Thailand is very famous for its delicious and variety of food and drinks. The Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last year declared Thailand to be the Kitchen of the world, and It is no surprised at all to see old and new types of food and drinks everywhere on the street. 

One of the questions many of my friends like to ask me is that " What's the differences between Lao and Thai dishes ?" and I was sometime stuck with the answer. To answer this question properly, we need to understand the geography and culture of these two countries. Laos and Thailand share a long border  from North to South, and our language and culture are also very similar. This might be one of the reasons that make our food very similar. If I could find the differences between the two countries, I would say 

1) Lao food use not so much seafood ingredients due to the fact that we are a landlocked country :)

 2) Lao food is not too oily compares to thai, as many Lao people prefer to grill rather than stir-fry. 

3) Lao food provides more vegetables to customers than in Thailand. For example, if you order a bowl of noodle in Laos, you will get a very big plate full of vegetable !

4) Thai food seems to have a great influence from Chinese food and Muslim food, while in Laos, the food seems to have more influences from Vietnamese, and French. 

5) A dipping sauce is a must in many Lao food :)

If you could find any other differences between the food from the two countries, please feel free to let me know.