Coffee with a buzz By Phonesavanh Sangsomboun
Publisher:Vientiane Times - Publication Date: 27-04-2008

People from all walks of life, especially foreigners, like to enjoy coffee and bread at breakfast time, and certainly would not usually think about starting their morning with coffee and insects.
But if you visit the Coffee and Crazy Cricket Shop in Sihom village, Chanthabouly district in Vientiane, you can taste both of these. The owner of the café, Tak Soutavong, has decorated her shop with colourful photos of insects for customers to enjoy whilst feasting on a dish of water bugs.
Cricket, rice bugs, giant water bugs, grasshoppers and wasps are preserved in small bottles in different coloured liquids to attract visitors and display the great diversity of insects in Laos . Many of those preserved or seen in the photographs can also be found on the menu.
“I love the diverse colour of insects. I'm interested in watching their behaviour and like to eat them just as much as most people,” Tak says, sitting near a counter decorated with snake skin.
Tak used to work as a waitress in western-style restaurants, but wanted to do something different from other eateries in Vientiane . The shop's design and dishes were inspired by her and her husband from the Netherlands .
“I grew up in an ordinary family; my parents kept crickets to sell and eat. Lao people rely on nature for their food and our family was no different, regularly eating insects such as cicadas, wasps, crickets, grasshoppers and ant eggs,” she explains.
Tak ran a beauty salon for around three years, but it was not successful so she transformed it into a coffee shop. She attempted to create a natural atmosphere and embellished the small room with an insect theme, believing people wanted to challenge themselves to try something different.
Stepping into the shop, visitors will see 50 wonderful photographs of bugs, butterflies, spiders and other insects. The photos were taken in northern Laos by a French photographer. Tak found them so eye-catching that she entered into an agreement with the photographer to use them and turn her café into a home for insects.
Even the shop's light shades are made from insects. In the middle of the room, a brightly coloured school of small fish darts around inside what was once a television set.
Visitors to the café are not only impressed by the stunning décor, but also enjoy sampling fried insects such as crickets, water bugs, and ant egg salad, a dish that has become popular among Westerners.
Tak makes all the dishes herself. Some foreign visitors have never tasted such dishes before, but after trying a sample they usually warm to the strange menu.
A visitor from Australia said he was fascinated with the extraordinary decoration. “At first I thought they only served coffee, but in fact they serve some amazing insect dishes. I'm a backpacker and like to try something new and different, which is why I like the dishes here,” he explained while chewing on some fried crickets.
Tak has studied the creatures and knows the best season to find the particular insects she wants for her menu.
She especially enjoys observing spider behaviour. “After it has rained I like to watch them resting calmly on the webs they've spun. If you look closely you can often see a beautiful drop of rain caught in the web,” Tak says. “Spiders are amazing. Even though they are small, they can create their own home with a strong web.”
“I have a simple family background, but I try to be determined in terms of developing my skills and I never stop dreaming,” she adds.
She welcomes all those interested in trying something different, as well as those simply wishing to enjoy a coffee while taking in the amazing décor, with or without a side dish of crunchy crickets.

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