Sun Song Social – Cocktail Bar, Luang Prabang
Words: Alison Christ
Photos: Monica Tindall
If Little Lao is a Love Letter to Luang Prabang, then Sun Song Social must be the mistletoe.
After our spectacular meal in Little Lao Culture Bar, Monica, Chef Ice, and I stand up from the table. Our wonderful host, Nont, shows us to an exquisite black cast iron staircase in the corner of the room, which leads us to undiscovered mysteries upstairs in Sun Song Social. I climb the stairs, running the palm of my hand across the cool metal as we spiral up to a sexy room. This is my immediate feeling as we walk back into the light, and my eyes adjust. It is sexy, then, bam, red! The colour red is everywhere, demanding my attention, talking to me, saying hello, beautiful!
I look ahead to see an amazing glass mosaic peacock. Glass mosaic is a laborious and delicate form of art, painstakingly time and labour-intensive, as well as hazardous to your fingers. I know this first hand, as I am a mosaic artist myself. I love the art form; mosaics withstand the test of time and are texturally pleasing. Speaking of time, this bird has stopped me in my tracks, making me stand still in this moment to admire her beauty. This peacock was created by a master artist and his students in honour of the Tree of Life mosaic at Vat Xieng Thong temple.
I want to stand here longer, but I also can’t wait to get to the other side of the bar, walk past this stunning wall of sun-fire red, and look out the window with its beautiful red paper lanterns swaying in the breeze, past the colonial wooden shutters opening onto the street below. If you recall the history of Ban Jek in my Little Lao article, this vibrant street is in the soul of Luang Prabang, oozing with culture, architecture, worship, art, and craftsmanship. Staring out from above, down onto Banh Xiang Muon, the street below, I feel this calling, come, walk on my sidewalk, and admire, get closer. Oh, we will, I tell the street in my head, but don’t make us leave Sun Song Social so quickly; we have cocktails to drink and food to eat. Food? Oh my! Did you see what we ate downstairs? Give me a mezcal negroni first and then I’ll think about it!
My go-to cocktail of choice is always a mezcal negroni; when mezcal is available, they have Mezcal Creyente! It’s not on the menu, but they happily accommodate my needs. I couldn’t resist and drank half of it before Monica could get a photo, trust me, it looked good and tasted better. It’s my test of a bartender’s skills if they can make a mezcal negroni perfectly balanced while letting the smokiness shine through, and Benz, Sun Song’s lead man, has smashed it!
Monica has spent a ton of time in Latin America and speaks Spanish fluently. She will never turn down a Mojito (KIP 190,000), which is made with Havana 3-year-old Rum, clarified mint cordial, and soda. Mon sips, smiles, nods at me and says this is a good one with more complexity than your everyday mojito and also not as sweet (from the secret ingredient of a few dashes of Angostura bitters and, of course, mint from the Little Lao’s very own garden.
Three sips into my Negroni, my body reminds me I can’t drink without eating any more. I am surprised I can fit any more food, but I can, and it smells so good. We have the Khao Mun Khai (KIP 120,000), an Asian classic with silky coriander chicken and ginger rice, served with fermented bean ginger sauce. Monica says it looks like Malaysia’s chicken rice; Ice says Thai chicken rice. To be difficult, I chime in that it’s Cantonese style. Nont laughs and says, guys… it’s Lao-style chicken rice! The fermented bean and ginger sauce definitely gives it a character all its own.
To wash down the chicken rice we are presented with a brand-new cocktail, The Green Tamarind (KIP 120,000). It’s made with tamarind cordial, homemade tepache, and pineapple gin, served in a glass with a chilli-sugar rim. The tamarinds come from their very own tamarind tree. The drink is delicious and creative. Tepache is a traditional Mexican fermented drink using pineapple skins, a bit of sugar, and water, it takes a couple of weeks to ferment into a tasty, slightly fizzy, low-alcohol drink. If you’ve been living or traveling in Southeast Asia for a while you’ve probably tried the fruit from a tamarind tree. Maybe you’ve seen them hanging off the branches while you’re walking around. They’re funny pod-like fruits looking somewhere between a sugar snap pea and a caterpillar. You break them open, and inside are these sweet and sour delicious pieces of fruit surrounding a seed. You can make all sorts of things, from tamarinds – curry, chutney, jam, candy, herbal medicine, and cocktails, especially cocktails. We love this one. Well done, Benz!
The drink menu has something to offer just about everyone, with new-inspired cocktails and a great choice of classics. There is also a nice selection of wine by the glass (even a rose, yay!), a well-thought-out list of bottles, and an impressive collection of close to 100 top-shelf spirits. Monica is feeling like a Millionaire Martini (KIP 250,000), with Tanqueray No. Ten, Extra Dry Vermouth, and a splash of Cava to liven things up. It’s a classic with a twist. She’s in her element.
Nont and I stroll over to admire the black and white photo of a man doing a back bend of sorts. He asks me what I think he is doing. I say he’s dancing like no one is watching. Nont says it could be, or he could be laughing so hard or a little bit too tipsy from enjoying cocktails. We don’t know. We leave it up to interpretation. This is the feeling we should experience up here in Sun Song. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing. It’s about the possibilities and that any or all of them can happen and do happen up here.
I’ve lived in New York and Hong Kong and travelled to over 50 countries. Sun Song Social has the ambience of a modern cosmopolitan city and simultaneously feels steeped in the timeless elegance of a century ago. I ask Nont where the name Sun Song comes from, and he tells me it’s two-fold, inspired by the beautiful Saa paper or mulberry paper behind the bar, which is the focal point of the design here. The red sea of Saa emanates the thoughts of the sun’s glow during sunset and sunrise. We’ve seen a lot of this traditional Lao Saa paper during our time here in Luang Prabang. It’s an important part of the craftsman’s livelihood, and it creates a unique-looking and feeling paper that loves to be turned into artwork. The second inspiration is that sun song is a homophone with the word second floor in the Lao language. I learned something new today: the word homophone (I had to Google it) is such a cool word. It’s when there are two things that sound the same but have different meanings. Did you know that?
I mentioned earlier that I can’t drink alcohol without food, even if it’s just a snack, so I love that the kitchen here stays open until 11:30 pm every night (except Wednesday). Chef Ice tells me, “Sun Song Social is my favourite spot in Luang Prabang to chill out after a long day of work. I like the music that they play and the vibe; they are creative with the cocktails, and the bartenders remember what I like. It’s a great place to meet people, conveniently located in the middle of town. In Luang Prabang, most restaurants close by 9:30 or 10 pm. After that, it isn’t easy to find good food. Sun Song is the best place for great late-night food. My favourite is the Khao Moo Dang (KIP 120,000), grilled Chinese BBQ pork with steamed rice and caramelized sweet soy, which magically has just appeared in front of us. Yes, I see the staff remembering what you like, I love that. The dish has a fragrant five-spice thing happening, and the pork is juicy and tender; it doesn’t last long on our table.
I agree with Ice, the playlist is great, I’m loving the tunes. I take a final sip of my cocktail, and look out into the room. I think again, sexy. I can’t wait to come back and see this place at night, filled with glamorous people drinking awesome cocktails, and dancing like no one is watching…
Reasons to visit Sun Song Social, Luang Prabang: epic vibes, attentive staff, great cocktails, great tunes and late night yummy food.
Sun Song Social
Cocktail Bar
Banh Xiang Muon, 33, Luang Prabang, Laos
Link to Sun Song Social on Google Maps
+856 20 51 998 998
Sun Song Social Opening Hours
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday – Tuesday: 5 pm – late
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