Khaiphaen

Have you heard of the TREE Alliance? No? Neither had I until my visit to Luang Prabang. TREE stands for Training Restaurants for Employment and Entrepreneurship and is a global alliance of restaurants collaborating to help former street youths, as well as marginalised young people and adults.

I learnt about this alliance because Dad made it a point to visit one of their restaurants, their latest addition in fact. Called Khaiphaen, it is named after a popular Laotian street snake made of crispy Mekong River weed unique to Luang Prabang. 

TREE restaurants are training grounds that aim to provide high quality service and food. More importantly, they are social business with the higher aim of providing former street youth the skills required to become employable in the hospitality industry.

Based on a proven and highly successful model combining hands-on, on-the-job training with life skills education, the training and social support provided are tailored to individual needs of the students, building their confidence and empowering them to build a better future for themselves. So you could say that Khaiphaen is a vocational training restaurant.

Khaiphaen is run by Peuan Mit, an organisation founded by Friends-International in Vientiane in 2004, in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare to address the needs of street children and young people in Laos. The restaurant also has a small gift shop attached to it that sells products made by families to help their children stay in education.

I have to say that I was pretty impressed by their menu. To start off, I needed a cold drink and immediately flipped the menu to the drinks section. My choice of Makphet's Hibiscus and Lime Daiquiri was very refreshing and not to mention cooling. The award-winning Makphet is one of the other TREE restaurants and is situated in Vientiane.

We chose a few dishes from the Veggie Lover section of their menu. Because we were at Khaiphaen, we had to order their Khaiphaen and Rice Sticks with Tomato and Hmong Mushroom Dips. Needless to say, nothing was left on the plate, except for the banana leaf. Mum and Dad particularly liked the dips.

As for me, I really liked the Crispy Tofu with Khaiphaen Salt and Spicy Green Mango Dip. Sour and salty tastes combined together went exceptionally well with my drink.

Dad felt like having meat and we agreed to try what sounded like an interesting combination of spices and flavours. We were not disappointed by the Crispy Cinnamon Pork Belly with Ginger Pumpkin Mash and Hibiscus Honey. Although we thought the pork belly was just normal, the ginger pumpkin mash and hibiscus honey really stole the show. My aunt more or less licked the plate clean.

Mum wanted to try their laksa, to see how different it was from our Malaysian laksa. She ordered a bowl of Mekong River Fish and Coconut Laksa with Prawns, Rice Noodles and Banana Blossoms. Even though it had coconut in it, it was not as milky and had a strong fishy taste, perhaps due to the Mekong River Fish. The rice noodles they used were also a thicker kind compared to what we are used to in Malaysia.

We wanted to have some greens and so ordered a plate of Green Beans with Browned Butter, Cashew and Lime. Crunchy and flavoursome, this one.

And there was no way that we would end the meal without dessert. We tried a Pumpkin Tart with Toasted Sesame and Ginger Five Spice Ice Cream. It would have been a meal on its own, as it was so compact and filling. I really liked the exotic taste of the Ginger Five Spice Ice Cream.

Last but not least, we had Sandan's Cashew Crusted Banana Fritters with Kaffir Lime and Coconut Ice Cream and it was one of the best versions of pisang goreng I have ever had. To add kaffir lime to the banana fritters was just genius. Sandan is one of the other TREE restaurants and is situated in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

As the washroom was upstairs, we had to climb the steep and narrow stairs to get there. There was a class in session upstairs. They were having a Maths class. It instantly made me think, perhaps, one day I could contribute to this cause by teaching, too. One day.

I wonder if it was my background and experience as an educator, I felt so much during my meal here. Observing them trying their hardest to speak in English, to serve us, to explain to us the dishes in a foreign language, to exude confidence in a setting totally unlike what they are used to, I nearly teared at one point. I am ever so thankful for the people with the heart, soul and audacity to fight for a better future for these kids/youths from marginalised or at-risk backgrounds, or who before this called the streets their home.

Rest assured, all profits from TREE restaurants are invested in the students who train there and the social support programs designed to assist them on their journey to become skilled, happy and productive individuals with a more secured future. It was clear from my dining experience here that my meal here was not just for me, it was for the youths training here. It was to support their training and education, to help them build a more hopeful future.

Khaiphaen

100 Sisavang Vatana Road, Ban Wat Nong, 06000 Luang Prabang, Lao PDR (between the French Institute and the Mekong River)

Tel: +856 30 515 5221 / 71 524 135

E-mail: contact@khaiphaen-restaurant.org

Monday to Saturday 11:00am to 10:30pm (kitchen closes at 9:30pm)

Nam Ou Riverside Hotel & Resort

From the capital of Luang Prabang, we made our way out to a more village setting. Or as Dad puts it, a more local and less touristy setting. We ventured to Vang Lae Village.

The place Dad chose for the next 2 nights of our holiday was the Nam Ou Riverside Hotel and Resort. There is a saying that it is not the place but the people that makes the difference. I would have to concur with that saying. Not saying that the place is not beautiful, in fact, the place was fantastic - spacious rooms with high ceilings, hard wood floors (hence the good quality, comfy room slippers), spacious bathrooms, colourful gardens, rows of flowering mango trees, infinity swimming pool and serene surroundings.

Due to the availability of rooms, I had the privilege to experience one night each in a room in both the river view villa and the garden wing and each had their uniqueness.

Rooms in the Garden Wing are nearer to the Reception Desk, and therefore would have stronger wifi reception and are more brightly lit at night. The block with these rooms are also newer. The River View Villas are exactly what they are - rooms with a view of the Nam Ou River. Wifi connection is weaker and walking back at night after dinner is a little dark. All rooms do not come with a TV. But who needs TV when you have Mother Nature and yourself to reconnect to?

The menu, although limited, left an impression. The simple Laotian home-style cooking was a delight to the tastebuds (but then again, we are Malaysians so perhaps we find it a tad easier than Westerners to enjoy certain tastes). We made a booking to go on a river cruise to the Whisky Village across the river and Pak Ou Caves further down the river.

It seemed that every village had their own temple or shrine.

As we were led towards an unassuming hut, there was a waft of arak smell. Ah, we were definitely in the Whisky Village.

Just further up the road from the lady selling whisky was a primary school. We asked if we could enter for a visit and there was warm welcome.

It seemed like it was recess time, as the children were out playing. I approached what seemed like a court to watch what the group of boys were playing and noticed that it looked like lawn bowls.

The school building was simple and had the bare minimum. They had what we would call Compound Classes, where age groups were mixed. They did not have enough resources and I suspected, not enough students to have one full class. 

We made a donation to the school and you could tell from their expressions and body language that they were very thankful. We were told that the money will go towards building a proper fence for the school to prevent cows from crashing in and eating the grass and their vegetables.

Simple but so happy, the children here. Made me think that children back home (both KL and Sydney) have no idea how incredibly blessed they are.

From the Whisky Village, we made our way to Pak Ou Caves. The view during the cruise (in a simple sampan) was breathtaking.

The sacred cave was noticeable from far, as sampans were lined up on the water.

It was a steep climb up into the cave, where hundreds of statues of Buddha in various forms and sizes stood.

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The Buddha statues were overlooking the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers, as if watching over the safety of the boats traveling and living off the rivers.

From the Lower Cave, we made a long and tiring climb up to the Upper Cave. Every so often, we had to stop and catch our breaths.

It was extremely dark in the Upper Cave and felt a little scary, which deterred us from entering. I also noticed some drawings on the wall and wondered if they were original ancient stone markings or modern day graffiti.

We crossed the river to have lunch. To have very local Laotian lunch.

When we returned to the hotel, Mum and Dad had a siesta on the porch overlooking the river. After they woke up, I suggested to go explore the river.

Dad also booked an elephant feeding session. Although most of the elephants have been relocated to a newer sanctuary nearer to Kuang Si Waterfall, there was a pair of mother-daughter elephants left. The baby elephant was adorable and very cheeky while the mother elephant was gentle. We do not agree to the idea of elephant riding, and so only fed the pair.

I really enjoyed feeding the elephants but sincerely hope that they would stop allowing elephant rides. I don't know, to me, it seems a form of animal abuse to ride on the elephant.

I enjoyed every part of my stay here but the part I enjoyed the most was the hospitality provided by the staff, especially Sai, the person-in-charge when we were there, and the all-rounder bellboy/boatman/tour guide/mahout/handyman/security guard, Boon Koung.