Andrew K.
Yelp
This Lao and Thai restaurant has been in business for nearly two years and is absolutely crushing it! They have great customer service, a wide variety of already pre-packaged dishes for take-out, and serve arguably the best Thai-style crispy pork belly and larb meat dishes in town.
They serve a variety of Southeast Asian and Chinese westernized dishes. Additionally, they have a number of Vietnamese desserts (Chè), Chinese and Thai desserts, boba drinks, and more.
The Crispy Pork Belly or Moo Grob in Thai has a super crispy outer layer but is so tender and juicy at the center. The pork belly is well seasoned and the chili-laced fish sauce that it is served with really amps the flavor to another stratosphere. Its crispiness is what distinguishes the dish here from all other places I have tried. The dish can be ordered a la carte, in a noodle soup or vegetable and rice plate, or along with sticky rice. The latter is probably their most ordered pre-packaged to-go menu item.
I have also tried and would highly recommend ordering both the Larb Beef and the Larb Pork. Larb is a delicious meat salad and the national dish of Laos. It is made with ground meat, herbs, lemongrass, lettuce, diced cucumbers and onions, lime juice, and green onions. It is spicy yet refreshing and certainly full-flavored. Along with the crispy pork belly, I think the larb salads are the best dishes here. They use Serrano chiles to make the larb dishes, even for the medium spiced options. (My guess is that they use a lot more of it for the spicy versions.) So, order it mild if you cannot handle the spiciness.
Beef Pho, the national dish of Vietnam, is another popular dish here judging by the number of people who ordered it on the evening I dined in to try it myself. The Laos version, however, also adds pork bones in addition to beef bones to make the broth. This makes it a very rich and slightly more complex soup base than what I am accustomed to. The addition of sliced celery in the soup further threw things off for me. I did like the myriad of meat toppings, including the pork meatballs. The pho was a fine dish but I will opt to try other menu items I have not tried instead of ordering it again.
The Orange Chicken is what it is. I opted to try it because I like to order popular dishes from places I visit. For what it is worth, I thought it was at least as good as you would expect from your favorite places where you often order the dish.
The Chè and other Vietnamese desserts and desserts drinks, on the other hand, were not very good. The fruit and gelatin used to make them did not taste fresh. They have probably been pre-made and sitting in the refrigerator for some time.
Other dishes I enjoyed include the Fried Rice Special (Chicken, Pork Belly, Shrimp), Shrimp Spring Rolls, BBQ Pork Spring Rolls, Lao Sausage with Sticky Rice, Egg Rolls, and Mango Sticky Rice.
Service is fast, efficient, and friendly. There are also a good number of pre-packaged rice dishes, rice cakes, pork buns, as well as the aforementioned pork belly and Lao sausage with sticky rice packets for those short on time or just want to grab and go. One of the best spots to get Laotian food and take-out orders in South Fresno.