now getting the distinction it deserves, driven by chefs who are opening Lao restaurants in cities across the country.
This recent uptick in Lao cuisine can be attributed largely to Seng Luangrath, a chef who started the Lao Food Movement organization in 2013 to promote the cuisine and mentor chefs. Since then, she’s opened multiple restaurants in Washington, D.C., including Thip Khao and Baan Mae, and inspired other chefs to follow suit. Today you can find great Lao food on both coasts and several places between, including in Minneapolis, Nashville, Austin, and Oklahoma City.
Lao’d Bar opened last year in Austin and was recently named a James Beard Award semifinalist for best new restaurant. It serves dishes that blend American classics with Lao influence, like a smashburger made with a Lao pork patty and a hotdog featuring a fried Lao sausage, plus traditional dishes like laab and green papaya salad.
Chef Jeff Chanchaleune runs Ma Der Lao Kitchen, which opened in 2021 and the new Bar Sen next door. Photo credit: Quit Nguyen
Two-time James Beard finalist chef Jeff Chanchaleune opened Ma Der Lao Kitchen in Oklahoma City in 2021 and just opened his second restaurant, Bar Sen, on February 4.
As a first-generation Lao-American, Chanchaleune shares a heritage with less than 0.001% of his fellow Oklahomans. But he’s confident in his food.
“I am dedicating this new concept to my family,” said Chanchaleune. “The cooking is my version of the food my sisters and I grew up eating. Our parents taught us so much over the years, and I’m excited to share more of it with Oklahoma City.”
Ma Der serves a broader menu with options like green papaya salad, chicken laab, Lao sausage, and steamed catfish, while Bar Sen focuses on handmade rice noodles.
The house noodle bowl — his mom’s recipe for Lao chicken noodle soup — is Chanchaleune’s all-time favorite dish. Bar Sen also serves rice bowls, housemade beef jerky, chicken wings, and Asian beers, and the cocktail menu incorporates elements from the kitchen, like the chef’s spicy chili dip and coconut soup.
If those sound like dishes you might find in a Thai restaurant, that’s because Thailand and Laos are neighbors. Laos is a small country of around 7.5 million people sandwiched between much larger Thailand and Vietnam. Many of the people of northeastern Thailand are ethnic Lao, hence the culinary similarities.
Chanchaleune is excited by the increase in Lao restaurants and interest in the cuisine.
Bar Sen serves a classic Lao sausage. Photo credit: Quit Nguyen
“The uptick in Lao food across the U.S. is a sign that many Lao chefs are finally taking a leap,” he said. “The success of chef Seng Luangrath’s D.C. restaurant, Thip Khao, inspired me to share Lao food with my community in Oklahoma. Communities across the country are embracing Lao food, and that gives chefs the confidence to cook Lao food.”
He noted that there are not many other Lao restaurants in Oklahoma, and it’s common that diners at his restaurants are trying the food for the first time. Even people who are familiar with green papaya salad, beef jerky, or fried chicken usually haven’t tried the Lao versions.
“Many cooking styles are similar to those of other Southeast Asian countries,” Chanchaleune said, which often results in Lao food being conflated with other cuisines. “What sets Lao food apart is its balance of pungent funky, savory, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy flavors.”
Bar Sen is located right next door to Ma Der in Oklahoma City’s Plaza District, giving locals a one-two punch of Lao options in the city. Both restaurants seat 48 diners.
Shortly after opening, Ma Der Lao Kitchen made The New York Times’ list of the 50 best restaurants in 2022, and it was named one of Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants that same year. Bar Sen hopes to continue the hot streak.
