Anita L.
Yelp
Lao De Cafe closed down so I walked a little further from my hotel to come here based on the reviews and menu! I actually ended up coming here again because it was that good!
Larb gai - I ordered it "hot" - oh my god I thought I was gonna die. It was addicting though, so I saved half and ate it another day! It only comes with a side of lettuce and some cucumber and happily I ordered some sticky rice in the event it was too hot. The gai also had chopped bits of liver I think- really delicious and different than the standard ground chicken. Great flavor, a bit on the salty side. Order some rice to soak up the sauce and spice!
Boat noodles - I was really planning on ordering something else. The menu didn't make it sound very special and the reviews were very generic ("so good!"), but since I saw it was mentioned a few times, I decided to go for it. Wow, was I impressed! It is a rich spicy rice noodle soup - bun bo hue is the closest dish I can think of but still very different. The soup is very savory, rich, spicy, but also has a bit of tang. There were peppers, fried shallot, and garlic floating around in it. It also came with beef balls and sliced beef as well as bean sprouts, gai lan, and some herbs. It was perfect for a cold and windy day. On this day, I didn't specify heat at all. The normal still packs a ton of heat! My nose was running as I was eating!
Fried chicken feet - I decided to go for it after seeing photos- it really is an addictive dish of fried chicken feet topped with garlic, shallots, jalapeño. The sauce is primarily fish sauce I think. This would be a great bar snack. For those who aren't familiar with chicken feet, there's not a lot of meat. In dim sum dishes it's braised so the bones fall off the bone, but when it's fried, it's still pretty tough. This is a crispy snack to gnaw on and spit out the bones. Delicious flavor- salty and garlicky. Not too spicy (didn't specify) but still had a little bit of heat.
I wish I was local to Lowell so I could keep eating here!! While I was eating here, some gwei los ordered food but asked for no fish sauce! They were able to accommodate but please don't do this! Fish sauce is such an integral part of southeastern Asian cuisine and adds umami and flavor like nothing else. This is a wonderful authentic place - have faith and enjoy.