Passion and excellence excite me whenever I meet them, but I had not expected to meet them on a hot Friday morning in Vientiane, Laos PDR, while I was in great need of a really good coffee. Don't get me wrong, communist Laos is famous for its superb mountain coffee, but Laos tends to be chill to the point of sleepy, and passion is not exactly a common, nor a celebrated, national characteristic.
I walked in to Sugarmelt mostly due to a lack of options in visible range and dangerously low caffeine levels. I was immediately impressed - my hot Americano came with the choice of 3 different single origin beans. And yes, I chose the Lao beans. And then I was really impressed because he asked me if I wanted it regular hot or really hot. 16 years living in Thailand with its so-called cafe culture and I have never been asked that, nor has any Thai person ever understood my personal dislike of tepid coffee.
I discovered the young Lao owners are not your typical Lao people. Vientiane-born Andy lived and studied in Sydney, Australia, for many years and his wife, Taya, is half Lao Ukranian.
I ordered a sandwich and was so tired & unable to think (a lack of caffeine!) that I literally chose the first one on the menu - a pastrami on sourdough.
They make their own sourdough bread.
They make their own darned pastrami from Australian beef!
They hand-make the pickles that come on the side (and they were gooood!)
It was amazing. Definitely a few pushups and an extra 5km light run needed to work that off, but what a culinary pleasure. A huge meal, far exceeding my expectations.
They make their own doughnuts and Australian style meat pies too (the pies made from grassfed Australian beef)! And so I went back today for brunch and tried a doughnut. My Germanic origins and I dislike overly sweet Thai and American style donuts (we dislike even the way they SPELL it!), so I was, admittedly, a little skeptical. I chose a hazelnut-almond one.
Wow. Light, great texture, not remotely oily and not too sweet. Almost European.
Perfectly complemented by the Lao coffee. I'm glad I did.
In what is still a very poor South East Asian country, the modern interior was pleasantly cooled (as opposed to standard Asian AC blizzard conditions); the jazz playing was sophisticated, smooth and a pleasant surprise for this music graduate, who is soooo over the tacky western love songs which are seemingly obligatory in Thailand.
Andy and Taya told me they have done every part of the interior themselves - they've literally remodeled his father's old garage. The woodwork, counter, wood paneling, concrete floors, the mural... all a labour of love shared by the two of them.
Today I didn't want especially to post a restaurant review; I wanted to celebrate the passion and commitment to excellence & detail of this unassuming, shy (no photo) and unusual couple who are doing GREAT THINGS on the food scene in Vientiane, and have been since 2014. Cos I believe we should always loudly sing the praises of people who are too busy getting it right to bang their own drum.
Where to find them? Rue Samsenethai in the heart of Vientiane, opposite the Lao Plaza Hotel in the That Dam area. Full map and directions, and opening hours, on their Facebook Page and I have also pinned this post to the 
I'm gutted that they're closed tomorrow and I will have to go back to my usual just-very-good Lao coffee. But somehow I feel enriched to have tasted some of their passion, enjoyed some nice conversation and been inspired by people living fully and giving every aspect of life and their business their best shot.
This rave review is completely unsolicited and will probably embarrass Andy and Taya no end. Please, call in for a great coffee and something to eat when you are next in Vientiane.
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