Savannakhet, Savannakhet Province, Laos
This is my favourite place to eat in Savannakhet and I've been coming here regularly for the last 5 years. Welcome to Cafe Chez Boune.
Cafe Chez Boune has long been a favourite with foreigners visiting Savannakhet, mainly on visa runs. Their mainly western style menu is a taste of home in a town where there are very few signs of the outside world. Whilst this is a positive thing, I am a creature of habit and Cafe Chez Boune hasn't changed much ever since I first came here. I love the familiarity and the fact I know I'm going to enjoy every visit here as much as the last.
Very tastefully fitted out, it's always a cool oasis to escape from the vicious sun and the staff are friendly and welcoming. Service is quick, everything is freshly made, and if you get offered a choice between the homemade or bought in baguettes go homemade: They are gorgeous.
This trip, it was sadly much quieter than before. It used to be that on a lunchtime, many foreigners would meet up here between 12, when they'd had to check-out of their guesthouses, and 2, when the consulate opened to give back passports with their new visas in but I guess now the Consulate has moved to another part of town that many people stay in p!aces more local to the Consulate. From about 1.30, tuk-tuks used to line up outside waiting! That's a shame as this part of town, not far from the river, is by far the nicest place to be. Cafe Chez Boune was also one of the only places to have wi-fi, another major draw.
Sorry I only have the pic of breakfast. When I went back for dinner, I was so hungry and wolfed down the mushroom soup and bruschettas and forgot to take a pic!
The breakfast, including a coke and a cappucchino came to 160THB or about $5 USD. Funnily, the butter actually costs almost double the cost of the baguette!
They accept THB, USD as well as the local Kip, and also accept the whole gamut of payments cards. Still quite rare in Laos, but even here, technology is catching up. The first time I went to Laos in 2002, there was only one ATM in the whole of the capital city, God knows what I'd have done getting stuck somewhere like Savannakhet with no cash!
They also have copies of the 'Vientiane Times', a Loatian English language newspaper to read, I love reading the local news over breakfast in a foreign land. Very Hemingway don't you think? lol
They also sell Pizzas and a wide range of local and imported alcohol which is on a seperate menu.
Ok, if you're ever in town, please drop in. I swear you won't be disappointed. I've put a pin on @steemitworldmap. I wish more people would use this fabulous resource.
