If you’re traveling in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, there’s no shortage of restaurants to choose from. You can’t find a single street without a bright, yellow BeerLao sign, advertising a pub, local eatery, or hotel.

But this restaurant, serving every variation of duck meat that a Laos chef could dream up, has got to be at the top on your list of places to eat. It is literally a grilled duck paradise.

In this article, I am going to share all the details with you.

Laos food
Rotating ducks over charcoal

Anna Grilled Duck Restaurant ຮ້ານແອນນາ ປີ້ງເປັດ

First of all, I have to say a huge thank you to Mee, her husband Billy and all his friends too really, because without them there’s no way we would have known to come here – the restaurant didn’t even have a menu!

We had met Mee and her friend while having coffee just outside our Airbnb apartment unit. Our new friends had an idea to meet up later for dinner.

We arrived a bit before 6PM, the grill was getting hot, and there were already several more cars parking in front. We grabbed a table between the kitchen and the well-lit backyard music stage.

My senses were buzzing with excitement being hit by both the smells coming from that kitchen and the sound of meat sizzling over open flame.

Laos food
Feasting in Vientiane, Laos

Great Hosts, and Great Food

When a host ALREADY knows where they’re going to take you literally in the next breathe after inviting you, its safe to say that you’re not going to be let down.

I couldn’t quite catch the order, but I did hear the word duck about a dozen times… honestly I was just salivating watching plates of roasted bird being passed around.

Laab Bet Suk (Duck Salad, Non-raw version)

What to Eat

Now, for the food.

The dish that you just have to try is called Laab Baeng Pet (or just ‘Paeng Pet’).

They weren’t actually making the totally raw version on this particular day, so we settled for cooked meat with the raw blood – which was just wonderful in its own right of course.

If you’ve ever imagined a single bite containing a blast of fresh herbs, rich, oily minced duck meat, mouth-cooling jelly, all covered with crackling fried shallots, then you’ll absolutely love this food.

A Laos Specialty, Fresh Duck Blood!

Duck Blood Salad – A Laos Specialty

Amazingly, its not oil that makes this dish so red, but blood collected from the freshly prepared duck.

They take the blood directly from the duck, stirring it the whole time to keep it from clotting together.

Along with raw duck blood, a combination of Laos mint, roasted peanuts, green onions, freshly chopped chilies, and crispy fried shallots were added, making this one of the more refreshing (but also fiery) bites of food I think I’ve ever come across.

Chase the blood bite with a raw chili dipped in shrimp paste

Your Key Steps to Greatness

Before you dig in, first squeeze some lime juice onto the entire plate of raw duck blood salad.

Next, you’re going to want to prepare yourself a fresh raw chili by dipping it into the shrimp paste – this is going to be your chaser.

Laos raw duck blood salad
Prepare your chili and shrimp paste

However it sounds at first, let me assure you – the flavor was not what I had imagined at all. Wonderfully fragrant, no coppery sensation at all.

The smooth, rich textures, accompanied by crisp smells from the gigantic amount of shredded herbs, it really is a dish that brings people in Laos together. A wonderful combination.

I had never had anything like this before, but honestly I didn’t just have seconds – I had thirds. This was incredible. If you’re in the capital of Vientiane, Laos, you absolutely cannot miss this dish.

Grilled duck, Laos style, marinated in fermented fish sauce

Grilled Duck with Fermented Fish Sauce

You should also order at least one grilled duck, it is marinated in a sauce that can only be described as ‘Genius.’

There were many flavors going on, but I’m sure the main ingredient has to be Laos Padaek (the fermented fish sauce of Laos), the kind found in Green Papaya Salad as well.

The chef smears it onto the duck before grilling, that fermented fish flavor matches with the smoky aromas wonderfully.

Eating like a Local

Roll a small ball of sticky rice in your eating hand, then reach over and grab a piece of duck. There were a few dipping sauces to choose from as well, but really, the duck was so flavorful on its own it didn’t really need any sauce.

After that bite, take your pick from Vietnamese coriander, saw-tooth herb, yard beans, or even another chili, from a side plate of fresh herbs. They are there to clean your mouth after each bite, and also manage the building fire.

To be honest we had several plates of ‘Laap Pet’ as well, but we couldn’t leave before finishing three massive dishes of that wonderful Paeng Pet.

This was our last night in Vientiane, successful with yet another local Laos meat feast.

Plenty of restaurants serve Laap Paeng Pet in Vientiane, Laos, but Anna Grilled Duck is one of the best.

Restaurants in Vientiane
Anna Grilled Duck

How To Get There

Anna Grilled Duck is almost directly South of the riverside center of the city (the area where most hotels are located), and should take about 10 minutes by tuktuk from the riverside walking/market area. Coming from the Talad Sao (Morning Market/Bus Station), it’s only about 3km.

See the map below (the restaurant is just behind the Australian Embassy).

Anna Grilled Duck Restaurant ຮ້ານແອນນາ ປີ້ງເປັດs

Addresshttps://goo.gl/maps/e5yetYx4SNS2
Open hours: 2pm-10pm (live music starts around 8pm)
Prices: Plan on 50,000-60,000 kip for each meat dish

Also, check out my Vientiane travel guide for more helpful tips about your stay.

54 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • J C

    1 year ago

    healthy and delicious

  • Lucius

    3 years ago

    Honestly, I never like raw whatever meat salad. I just don’t like the blood smell.

  • vishal

    3 years ago

    Nice food blog. Keep sharing.

  • sankar singh

    3 years ago

    nice food blog

  • Tyler Camarillo

    3 years ago

    I am salivating too! Next time I visit this city, I would definitely this dish (duck blood salad).. Thank you for detailed info including how to get there.

  • Gaurav J

    3 years ago

    Wien when you are coming to INDIA again???

  • Nischay

    3 years ago

    Nice article on Raw Duck Blood Salad bio for fb

  • Vishal

    5 years ago

    Nice recipe. Thanks for that.

  • Vishal

    5 years ago

    Its really awesome blog…

  • Ashley

    5 years ago

    Just finished watching the Laos episode of Anthony Bourdain and I immediately searched for articles about ducks blood salad. Will definitely try it here!

    • Joel Bruner

      4 years ago

      Ashley! Happy that you found this one, hope you get a chance to try it soon! Its quite a unique (and crazily delicious) Laos food, thanks for your message

  • Mike Andrews

    5 years ago

    Very nice post but I don’t think i am able to try this but I like the pictures used and the way of writing.

    • Joel Bruner

      4 years ago

      Well, thanks for the honesty Mike! Glad you found it and found it interesting. Cheers, have a great day today!

  • Maria Perez

    5 years ago

    Vietnamese dishes are so different than American dishes. As a goody I love trying new dishes and the Vietnamese cuisine never disappoints. Fortunately we have some great Vietnamese restaurants here in LA. Unfortunately, I have never seen this dish before, but I will be sure to ask about it at my favorite places.

    Thanks for sharing,
    Maria

    • Joel Bruner

      5 years ago

      Maria, thanks for reading! I hope you some luck in finding out even more of the local dishes from (Laos and Vietnam) over there in the USA – I know it can be done, because I have seen that no people in the world will ever leave their food behind, even when moving to a new continent 🙂

  • Daspalla Hotel

    6 years ago

    Hey mark weins,
    Thanks for your experience laos food.Nice information and Photos.

  • deepak patel

    6 years ago

    very special so nice post

  • Jillian Michelle

    6 years ago

    I’d definitely love to try this! I’ve had a blood soup before, but it was a Korean dish, not Laotian. (My boyfriend is Korean and his mom had made the soup especially for us.) The Laap Paeng Pet looks completely unique though, so I’m sure the flavors will be like nothing I’ve ever had before. I love trying new foods! <3

  • Laura Jones

    6 years ago

    Wow. You are a brave guy to try this dish. I don’t think I could stomach it. However, your writing is very poetic and the photos make it look great!

  • Mr. Demon

    6 years ago

    Hello Mr. Mark!

    Could you recommend to me some condiments I could make myself? I’m poor and don’t have much money, but I love savoury and spicy flavours. Thank you very much! Great blog, I really enjoy all your food travels! 🙂

    • Joel Bruner

      6 years ago

      Hi Mr. Demon, well I am sure that you could make this dipping sauce yourself! Its usually just up to your own taste, and the mix is simply diced chilies, diced raw garlic, tiny bits of cilantro and green onions, then fish sauce, and lime juice, in that order. If you don’t like fish sauce, then salt is ok, and if you don’t eat spicy food then try taking the seeds out of the chili peppers before cutting them up. Thanks for reading, take care!

  • Jess

    6 years ago

    Wow! The blood is so brightly colored. I wonder if the cook just stirs it every little while, or if they have to stir it constantly to prevent it coagulating? I had a lot of coagulated blood while in Laos, and didn’t like the flavor at all. It’s good to know that this blood doesn’t have the coppery flavor.

    • Joel Bruner

      6 years ago

      I am not entirely sure, but I know the blood is used within a few hours. On another day in this most recent Laos trip, we got to see pig’s blood being used, and yes, it was stirred quite frequently to prevent coagulation. But I think the freshness was the most important part! And you’re right, this dish had no coppery smell or flavor at all, it was really surprisingly cooling actually!

  • Anna

    6 years ago

    I must say that the billboard Anna Duck Grilled made me laugh 😀

  • Steve Tomlinson

    6 years ago

    If you visit Bali on your travels I can recommend red lawar made with fresh pigs blood. Particularly nice in Gianyar market.

  • Maura

    6 years ago

    Anna Grilled Duck sounds amazing. We love trying duck recipes whenever we can as the flavours never seem to disappoint. We loved trying the small local restaurants in Vientiane as the owners were always keen to help. But we have to say the favourite breakfast food was the Banana Pancakes made for us is Vang Vieng.

    • Joel Bruner

      6 years ago

      Yes! You are totally right, the high fat content and the firmness of the duck meat just combine into such a wonderful substance of possibility!

  • Elizabeth S. Topping

    6 years ago

    This is without a doubt a peculiar specialty dish. As a fan of your posts I have learned plenty about Asian cuisine. But blood salad! That’s certainly new for me. It is amazing what you can discover when you decide to explore and see some of the peculiar dishes people all over the world are trying out. Kudos!

    • Joel Bruner

      6 years ago

      Thank you Elizabeth, have a great day!

  • Hamoud Almerrawi

    6 years ago

    You are a very special man and you have a great passion for food and I am a fan of you, continue to go ahead and your audience will give us a perfect description of the food as you are, I wish you success and I love you man.

    • Mark Wiens

      6 years ago

      Hey Hamoud, thank you very much for your kind words, hope you’re doing well also.

  • Meagan

    6 years ago

    Laab chicken is my favorite dish. I need to try Laab Duck! My husband is from Laos and we want to visit soon! Thank you for your videos!!!

  • Jo

    6 years ago

    I absolutely love duck but I’m not sure about raw duck blood salad! I might stick with the grilled duck. I had no idea that duck was such a popular food in Laos!

    • Mark Wiens

      6 years ago

      Thanks Jo, that’s totally fine. Yah, the grilled duck is fantastic.

  • Vasantha Kadambar

    6 years ago

    Hi Mark,
    Very recently, I found you in you-tube accidentally. Now I and my wife started watching all your videos (new and old). I feel you make the videos as good as a TV channel show. I wonder how much pain you invest in making such a nice videos. Thank you.

    • Mark Wiens

      6 years ago

      Hey Vasantha, thank you very much, really appreciate you watching. Hope you and your wife are doing well!

    • Joel Bruner

      6 years ago

      Hi Vasantha, thanks for the comments! I would say the only ‘pain’ is from chilies, but thats one of the best kinds 🙂

  • Chris Rivera

    6 years ago

    Could you possibly email me the details to this restaurant?? Thanks mark!☺️

  • Chris Rivera

    6 years ago

    I gotta tell ya I’m a big fan of your YouTube blogs! Makes me wanna travel! By the way I wanna check out the soft shell crab crab dish at soi in Bangkok!! Looks so good!☺️

  • Rojen shrestha

    6 years ago

    http://garuda-airlines.net/

  • Viraporn Champaphanith

    6 years ago

    You are so awesome. Watching your shows make me want to travel and eat. I love your Laos episodes. Keep doing what are doing.

    • Mark Wiens

      6 years ago

      Thank you very much Viraporn, hope you’re doing well.

  • Nick C

    6 years ago

    I’ve never eaten blood before or even thought of it, but you’ve somehow made me curious Mark! If you have the ability, I’d love to see you visit the small town of Belagio on Lake Como in Italy. It has gorgeous lake views, restaurants, shops, and hotels full of rich culture never professionally captured on camera.
    I’ve been watching since ’11 and enjoyed every second of it, not sure why it took this long to make an account.

    • Mark Wiens

      6 years ago

      Hey Nick, great to hear from you, thank you very much for your support. Would love to visit Belagio, sounds like a beautiful place with great food. Hoping to spend more time traveling around Italy. Hope you’re doing well!

  • Mir Rabbi

    6 years ago

    Hey Mark. My name is Mir. My wife Lisa and I follow your blog regularly. We love your video and your family. We would like to invite you in St. Louis, Missouri at our place. We are originally from Bangladesh. My wife is a fantastic cook and she wants to cook some authentic bengali food for you. We know you love spicy food. Authentic Bangladeshi food is full of spices, flavors and aroma. Would be very glad if you and your family pay a visit our home .

    • Mark Wiens

      6 years ago

      Hi Mir, great to hear from you, thank you for sharing a little about yourself, and for your kind invitation. Would love to visit you in the future, thanks. Greetings to your wife and family as well.

  • Ryan Reynolds

    6 years ago

    Delicious post.As i am a foodie, i love reading your post.I would love to try these all dishes.Pictures seems to be so delicious.Thanks for the post.Keep sharing.