Finding a good restaurant open on Sunday night in Paris is tough (certainly as a visitor, anyway). Finding a good restaurant open on Easter Sunday night – well, that’s the sort of epic challenge I enjoy. Cue Lao Lane Xang 2, a Laotian/Thai/Vietnamese resto in Paris’s Chinatown. It’s open on Sundays and came highly recommended by John Talbott and David Lebovitz.
Lao Lane Xang stands out from the dozens of other mostly Vietnamese restaurants in the neighborhood because its decor is relatively upscale, and it’s big, taking up two floors of a wide space.
The toasted rice salad (pictured above) had gotten rave reviews in various writeups, so Jon and I gave it a try. It’s spicy, crunchy and has bits of meat and lime in there. Good, but it’s probably more appealing in summertime, rather than on a cold, rainy evening.
Vietnamese ravioli were good, though it looked and tasted exactly like the version I liked at the divier (and cheaper) Pho 14 up the street. The ravioli “shell” is translucent, gooey rice flour, and the filling is ground pork and shitake mushrooms. Jon finds the filling dry, but I like the way its texture contrasts with that of the soft rice flour shell. And I love how it all absorbs the flavor of the super-good nuoc cham.
Lao pancakes were a first for me. They look like ravioli, are made of rice flour, and had a hint of something sweet to them. Eh.
The best part of my meal was a lacquered duck breast in a chilli-nuoc cham sauce, served on a generous bed of sautéed gai lan and pak choi. The duck skin was crispy and the duck meat was rich-smooth-juicy. The Thai influence was there in the chilis and fried basil, and for 9 euros, this dish was a steal.
Service was fast and helpful (and as obvious as this sounds, don’t expect anyone there to speak english). Definitely go if you’re stuck for a Sunday meal option or if you want a break from all that bistro brasserie fare.
Our total for three starters, two mains, two sticky rice portions and three beers: 68 euros.
Just a warning: the restaurant places a great importance in customers turnover.
To begin with, if you make a reservation, you’d better come with the exact number of people you have reserved for.
I don’t know if the restaurant will be more accommodating in case of bigger number of people. But in case of less people, which is the case of my experience there, I can assure you, it means collective punishment.
Even if your companies are just late, the restaurant will not allow you to have your table and wait while sitting. Neither even while eating.
The best is that everybody comes on time. The worse is in case of late comers. No show ups is the worst. It results in the group having to give up the reserved table.
If you are determined, you join the long queue for those without reservations (while waiting for the late comers).
Finally, once you have your table, the service is rushed. They are not discreet in monitoring if and when you have done with each dish. This restaurant is obviously not for taking all your time to enjoy the experience.
You are there to empty the plate and get out. The faster you do it, the better!
But to be fair, I have to report that despite the strongly-non-customer-oriented, there has never been a lack of customers. The queue is long and perhaps that’s why the customers are at the full mercy of the restaurant.
Just as they put it: “If you don’t like, just leave. There are many waiting.”