Khao Piak Sen

This simple and satisfying bowl of rice noodles can be found on nearly every street corner in Laos, making it an excellent first meal on any full-day Laos food tour. This dish is popular in both Laos and neighboring Vietnam, and there's a reason why it's so well-known among travelers in the region.

It starts with a massively deep flavorful meat stock that takes hours to make. The chef is usually up before dawn, preparing a massive drum of soup and wheeling it to the front door of a restaurant. Keep an eye out for this stainless steel container, as well as a long line of excited people.

Khao Piak Sen is distinguished among rice noodle dishes by the use of thick, hand-rolled noodles. Instead of a typical watery soup, they blanch the noodles in the soup stock without removing the starch, giving the soup an almost gravy-like thickness. A small dish of fresh herbs, hot red peppers fried in oil (insanely good), shrimp paste, and sometimes dried crushed peanuts are served at the table.

It is one of the oldest dishes in Laos. This dish has been around for thousands of years, with the most well-known version made with rice instead of noodles. If you find it, don't forget to ask the chef for a few slices of lime to elevate your rice soup.