A renovated colonial like seemingly every other restaurant in the temple district, what caught my eye walking past the Tamnak Lao were the conspicuous DAILY COOKING CLASS signs. If a restaurant offers cooking classes, then the food should be good enough that I'd want to learn how to prepare it at home. As it turns out, yes, I would definitely like to cook this food at home. For the best variety, try one of the Tamank's three set menus. I sampled two, offering a total of 10 dishes, and the chef batted a solid .900. Notable were the pork casserole in coconut milk, lahp pla (spicy fish salad), and pork stuffed in crispy bamboo shoots. Daily cooking classes cost US$25 (£14). If they can teach you to cook half as well as they do, it will be money well spent.
