The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Spicy Lao cuisine comes to Doraville
Snackboxe Bistro opened last month in Doraville, offering a rare taste of Lao cooking in an area where so many other styles of Asian and Southeast Asian food can be easily found.
First-time restaurateurs Vanh Sengaphone and Thip Athakhanh, the Laotian-American husbandand-wife team behind Snackboxe, call the bright, often spicy dishes they serve Lao street food. And they introduce the menu with the motto: “It’s more than just sticky rice.”
On the menu, you’ll find the likes of pork-filled spring rolls, crispy coconut rice salad with fermented pork or tofu served as lettuce wraps, and “mainstays” such as beef or chicken larb, Lao sausage and flash-fried beef jerky. There’s also a weekly special, such as bamboo soup with assorted mushrooms.
The couple’s neat storefront space near Super H Mart in the Peachtree Pavilion shopping center has the contemporary fastcasual design of a franchise in the making.
A series of delicate watercolor and paper paintings commissioned from Atlanta artist Christina Kwan were inspired by Lao textiles, flowers and plants. And on the back wall, there’s a quote from Anthony Bourdain: “Laos is the kind of place that can easily capture your heart and not let you go.”
In 2016, during a honeymoon trip to Laos, Sengaphone and Athakhanh decided it was time to put their respective operations and cooking skills to work to conceive a concept based on their native cuisine.
Last week, Athakhanh sat down at a table at Snackboxe to talk about the restaurant and Lao food.
“I don’t really consider myself a chef,” Athakhanh said. “I consider myself a home cook who started off cooking for my husband and family and friends. This was ahugestepo p eninga restaurant. It’s overwhelming. It’s rewarding. It’s everything.
“It’s only been one month since we opened, but we’re getting a lot of positive feedback from the community. which are pan-fried and They’re so open to Lao food, topped with seasoned egg which really isn’t very well wash and red pepper flakes. known. Mostly people know “Laos is a very poor counThai and Vietnamese cuitry compared to Thailand sine. There are people who and Vietnam,” she said. “So have never tried Lao food, we have to work with what and now we’re seeing them we have, which is a lot of two or three times a week.” plants, a lot of vegetables, a
Lao cooking, Athakhanh lot of herbs, and sticky rice. explained, is similar to northBut this simple dish is so flaern Thai in many ways, but vorful to eat by itself or with there are distinct differences, other dishes. too. “Generally Lao dishes are
“One big difference is that very labor-intensive. Everywe use a lot of fermented thing is made by hand. You ingredients,” she said. “We can’t mass-produce it or have fermented fish sauce, make it in big batches. It fermented pork, fermented has to be made to order. We noodles and many other make all of our noodles inthings that bring in differ- house daily, and when it’s ent flavors that are salty and gone, it’s gone. We make sour. our beef jerky in-house, and
“For the most part, our we make almost everything menu is authentic. But I did a else in-house.” little spin on our Saku, which Most of all, Athakhanh is tapioca pearl dumplings. said, Snackboxe has a mis- The traditional recipe is pork sion that’s cultural as well filling. But because we don’t as culinary. have any vegan dishes, I “We just want to bring made a soy filling. It’s made Laos to Atlanta,” she said. by hand, and steamed to“There aren’ t many Laotian order, and there’s been such restaurants here. And this is a high demand that I can only not a mom-and-pop place. offer it on the weekend.” We wanted to connect with
Growing up, one of all age groups and have the Athakhanh’s favorite childyoung crowd and the old hood snacks wa sK haoChee, crowd and the more adv en-sticky rice omelet cakes,turo us crowd, too .”