Vientiane Has More Than Noodles

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The corner of 34th and National is a small Southeast Asian haven. Thai Bar-B-Que (shepherdexpress.com/food/lets-eat/thai-bar-b-que-mild-spicy-and-everything-between) and the Asian International Market are on the south side of the street with Vientiane Noodle Shop across the street. Vientiane is a Laotian restaurant that really packs a punch when it comes to menu variety and Southeast Asian flavors. While the ever-popular pho and other soup dishes are called out, there are many more noteworthy items on the menu. 

If you’re an adventurous eater, this is a good spot to come with friends so you can try different dishes and learn the menu to find what you like. If you’re flying solo, any one dish will satiate your hunger and likely leave you with leftovers. Tonight, I was joined by three friends who all were familiar with what they like on a Laotian menu (it’s relatively close to Thai and Vietnamese food, but certainly not the same) but also willing to try new things. 

For the table, we ordered pork and shrimp spring rolls, chicken satay and Vientiane sausage to start. While these sound like typical Asian starters, the flavor packed into them is indescribable. Each seemingly simple dish is layered with Laotian herbs and spices accompanied with a thoughtful sauce to compliment the dish. I’d highly recommend keeping the sauces on the table as you continue on with your meal. 

Big Enough to Share

As for entrees, we wanted to try the regular pho (beef brisket and meatballs) to see how it stands up to others around town. Three of us split the pho which is ideal if you don’t want to commit to an entire bowl, but it’s not an easy thing to serve and share. The table is topped with chili, soy, peanuts, hot sauce and other fixings to doctor the dish to your liking. The chili paste is truly spicy so don’t go too hard before you try it. Then, there was a delicious tom yum kha gai soup (coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, shiitake mushrooms, chillies and chicken) and a pad khee mao (often called “Drunken Noodles”) with beef to share as well. These last two were the hit of the entrees, also big enough to have leftovers between four people sharing. 

Vientiane is family-owned and has been around for two decades “serving up the rich and diverse flavors of Laotian cuisine, bringing the tastes of Southeast Asia to the Silver City community.” Like all the authentically great spots, it’s unassuming and doesn’t do much marketing for itself. However, if you were following any of the Top Chef judges while they were living in Milwaukee over the summer, you would have noticed them sitting down at Vientiane more than once. 

For people who might be nervous to try new things at a place like this, they do offer a numbered menu with photos of certain menu items. The staff is friendly and can help guide you through the ordering process (like ours did with us when he said we were ordering too much food). And, once you’ve tried Vientiane, I can guarantee you’ll be back to sit down or take out for a lovely trip to Laos for you and your palate.