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3 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,A ugust 19,2021 w aterloochronicle.ca BARDISH CHAGGER #ForwardForEveryone BardishKW /Bardish.Chagger Bardish_Chagger 519-747-3731 team@bardishchagger.ca for Bardish ChaggerA strong voice for you #ForwardForEveryone For weeks, there hasn't been a wall sign on the fa- cade at 21 King St. N. in Wa- terloo, so look for the side- walk sign that declares "Champa Kitchen Now Open." When you get inside, pe- ruse the 80-item menu and ask owner Outhoumphonh Vongkhamchanh -- "I go by Linda," she said -- about her Lao cooking: she's excited to describe it and how much it means to her to be running her own restaurant. Vongkhamchanh has worked in hospitality for 15 years. She attended Cones- toga College for business, has worked in a Cambridge restaurant and opened Champa Kitchen (Champa is a national flower of Laos, she says) on July 2. Born in Laos, she came to Canada from Savannak- het province in the south- ern part of the country when she was 14: her story is told many times by new Canadians. "My dad left first and brought us over," she said. "He wanted us to have a better future. It was tough. You don't know the lan- guage, and you don't know the culture." Her future, it turned out, was to share Southeast Asian dishes and culture with Waterloo Region, es- pecially Lao cuisine. "I enjoy feeding people, whether it's at home or wherever. I want to serve the community Lao cui- sine. There's not a lot around here." With food businesses such as Kitchener's Knife and Pestle and Choun Kitchen in Hespeler, Lao cooking is steeping from the shadows of Thai food. It's a less familiar cuisine that is gaining popularity, much like the burgeoning Filipino food scene in the region. There are several dozen dishes at Champa that originate from countries of what was known as the Indochinese Peninsula, in- cluding Thai, Vietnamese and Lao, such as appetiz- ers, soups, curries such as gang garee yellow curry, pho, specialties such as crispy duck, noodle dishes and several vegetarian dishes. Traditional Lao dishes, such as chicken larb kai and beef larb seen beef sal- ad with tripe (just deli- cious), coconut pork pat- ties and seen lod (a scrumptious, more crispy Lao-style beef jerky) share menu space with Thai dishes. Sai gok is a delicious rich marinated ground pork sausage. "You have to have a little fat in there," Vongkham- chanh said. "There's lemon grass, some lime leaf, and a mix of herbs and garlic powder. We add a bit of chili paste, and it sits in the cooler for a couple of hours before we stuff the sau- sage." It's steamed first, then grilled and served with a Lao chili paste called jeow bong, this version of which wasn't too hot. A commonly found con- diment originating in Lu- ang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage-designated town in north-central Laos, jeow bong is sweet and savoury with just a hint of umami-rich fish sauce detectable. "Jeow bong's very popu- lar back home, and we eat it with sticky rice. Ground chili is blended with galan- gal and lime leaf. We eat it by hand and dip the sticky rice into the jeow bong." With three children un- der 10, she wears many hats, and her husband, Tim, an electrician, helps on the side. "My mom, Saisamone, helps since we just started a month ago, and I am the cook. We're looking for kitchen help, by the way," she said. Her family is focused on introducing their food to the community. "Lao food is for sharing. The way we eat is family oriented," she said, adding that it's taking a lot of energy to keep the new restaurant afloat as they build business. "It's tough right now. But we'll get by with all the support from the commu- nity," Vongkhamchanh said. "This is my dream. This is what I want to do. At school, I wanted to run my own business. It's taken a while, but we're here." For more info on Cham- pa Kitchen, visit Face- book/champakitchen.info. Andrew Coppolino is a Kitchener-based food writ- er and broadcaster. Visit him at www.andrewcoppo- lino.com. DELICIOUS LAO DISHES TAKE CENTRE STAGE OPINION THERE ARE SEVERAL DOZEN THAI, VIETNAMESE AND LAO DISHES AT CHAMPA KITCHEN, WRITES ANDREW COPPOLINO Above: "This is my dream. This is what I want to do. At school, I wanted to run my own business. It's taken a while, but we're here," says Champa Kitchen owner Linda Vongkhamchanh. Right: Lao beef jerky and larb seen with spicy beef salad with tripe. Andrew Coppolino photos CHAMPA KITCHEN Address: 21 King St. N. Waterloo Phone: 519-208-7877 Website: facebook.com/ champakitchen.info ANDREW COPPOLINO Column