Lao Laan Xang Restaurant — Restaurant in Madison

I had the chicken satay appetizer and the squash curry entree. Everything was absolutely delicious.

The satay was 4 skewers of tender and flavorful grilled chicken. The sauce was peanutty, without tasting like peanut butter, and was a touch sweet, a little spicy and full of flavor. It also came with freshly chopped cucumber, which was unexpected and a good compliment to the chicken. This all by itself would make for a good light lunch or is plenty for 2 - 4 people to share.

The curry portion was huge. One entree could easily be split by two people, especially when you share an appetizer.

I like that they have an easy way to address how spicy you want things: timid, careful, adventurous and native lao. I went with the "careful" level of spiciness. The level of heat did not overwhelm the complex flavors for me, but next time I'll go for "timid" since it did start to get intense toward the end.

The leftovers re-heated well, but I think it was spicier than the meal was initially. Something to keep in mind if you're sensitive to spice and expect to bring some home for later.

Our server was friendly and chatty. We weren't familiar with the type of noodles that came with a dish, so she brought out both rice and noodles. And at the end, she offered us more rice and noodles to take with...

Avoid this place! I called my take out order in at 6:30pm. It was a simple order of fried rice & spring rolls (which do not require cooking). I was told it would be 45 minutes. I arrived to get my order at 7:30pm... 15 min after they said it would be ready. But my order wasn't ready and they told me it would be a while and I could have a seat. I was crunched for time and trying to get a quick bite in between other commitments. I had already arrived after the pick up time. I couldn't wait any longer and told them to scrap the order. Then 90 minutes after I placed my order (8:00pm) they call me to tell me I can pick up my meal! It was too late for me at that point...I couldn't get back there. There was a lack of regard for their customers....their attitude was very "whatever".. and didn't seem concerned at all that I was counting on them for a simple dinner and instead had to end up going without dinner. Not cool. The lack of regard for others and lack of basic concern for customers is becoming so commonplace.. I feel like I'm 82 years old when I say this, but customer service is extremely hit and miss these days. This place could care less. I guess they feel they can coast on their past "best of Madison"... ...

I went in for lunch with my wife on 5/20/13. I ordered the ginger garlic tofu and asked for it "timid," my wife asked for her meal "medium." We both found the Laotian iced coffee delightful, the cucumber salad and the egg roll were wonderful...but then the entrees came. My wife's meal was spiced to perfection. Mine was so spicy as to be inedible; after a single bite of it, even the white rice was painful to taste or swallow. Looking in the mirror in the bathroom, I found white blisters on my tongue that had not been there before, and the pain in my tongue had not been there before tasting this overly spicy food. I reported this to my absentee waitress (having to get up and find her), asking for more white rice and telling her that I was unable to eat the entree because it was way over-spiced, and no attempt to fix the problem was offered or made. I asked another employee to speak to the manager, and this one ducked into the kitchen in a seeming panic, and did not re-emerge. Frustrated, I took the food home and gave it to my wife today (5/21). She added rice, yogurt, and other foods to dilute the spice, and finally declared it "edible, but just barely." This ends my first and last experience with...