Ma Der Lao Kitchen — Restaurant in Oklahoma City

Well here is another Oklahoma City Jem. My wife and I were referred to this place and after all the places we refer other people to, we might as well take the same advice from a stranger as well. From the time we entered the restaurant we were greeted and seated pretty quickly and that's because of the time of day. What we were told is this place can get very busy so we were fortunate to catch this place just a little bit after lunch time. The waitress that we had was so professional. I mean just outstanding. What was her name? (Had to ask my lovely wife while typing this for you) Oh! Her name was Katie (I need my wife to help me remember) Anyways, Katir had a whole suggestion for us on the menu and it was spot on. I felt like we were at a five-star restaurant with a bar vibe. So we ordered the beef jerky, fried chicken wings, crispy rice salad and what was the name of that other stuff? It was called "hot spicy car alarm fire (just playing) sauce". All the food that we ordered by the suggestion of our waitress Katie was very good. Eating with our hands the sticky rice, beef jerky and sauce was very good as well. Everything was very good. It was all good. We enjoyed our lunch because of the customer service and the quality of the food because and obviously my wife, we always have a great time eating together. It was just a really good time but I think it really had to do with the timing because if they were really busy then I think that it just would have been super loud and I could see why. The cooks here are said to continue the traditional cooking of the owners mother. If you haven't tried Laoacian food, don't sleep on this place. Wake up to go experience the fun of citrus flavos, herbs, and other fragrances that will calm the soul. I would have taken closer pictures of the menu, but everyone else beat me to it. The menu will not overwhelm you. Straight to the point. No decision anxiety. So if you have time and they're not busy or maybe go when they're busy and wait in line, you won't regret that you dined here we didn't and when we return to the city in the future we will definitely be back here to enjoy more of the fine dining at Ma Der...

Authentic? Sure, but award winning? Kind of a head scratcher.

I feel that I have a bit of qualifications giving this review because these are the food I ate growing up.

First of all, the environment is very hip and chill with old school 90s hip hop playing in the background. The food is definitely authentic, but I feel that it is catered towards westerners which I totally get because this place would not get the buzz that it is now if it were any other way.

We ordered some of the typical items one would get at a Lao restaurant. Papaya salad with pork rind and noodles, Lao sausage, laab, steamed catfish, naam vaan, nam khao, jerky, and sticky rice.

The papaya salad was very basic and did not wow anyone at the table. I can see someone trying it for the first time would probably like it.

The Lao sausage was pricy for what you get, but considering the part of town this restaurant is in, it makes sense. I feel that the sausage did not have enough fat, but was still good.

The laab is made of chicken and they also offer a vegan variant. Honestly, it can be made with any kind of protein, but I know for sure this is not catered to folks like me because traditionally, it's made with beef and can be had raw. The laab was not wowing either as the ingredient I felt was also basic.

The steamed catfish is usually a favorite if mine, but this variant was the most disappointing because well..... I'm not sure if it's catfish. You be the judge.

The 4 dollar sticky rice is enough for 1 serving only so be aware of that.

The naam vaan was also very basic and at a price tag of 4 dollars, I feel that I didn't get what I paid for compared to a non-Western focused restaurant. Again, I'm not surprised because of location.

The best part has got to be the jerky and nam khao. These items are as good as other places I've tried and would recommend it.

Overall, cool vibe, okay food, but James...

BLUF/SUMMARY: For how many awards and nominations it had, we were expecting far more. Good service, tight seating, serving traditional Thai/Lao dishes with a contemporary/fusion flare. Hit and miss overall on taste - may or may not return.

DETAILS: Wife and I were planning on trying this place out for a while but waited till we had an event in OKC to visit. We were very much looking forward to this, but ultimately left feeling “mehhh”.

As you already know, growing up on Thai and Lao food, my standards are high. The pluses and can’t miss dishes = isa sausage and beef jerky with sticky rice. Those two dishes tasted like they just came off a local street vendor growing up. Great flavor and spice… it was very good.

The SomTam was disappointing… it was bland on flavor but yet high on salt. Likely a result of the kind of shrimp used… that, paired with a ratio of key ingredients that were off. Somtam (a staple in all Thai food) is by far one of my favorite Thai dishes, so tasting that a head shaker.

The “award winning” chicken wings were not bad… not traditional by any means. And my wife ordered a “flauta” inspired dish with Thai/Lao seasonings. Weird.

Overall… we left scratching our heads - the restaurant seemed to have an identity crisis. Was it trying to be traditional or contemporary? Was it trying to stick to southeast Asian flavors or adding in western flavors? Either way, the dishes were inconsistent, some great, some okay, and some bad.

James Beard? NY Times winner? I was expecting a lot more. Jury is up on if we will return. We might… that jerky and sausage were really good. They just need to get everything else up to par and focus on...