Authentic Lao Food

Noi was compelled to open Doi Ka Noi because other restaurants in Vientiane offered a similar and limited repertoire of standard dishes that were not representative of the food and flavours from her childhood.

Doi Ka Noi was renowned as one of the best Lao restaurants in Vientiane and was one of only two restaurants in Laos selected by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for its “Essence of Asia” award. Recipients are chosen because they embody the spirit of the region, its culture, and its community.

In February 2025, Doi Ka Noi was the first ever Lao restaurant to be in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards, ranking 86 on the extended list in 2025.

Noi grew up in a small subsistence Phu Tai farming community in Khammouane province, central Laos. Subsistence living necessitates an understanding of the natural rhythms of sow, tend, reap, and preserve, how to care for livestock, catch, kill, and process fish and game animals, and a wealth of inherited knowledge about foraged leaves, shoots, fruits, and vegetables. 

That knowledge and her passion for honouring her food culture was always reflected and preserved through the weekly changing menus at Doi Ka Noi. Today it is preserved in the pages of her multi-award-winning book, A Child of the Rice Fields: Recipes from Noi’s Lao Kitchen.

Where to buy the book

In the UK and Europe, visit:
Yoyo Laos Sauce

In the USA:
Kitchen Arts & Letters

For shipping elsewhere, please email Mick at:
hello@doikanoi.com