The Great House – Rosewood Luang Prabang
Words: Alison Christ
Photos: Monica Tindall
If you’re a first-time visitor to Luang Prabang, you could easily miss some of the area’s gems, such as The Great House. It’s just outside the principal town, so it’s not an obvious dining location. However, The Great House is a restaurant that should be on every foodie’s must-visit list! The area is stunning, set in an open-walled Colonial-style building surrounded by lush gardens, a background track of running water and your very own waterfall for a picture-perfect view. And the food is extraordinary! The menu is exceptional, using local ingredients and a whole community supply chain of artisanal products. It’s fresh, it’s storied, and it’s delicious.
A Taste of Luang Prabang at The Great House
On our first evening at Rosewood Luang Prabang, we are spoiled in The Great House. The relaxed, colonially influenced dining venue features the best of local Laotian flavours with Chef Ice’s new dinner experience. A Taste of Luang Prabang (USD 50 per person, kids under 6 eat free, kids 6-12 half price) is served family-style with refillable everything! This means you can order seconds or thirds of whatever you love.
It’s the first time we meet Chef Wochirawish Lerttanapornsi, better known as Chef Ice. Little do we know how fond we are about to become of Chef Ice. He tells us he found his love of cooking from his father, who was also a chef, and he went to Le Cordon Bleu Dusit in Bangkok and worked in Dubai, Thailand, and now Laos. Here in Luang Prabang, he capitalises on the bounty of local flavours, continuing to innovate by crafting dishes that highlight the region’s freshest ingredients.
Our Taste of Luang Prabang starts with a bread basket with addictive spicy chilli butter and a dip called jaew mak kuar made with eggplant (so fresh and flavourful I am sure they were just picked today). Am, team leader, warns us that the jaew and chilli butter are very popular and that we are in danger of stuffing ourselves before we get to the main performance. Okay, so easy on the dips (easier said than done). Next, we are served individual bowls of Kaeng Som Kai Chicken Sour Soup with galangal, lemongrass, cherry tomatoes, and tamarind paste. The soup is singing in the bowl and is so delightful, but not spicy.
We look over and see the chef’s assistant set up tableside, preparing us what is to be an amazing Luang Prabang Salad with lettuce, eggs, and Lao dressing (think tableside Ceaser done with Laotian flair). Everything was in a garden or a hen nest this very morning. The lettuce, and herbs are bursting with stories to tell us as we chew. These perfectly cooked eggs are crazy (they become a favourite of ours and we find out at breakfast tomorrow how it’s done).
Am has just passed his level one wine exam and enthusiastically recommends wines for us. We are very much enjoying his suggestion of the Spier Signature Collection Rosé from Stellenbosch, South Africa 2022 (USD 15). It’s bursting with currants and cranberries on the nose and crisp and refreshing on the palate.
Moving along, we are reminded that we can order refills of whatever we like, but we feel perfectly satisfied. Next, we are served sharing bowls of several dishes including Khua Hed Local Forest Mushroom, Chilli, and Garlic. I envision our chef foraging these mushrooms himself. My favourite so far is Leun Some Moo Pork with coconut milk, eggplant, longevity beans, buffalo skin, fermented fish paste and garlic. What’s a longevity bean and can I please have some more? The fish paste is mild and balances out with the creamy coconut milk.
Did I say that was my favourite? Well, until I try the Kaeng Phed Kai Local Chicken with red curry paste, coconut milk, string beans, eggplant, chilli, and sweet basil, Yum! Of course, we have rice to soak up all the delicious curry. How can we continue without trying Koi Pa Blanched Catfish Salad, including lemongrass, kaffir, shallots, galangal, fresh herbs and chilli? It’s filled with all of the flavours Monica and I love from Thai cooking but without too much heat. There’s also Soup Nor Mai, a bamboo shoot salad with fresh herbs. I suppose I haven’t had bamboo shoots so much in my life to have formed an opinion. In Laos they are very popular. Monica doesn’t love them (too pungent for her) but I am enjoying them in small doses. Do not worry, Monica; there are many other glorious vegetables before us.
We’ve switched to red and are enjoying the classic style of Vigna di Pallino Chianti from Italy 2021 (USD 14) certified organic. I’ve never tried this producer before, but I will definitely keep an eye out for them in the future. Monica and I need a breather and Chef tells us we still have one more “dish” and dessert to come. I put dish in quotes because next up is the Jaew Seasonal Selection of Laos Dips with steamed and fresh vegetables with buffalo skin. It’s a complete meal in itself. The buffalo skin is fried and crispy making it an awesome “cracker” for the dips.
Mon and I take this moment to sip some Chianti and revel in the fact that we are getting our 30+ or even 50+ fruit and veggie weekly requirements in just one day here at Rosewood’s The Great House. Maybe you’ve watched something about gut health on the tube or read something published by a popular nutritionist. “They” say we should consume 30-50 (depending on the source) different types of produce per week to optimise our gut health. For me, being single, I struggle with this, I give it my best effort and usually make it close to 20. Here at Rosewood Luang Prabang, we excel at this optimal gut health number and love every bite of those 50+ herbs, fruits, and veggies, especially those with this epic selection of jaews.
Somehow, someway, we are going to manage dessert. A meal of this stature would not be complete otherwise. The Nam Wan Kuay is banana, coconut milk and sago and tastes as yummy as it sounds (surprisingly, we do not struggle at all with finishing the entire bowl).
I notice the Luang Prabang Buffalo Dairy Cheese Selection with grapes, honey, and toasted baguette on the menu and I promise myself that I will make sure to save room for that tomorrow! Monica and I are off to our villa in a glorious food coma where we will sleep like babies, rising tomorrow, hopefully after the sun.
Rosewood Luang Prabang Breakfast
We spend four cool nights and four glorious days at Rosewood Luang Prabang, and breakfast is definitely a highlight. It’s one of the best I’ve had at any five-star hotel or resort (actually, I can’t think of one that tops the Rosewood brekkie). Breakfast is served in The Great House from sunrise until 11 am. The Great House is indeed a great house taking its design influence from Colonial-Lao architecture. It’s open-air, and we love to sit outside on the terrace. The morning breezes are almost as invigorating as the freshly brewed local coffee from Saffron Coffee.
There is no buffet; everything is made and served fresh to order. You can order whatever you like; it’s all included. I would encourage outside guests and locals to come try breakfast at The Great House. They offer a free shuttle service when you make a reservation. Outside guests can also eat as much as they like for USD 35. (Kids under 6 eat free, kids 6-12 half price.) Happy days!
A few more sips of delicious coffee with my absolute favourite Homemade Protein Bar of dried figs, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashew nuts, coconut, and goji berries with maple syrup, and I am ready to take on the world, or order a juice! Almost any fruit you can think of can be found here fresh and in your glass within minutes, like my favourite orange and ginger, or you can choose the Blood Purifier with local green cabbage, green apple, guava, turmeric and lemon or the De-tox with carrot, ginger, seasonal fruit, lime and mint.
Normally, I would be 100 per cent satisfied with coffee, juice and this wonderful protein bar, but when in Rome or in Laos… we must try the all-time Laotian favourite breakfast, Khao Soy with rice noodles, fermented pork, fresh herbs, peanut paste, fresh vegetables. I am fairly westernised when it comes to breakfast (I love bacon and eggs), but this Khao Soy is darn good, and I think we will be ordering it again, maybe tomorrow! With so many fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices, I see why this is a local favourite.
Avocado Crostini with Lao-grown avocado, a soft-boiled egg, pink peppercorns and fresh herbs on toasted multigrain bread turns out to be Monica’s favourite from the Western options. Mine is the Florentine with poached eggs, local spinach and hollandaise on an English muffin. The spinach has tiny little leaves and a vibrant flavour. I’m sure it was picked a few hours ago. I’m obsessing over this spinach, and our lovely server, Noy, gives me a little extra raw on the side to truly appreciate it. Monica’s egg yolks are talking to us; they are bright orange and cooked to absolute perfection. Chef Ice tells us his secret to the perfect soft-boiled egg. (It works! Monica tries it as soon as she gets home. But, we’re not telling the secret; you’ll have to ask him yourself). I get a side of bacon from local free-range pigs, and it’s to die for, sliced so thinly and cooked on the grill (not fried and oily). It’s fantastic, everything is fantastic.
On our second glorious morning at Rosewood Luang Prabang, we invite Chef Ice and our amazing host and general manager Adrien Pons to join us for breakfast. Monica wants to get a flatlay of The Great House Breakfast spread. We want their company and need their stomachs to help us eat everything.
The spread is over the top rich with colour, healthy options, lush veggies, fresh fruits, homemade granola, decadent pastries, croissants, pain au chocolat, an amazing waffle with homemade berry compote, and buffalo ricotta cheese (more on this awesome local cheese later). I am reaching the tipping point, slowing down, and can’t take another bite. Adrian tells us we must, absolutely must, try the Nam Luang Prabang Omelette with sour pork, moo yor, bean sprouts, morning glory, lao watercress, sweet and sour peanut sauce, and that people come from Bangkok just to eat this dish. Twist my arm, I miraculously find room for two more bites. It is worth it! Monica and I very slowly make our way back to our waterfall pool villa, where only a dip in the alfresco water will revive us and get us ready for lunch. What? Lunch? Today? Okay, I can do it, let’s go!
After reading a few chapters in my book and a long plunge in our private pool, we head back to The Great House for lunch. Like breakfast, lunch here can be taken at your leisure with no stress on time. Rosewood wants you to be fully immersed in its beauty and completely relaxed, with all your stress and worries completely gone forever.
Lunch Menu
The Great House’s menu is compact yet offers so much variety, with international, local and wellness cuisine at the forefront. There are plentiful plant-based options, and the kitchen is flexible, tailoring menus to diverse needs with advance notice.
I have no idea that I ordered an entire fish lunch. Lucky for me, Chef Ice has perfectly deboned the fresh Ping Pa Aerb (USD 25) with lemongrass, dill, garlic, chilli, and spicy tomato dip, and all I have to do is keep putting more of it in my mouth. It’s so good, and again, I am blown away by all the local ingredients bursting on the plate and on our palates.
Monica is making a dent (a small one) in her pretty orange-coloured Sweet Potato Gnocchi (USD 16) with bok choi, grilled pumpkin and toasted seeds (labelled “Substantial” on the menu – Monica, what are you thinking?) Mon says, “Look at all these veggies”,… and asks for the rest to be packed up for later, defeated (she does actually eat it later – the kitchen saved it, heated it and replated it as per her request as to not waste any food in proper Rosewood, Bill Bensley and Monica Tindall fashion).
The Great House Luang Prabang
Chef Ice finishes us off with a description of the concept at The Great House and that he wants it to be a wholesome dining experience for his guests. A light and healthy approach to original Laotian flavours and Western-inspired dishes crafted from vegetables and herbs sourced exclusively from local markets and farmers. “Luang Prabang’s micro-climate allows us to cook Western-inspired dishes with products sourced at local markets and farms. The magnificent vegetables and herbs of the region formed the starting point of this wholesome menu.”
The menu items are labelled with symbols representing vegetarian, vegan or Partners in Provenance, which Monica and I find awesome. Rosewood’s Partners in Provenance commitment is borne out of respect for local farmers and indigenous agriculture and a dedication to delivering the highest quality food. Rosewood Luang Prabang collaborates with local farms and purveyors that provide fresh seasonal produce throughout the year, such as lettuce and watercress from the surrounding hills of Ban Nadueay Village, river weed from Nam Bak, Mekong fish from Ban Phonexay farm and organic fresh vegetables from the Living Land Farm.
Reasons to visit The Great House: Aromantic candle-lit dinner set next to the mesmerising waterfalls, wholesome culinary experiences, supporting local farmers, delicious food, great service, and warm hospitality, hit your 50+veggies, inviting and super comfy dining space, free-flow Taste of Luang Prabang Menu, complimentary transfers from any location in Luang Prabang town when making a reservation, epic free-flow breakfast.
The Great House
Rosewood Luang Prabang
Ban Nadueay Village, Luang Prabang, 06000, Laos PDR
+856 7121 1155
[email protected]
*All prices ++ subject to 10% service charge and 10% government tax
The Great House Luang Prabang Opening Hours
Breakfast: Daily 6:30 am to 10:30 am
All Day Dining: Daily 11 am to 10 pm (last order at 9:30 pm)
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