Mae Tao and Sons: A Uniquely Great Hot Chicken Sandwich

The Lao hot chicken sandwich is the main thing that caught my eye whenever I see them pop up on my Instagram. It looks so colorful and appetizing so this was a nonnegotiable item I had to order. It is a big hefty sandwich, the bread is pretty much bending around the double chicken cutlets so that it doesn’t fall apart.
All the flavors work really well together. The papaya salad provides a lot of refreshing elements to help cut through the richness of the chicken. The sweet, sour, and crunch all work well together, like a less heavy version of coleslaw. The chicken itself wasn’t super crispy because they put some kind of sweet sauce on top, but the chicken was still tender and juicy. The lettuce doesn’t really play an important role here, more like just adding volume and color to the sandwich. I could do without it since there isn’t much flavor or texture being added.
The chicken also came with a side of hot chili peppers and for chili heads this is where the spiciness actually lives. As someone that eats a good amount of spicy food, this sandwich wasn’t really spicy on its own, so the side of chopped red chilis does amp it up a bit if you want to feel pain for a couple of bites.

I also got the tiger beef rice plate and I will say this isn’t a dish I would get again. Not the most picturesque steak lunchbox since it didn’t have much of a crust from a hard sear. The steak they used was a leaner cut so while it had good beef flavor it was quite tough to chew through. It sitting in a closed container with warm rice underneath may have also caused the steak to cook past the optimal medium rare temperature.
It was quite chewy and I know in some Southeast Asian countries the locals actually like chewy or firm meat textures, but for my own preference I like steak to be tender. The citrusy sauce that was provided was great and the other little cup had the spicy chopped chilis again for those that want more heat.
The lunchbox also came with two fried dumplings and to me they taste just like the standard frozen premade kind ordered from commercial food distributors. They were something I ate a lot of as a kid, not much depth to them, mostly just the taste of cabbage and a little meat. The papaya salad was the other side and I am assuming it is the same one they put in the sandwich.