"Just days away from opening in downtown Cary at 370 S. Walker Street, Chef Lon Bounsanga’s new Laotian restaurant offers pork belly soup, larb, green papaya salad, smoky pork skewers, North Carolina ginger prawns, and crying tiger (grilled steak served with papaya salad). The menu is divided into small plates, large plates (with soups and curries), and a wok section featuring fried rice and noodle dishes, and Bounsanga says he aims to showcase the food of his childhood home of Vientiane, Laos. My first impressions of the space—designed with help from his wife Annmarie—are warm and inviting: Laos-inspired earth tones, forest green accents, natural light woods, and large windows that bathe the dining room in sunlight and offer views of the greenery in Downtown Cary Park. Saap opens to the public on November 15 for dinner Tuesday–Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., with plans to add lunch service soon; Bounsanga calls this the peak of his career." - Erin Perkins