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| - Went to Lao Laan-Xang for lunch on a quiet Saturday and had a delightful meal. My order was for one vegetarian egg roll as an appetizer, the Gang Gallie curry with chicken, and jasmine tea.
The egg roll took a while to get out to me, but was hot and fresh. It was fat but not overstuffed, filled with cabbage, carrot and some other vegetables along with a good taste of seasoning. The wrap wasn't under-cooked on the on the inside like so many other egg rolls I've tried. I'm pretty sure the sweet & sour that came with was homemade, but it was so light in flavor it was unnoticeable against the bold seasoning of the egg roll itself. Kind of a shame, really.
The Gang Gallie was a yellow curry and coconut milk base with chicken, green beans, potato, onion, Thai eggplant, and what I think was acorn squash -- it definately wasn't carrot as it said on the menu. They served it in the ceramic cooking vessel and the portion size was incredibly generous. A massive bowl of white rice was served alongside for ultimate carb overload effect. It may have cost $11.95 on the menu, but I was able to take home enough to make a second meal. The curry was very nice; all the vegetables were cooked just right and the flavor of the vegetables came through the spice.
My jasmine tea was good. Enough said. =o)
As far as spiciness goes, I had ordered the curry at spice level 4. On the menu this is described as "Native Lao" and I think that's accurate; you could eat this continuously without "overheating", so to speak. They're not trying to hurt you. It's spicy, but not crazy...if you are comfortable with spicy food, order at a 4. It's not overpowering.
Service was attentive and nice. It's a small restaurant, so only one cook and one waitstaff was on duty. The food came out slowly but not unbearably so. Lao Laan-Xang was quite fairly priced and the food was good. If you haven't been, it's worth the visit.
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