Many restaurants in Vientiane are preparing special new menus for visitors during the 25th SEA Games in December, according to a Vientiane Times survey yesterday.
The city already has many restaurants serving foods from different parts of the world, in particular, Indian foods are expected to be a popular dish for visitors.
“Nazim” is the oldest Indian restaurant in Vientiane and is a favourite among local and foreign diners. It has over 100 items on its menu which includes many that have the real taste of Indian dishes. These are popular with customers, as well as the reasonable prices.
The restaurant's owner Mrs Sengchanh Vanvilay told our Vientiane Times reporter that after 20-years of experience they had a high reputation for the quality and genuine flavours of their Indian cuisine.
“Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean people coming to support their teams will want to eat halal food. We are careful to prepare our food in accordance with halal custom. We believe we can provide the best service and foods for them,” she explained.
The restaurant is located at the Mekong riverside in Mixay village, Chanthabouly district Vientiane . It has a small outside eating area but if people look inside it can serve up to 100 guests at a time
“The most popular dishes are sheep and chicken masalas, mutton pepper dry masala, chicken tika masala and garlic nan. Many customers like it really spicy because Indian food should be heavily spiced but some will not,” Mrs Sengchanh explained.
She added that while most of their customers are from Malaysia , Indonesia and Singapore , many Western and European customers are also interested in eating Indian food.
The restaurant imports most of its ingredients directly from India , because they believe their food should be genuine . However some fresh ingredients they will buy from local markets.
“Not only our ingredients, we have also had a genuine Indian chef to cook in the traditional way for customers here for many years,” she said.
Nazim now has branches in Vangvieng, Luang Prabang and Champassak provinces. Luang Prabang is also very popular like the capital.”
Mrs Sengchanh welcomes the games as an opportunity to improve even more on her already high standards and is planning to reorganise her tables and service arrangements.
“I really hope to be able to serve the best food for visitors during the event,” she said.
Many other Indian restaurants in Vientiane are also preparing their establishments to welcome games visitors. So lovers of Indian food will not find it hard to find a restaurant to their taste in central Vientiane .
By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes
