It is on one of Canberra’s first subzero nights of the year that we visit the Manuka restaurant, Baan Latsamy. Baan Latsamy translates to ‘Latsamy’s home’; after co-owner and Lao Head Chef, Latsamy Phimthravitchith.
On this chilly night, we are only too pleased to enter Latsamy’s welcoming restaurant, and are excited to sample her authentic and warming Lao and Thai food.
Tonight’s warming agenda starts with an entrée of four money bags ($8.90). With their delicately pleated casing, these little golden parcels filled with chicken mince, sweet corn and peanuts, set a high benchmark for the remainder of our meal. When bitten into, the golden pastry gives way with a satisfying crunch.
Our second entrée, duck pancakes ($10.90), is comprised of succulent slices of roast duck accompanied by finely shredded carrot, sprouts and cucumber and are rolled in an almost paper-thin pancake. A flavoursome dipping sauce accompanies this dish.
The three layers of our third entrée, the crunchy eggplant with chicken and prawn ($10.90), make an equally satisfying start to our meal; the silkiness of the fresh eggplant nicely sets off the crunchy chicken and prawn layers.
For our main course, we are treated to three contrasting dishes. A dish of richly flavoured roasted pork belly, mushrooms, wedges of onion and chilli ($29.90) is first to arrive. I am not at all surprised to learn from our waitperson that this dish is one of the restaurant’s most popular.
My dining partner is delighted by the wonderfully named next dish, ‘Crying Tiger’. The name reflects the cooking method; the beef is seared until beads of water begin to seep. Nestled in a salad of tomato, rocket, cucumber and mint is the seared beef, aromatic with lemongrass, chilli and what I am intrigued to discover are the aromatic specks of ground sticky rice – an ingredient central to Lao cooking. Although my dining partner is not a lover of chilli, between cooling sips of Beer Lao ($6.50) he cannot resist returning for more helpings of this flavoursome dish.
The revelation of the evening comes with Som Tum ($15.90), a traditional Lao salad of startlingly fresh green pawpaw. Like the Crying Tiger, the Som Tum packs a spicy punch. Eaten with aromatic sticky rice, which arrives at the table in a nifty bamboo basket, the salad embodies the hot, sour, sweet, salty and bitter balance for which Lao and Thai food is known.
Warm and attentive service, an affordable menu, and an attractive décor means Baan Latsamy is equally suited to a quiet dinner for two, as it is to a catch up with a big group of friends. The restaurant offers a good range of vegetarian menu options, Thai and Lao beers and wines by the glass and a well priced corkage of $5.00 a bottle further enhances this restaurant’s accessibility.
Baan Latsamy is a venue that consistently works hard, determined to become a ‘destination’ on the Canberra dining circuit. Trading for just over 12 months now, the team have all the elements down, offering good value for money while exhibiting the kind of attention to detail that makes a mid-week dinner feel special.
The team at Baan Latsamy are offering OutInCanberra readers Singha beer (Thailand) for just $5 when you dine! Download exclusive offer voucher
