Vientiane - Best Thai in St. Boniface

I recognize the length of time between new blog posts and apologize for the lack of notice or rationale for taking such a hiatus from posting. The proverbial "life" took over the last few months and the hectic schedule that is residency became a priority. And while I realize my life in the future is going to become more frantic, I became aware of a missing piece of my non-medical life and that is this blog. And therefore, with renewed energy and motivation I vow to revitalize this blog and work towards catching up my backlog of many many feasts. Because during this time I have not stopped eating!

To steady myself back into the blogging days I wanted to revisit an old friend. I often tout Vientiane Restaurant as some of the best Thai in town and certainly the best to be found in St. Boniface. Their combination of flavours, hearty portions and authenticity makes them difficult to match in the city. And with the temperature falling beneath zero and the white flakes glittering from the sky, who can say no to hearty and delicious Thai?

Vientiane lies within the heart of St. Boniface in a small but easily accessible strip area on Marion Street. The extra parking is appreciated and an important highlight as the area can get quite congested and parking is often a luxury. The restaurant itself is easy to find but quite modest in decor but a couple small pictures hanging on the walls overlooking the various tables. Vientiane highlights itself as both Thai and Lao cuisines, taking cues from the two neighbouring Southeast Asian countries. And it does a good job highlighting the classics, Pad Thai and Labb, from both countries. The menu has evolved somewhat since my last visit with a host of new entrees and stir fries one cannot readily find at other Thai restaurants.

Dining for one sometimes becomes difficult because I want to try everything on the menu. Showing some restraint I ordered just two dishes! I started with a Hoa Mok, which for those non-fluent in Thai is a seafood red curry served in a banana leaf. I really appreciated the detailed presentation of the dish, attractively rounding out the leaf to form a bowl to carry the creamy yellow curry. And the flavour of the dish did not disappoint either with pieces of shrimp, basa fillet, and scallop swimming the bright yolk of the red curry. Well seasoned but not overly spicy, the creamy coconut milk gave some needed fat to the seafood while rings of red pepper supplied some crunchiness. Delicious and a must with a bowl of rice.

There are many ways of making and spelling the national dish of Laos Labb, a cold meat salad mixed with lime juice, fresh herbs and packing a spicy punch. And this version was a nice variant with slices of cooked pork (as opposed to ground meat) well marinated in a tangy lime juice based sauce. Crunchy and sweet onions add some extra flavour and help to balance out a melt-in-your-mouth chili. And indeed while the taste was well defined, the portion was a bit lacking, especially for the price charged.

Vientiane has always been one of my favourite Thai restaurants in Winnipeg and I appreciate the chefs continually adding and evolving the menu. And while the portions seem to be smaller than previous, the flavour and authenticity is still there making Vientiane definitely worth a try for anyone in St. Boniface with a yearning for Thai.