Champa Lao & Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Manchester

Homemade. It’s the first word that comes to mind to describe the food at Champa, a Lao and Vietnamese food restaurant, where the flavors of Southeast Asia are present in Manchester, with the kindness and charisma of its owner, Johnny, who always serves with a smile. I’m a regular customer, and I must say that I have tried the house specialties, and I’ve always been surprised by the quality of their food. This time I decided to write about my last visit because I ordered the simplest food possible, and it was of an equally high quality as the special dishes on their menu. I started with pho, a delicious rice noodle soup, to which I added shrimps with bean sprouts, napa, and scallions. The broth is spectacular and the flavor is quite delicate, with a truly delicious taste, as if my mother had made it. Then I ordered Kai Ka Prow, a dish made with ground chicken sauteed with garlic, bell peppers, string beans, fresh basil and Thai chili paste. It’s a little bit spicy, but you have the option of ordering it without spice or with more spice if you wish. It is truly spectacular, I was pleasantly surprised, and I am sure I will order it again on my next visit. To finish, I always order Thai iced tea,the best of all I’ve ever tasted. And all because, according to Johnny, they import the unprocessed tea leaves directly from Asia, which gives a delicious flavor to this refreshing drink. Champa is small, but very cozy. Their menu is quite extensive and has delicious starters that I’ve tried before, such as dumplings, Thai egg rolls (my favorites), curry puffs (a big surprise!), crab bag (the best ones), chicken wings (crispy and marinated in Thai herbs and spices), and the delicious fried tofu (deep-fried until golden and served with ground peanuts in pineapple sauce). You can find that and much more in Champa, a real surprise in Manchester,...

In a very unassuming plaza of Manchester, I found this restaurant. When I went to go pick up my order, I noticed the front facade was nothing special. Even the interior was very simple. My initial impression started changing as I was greeted by the man at the front desk who seemed kind. Li (or Lee?) greeted me with a smile handed me my food. He mentioned they had only opened the restaurant a year ago and asked me to spread the word. I left the establishment a bit more cheerful.

And now for the food. My order consisted of shrimp rolls, Tom Yum soup, red curry, and crab fried rice. The shrimp rolls were very crispy, and there was no greasy aftertaste (5/5). The soup was flavorful, but it was missing something (4/5). The crab fried rice was delicious. I could taste the crab meat in every bite (5/5). And finally, the pièce de résistance: The Red Curry. I can honestly say, this was the best red curry I've ever had. The curry had a burst of complex flavors. It had body. It had just the right hint of coconut milk. And this might be a personal preference, but the addition of eggplant in the vegetable mix sealed the deal. The curry was so good, it didn't even need to be paired with rice. Definitely a strong 5/5.

I'm very impressed with Champa Lao. The food was great. The people are friendly. I am definitely looking forward to coming...

The food was fantastic, super flavorful with the right amount of spice and the portions were huge. We all came hungry but left with a lot of leftovers which we were very happy about to enjoy the delicious food for another day. We got the pad thai (amazing with their PHENOMENAL house made chili oil), red curry (so creamy, spicy, and flavorful one of our favorites), pad kee mao, and pad see ew which were both delicious classics. For drinks we all got Thai ice tea which was so creamy and perfectly sweet. We also started with the crispy green beans, Thai egg rolls, and chicken dumplings which were all good and came out hot in a timely manner. While the food is amazing, their customer service is somehow even better! The wonderful man who took our order was super energetic and so kind, he gave us free dessert (which was insanely delicious) and also a discount to commemorate UConn’s championship win. In fact, everyone who came to our table was kind. I could not recommend this restaurant more, the food and customer service are unmatched and the prices were fair. We will...