Next Time You're In... Vientiane

The French left Laos in 1953, but today there are more French people living there than at the height of colonial occupation. The result, happily, is a plethora of excellent French restaurants in the capital, Vientiane. One of the best is Le Silapa, tel: (856-21) 219689, run by Canadian Frederic Dionne-Vachon who came to Laos because he hated the Canadian winter. Housed in a 1923 shophouse barely three meters wide, the restaurant has a classical feel with a twist of Indochina. The menu includes a local fish, known as panine , as well as a purple sorbet made from local khatiep ...