• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Messy Vegan Cook
  • Recipes
  • Thai Food + Travel
  • Supper Clubs
  • Subscribe
    • Bloglovin
    • Instagram
    • RSS
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Thai Food and Travel
  • London Vegan Supper Clubs
  • About
    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Upmarket Raw Vegan Dining at L'elephant Vert Luang Prabang

    6 March, 2015 by Kip 1 Comment

    Luang Prabang still caters to backpackers, but also to the 5 star hotel crowd. That means there's a lot more upmarket eating, which is sometimes disappointing and sometimes wonderful, but usually exciting. My manner of backpacking these days means I still have income and I like air conditioning sometimes, so as much as I love hole in the wall eateries I also enjoy treating myself. Luang Prabang is a good place for splurges and treats, and if you have the time and a few extra quid to spare then check out L'Elephant Vert in Luang Prabang.

    I'm hoping to keep this write up shorter than the 400 pages I wrote about L’Elephant Vert in my notebook. The way this place works is you pick a set menu from a selection of set menus. It’s posh and everything is fancy. Did I mention the entire eatery is vegan? I mean, like detox level vegan, where everything has honey and they use words like chlorophyll and elixir in the same sentence. Also, I ate flowers. I literally ate flowers.

    Raw carrot and ginger biscuits with chlorophyll and garden green

    Raw carrot and ginger biscuits with chlorophyll and garden greens

    Raw carrot and ginger biscuits with chlorophyll and garden greens elixir: salty and spicy ginger biscuits that taste a little like molasses. The elixir is cooling and doesn’t taste like grass, but what’s the green stuff floating at the bottom of my glass?

    Soup at L'Elephant Vert Restaurant

    Warm miso, green onions, ginger, and marinated tofu soup

    Warm miso, green onions, ginger, and marinated tofu: strong flavours, as expected, and crazy salty. Delicious soup but the flower decoration tastes like lawn clippings.

    Vegetable Tower at L'Elephant Vert

    Seasonal vegetable tower with pepper leaves and peanut dressing

    Seasonal vegetable tower with pepper leaves and peanut dressing: More flower petals and I don’t see the point. Peanut sauce overwhelms the delicate flavour of the otherwise good dish.

    flower salad

    Garden of eden salad with tomato sambal with lime and mint

    Garden of eden salad with tomato sambal with lime and mint: This is a flower salad. An entire salad made of flowers and the sambal is an astringent vanilla sauce that isn’t entirely unpleasant even though my choice of words makes it sound like I’m describing the scent of toilet cleaner flavoured cupcakes. Look, I would never make this at home, but it was neat to try something as unique as this dish. Plus it was stunningly beautiful. I would eat it again.

    Carrot and cashew kheer

    Carrot and cashew kheer

    Carrot and cashew kheer: It’s a vanilla cashew pudding with a nice texture, but I’m pretty sure the sweetness came from honey.

    Mint and cinnamon herbal tea: You know how most teas smell like heaven? And then you taste it and you’re like wait what just happened? Now I want to make mint and cinnamon sorbet though.

    L’Elephant Vert is a nice place, if a little on the pricey side, and I enjoyed my meal because it was unique. Some of the flavours are bold and I like that, even if I disagreed with some of the pairings. I walked out the door stuffed. Be sure to ask about each individual menu item if you want to avoid honey.

    « Noochy Deep Fried Okra Chips
    Luang Prabang Night Market Eats »

    Reader Interactions

    I reserve the right to improve any malicious and trollish comments left below.

    Trackbacks

    1. Best Things to Do In Luang Prabang (Your Perfect One Day Itinerary) says:
      7 April, 2018 at 2:04 pm

      […] It’s what just about every local Laos person will be having for lunch, so there is no shortage of options. We found a great spot under an awning just down the road from L’Elephant French-Laos Restaurant (a great French restaurant, that additionally offers Vegan food in Luang Prabang). […]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Name's Kip. Some things about me: vegan, Thai food enthusiast, comfortably chaotic and disorganised, information lover, Londoner, cookbook collector, clumsy AF, rarely takes a serious photo, has never been on a diet. This is not a wellness blog.

    More about me →

    • All recipes
    • Thai food + travel
    • General travel
    • Reviews
    • Food facts
    • Thai winged bean salad (yam tua pu)
    • Korean Braised Tofu (Dubu Jorim)
    Vegan Thai Recipes
    Vegan Travel in Thailand
    Kippysnacks logo

    I run vegan Thai supper clubs at my home in East London. Next events are May 6, 7, and 13. Book tickets here.

    Think Like a Vegan

    Think Like a Vegan Book

    A thoughtful read for long time vegans and nonvegans alike, this is one of the best styles of arguing for and discussion veganism I have yet to find. Highly recommended reading.

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Privacy policy
    • Relationships and disclosures
    • Comments Policy
    • PR and Review Policy
    • Freelance and Consultancy

    Contact

    Email me
    Follow me on Bloglovin

    Newsletter

    All content on this site, including, but not limited to, text, recipes, and photographs are owned by Messy Vegan Cook and its contributors. No content may be reprinted or reproduced without permission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020 Messy Vegan Cook