I stayed for a few nights on the Nam Khan river in Luang Prabang, Laos, and after walking past the packed Rosella Fusion restaurant every evening, we decided to give it a try and it was certainly worth it. The Rosella Fusion is a small restaurant right on the river, with some seating inside the open-front restaurant and some tables on a terrace across the street right above the river. It has nice, basic wooden chairs and tables and the spot is very nice in the evenings. We were the first guests and picked a spot outside with a great view. The staff was friendly and casual, our waiter shared his love for Muay Thai boxing, putting away his smart phone to bring us the menus.
Rosella has Lao food on the menu as well as some Western dishes with a Lao twist, true to the “Fusion” name. We wanted to give that a try and picked a Bruschetta as appetizer and two pasta dishes as main courses. I had asked for the Bruschetta to come out first, but in most casual places across South East Asia the food is served family style for everybody to share and comes out whenever a dish is finished. Surprisingly, the bruschetta did come out first. It looked like your typical bruschetta with tomato cubes on baguette bread, but used some local herbs and flavors for a unique taste. It tasted fresh and a little sweet – we both liked it.
Both main courses were served at the same time: My Spaghetti Carbonara was very traditional, tasted very good and had no hint of fusion in it. The pasta was al dente, the sauce creamy, and the bacon bits had a little crunch to it. The Penne with Chicken had, similar to the Bruschetta, had some local herbs and flavors. The mix wasn’t as convincing as with the Bruschetta, leaving an odd aftertaste, so I’d call that the first runner up.
The food, drinks and bill all took a little time to arrive, but it’s Laos: Time flows slowly, there is no rush and everybody is relaxed (or will be after a few days here). The prices are reasonable, a little lower than the other, similar but more upscale places on this street or the main road. We enjoyed the food and service and loved the location. It makes for a nice evening with good food at reasonable prices and is worth trying out!