In Oklahoma City’s Plaza District, two neighboring restaurants make Lao cooking easier to understand through the way a meal is built. Ma Der Lao Kitchen puts sticky rice beside shared dishes; Bar Sen gives each diner a noodle bowl while leaving room for small plates and cocktails. Chef Jeff Chanchaleune connects the two, but they answer different appetites. That distinction is a useful place to begin for someone encountering Lao food beyond a familiar papaya salad or the broad category of Southeast Asian restaurants.
Ma Der is rooted in the family repertoire Chanchaleune learned from his mother, grandmothers and father. The name itself invites people to come and eat. Sticky rice supplies the meal’s center, a companion for bites of sausage, salads, grilled meat and chili dips. Instead of choosing a separate main course for everyone, a table can build its order around contrasting preparations. The restaurant’s family-style intention makes that approach part of the food’s meaning, not just a device for tasting more dishes.
Nam khao shows how much can happen within a salad: crisp rice, cured pork sausage, herbs, lime, chili and peanuts bring texture, acidity and savory seasoning together. Laab gai uses minced chicken, fish sauce, lime and toasted rice powder, while a house-made Lao sausage shifts the emphasis toward pork and herbs. Catfish steamed in a banana leaf with noodles and aromatics offers another direction. The point is not to order every signature dish, but to let a few contrasting preparations give the table a fuller picture of the kitchen.
Bar Sen, opened in February 2025, extends the story through noodles. Its defining khao piek sen is the childhood chicken soup Chanchaleune describes as a personal favorite. Handmade rice noodles, chicken stock, fish sauce, pulled chicken, quail eggs and herbs give the bowl a specific identity. A vegan version uses vegetable broth and tofu; OG Lao Khao Soi moves toward pork, wide rice noodles, tomatoes and lemongrass. Someone choosing among them is selecting different broths and structures rather than a minor variation on one generic soup.
The bar adds a contemporary register. A scallop crudo with coconut milk and fish sauce can precede a noodle bowl, while a Thai Tea Old Fashioned or a green-curry Margarita draws the menu’s aromatics into a drink. A hibiscus-and-lemongrass lemonade provides another way to follow that idea without alcohol. In 2026, the James Beard Foundation nominated Chanchaleune for Best Chef: Southwest under Bar Sen, a precise piece of recognition rather than a blanket ranking of either restaurant.
For a curious group, Ma Der offers the more communal introduction: shared dishes and sticky rice allow each bite to change. For a person who wants the comfort of a bowl with a few bar dishes, or a casual date organized around food and cocktails, Bar Sen offers a different entry. Their proximity makes the Plaza District a particularly useful destination for learning those distinctions. The restaurants show that exploring a cuisine begins with understanding its meal formats, not with accumulating the largest possible list of unfamiliar dish names.
Explore the profiles: Ma Der Lao Kitchen · Bar Sen
Recommended restaurants
The profiles below explain each restaurant’s cooking and give practical details for planning a visit.
Jeff Chanchaleune’s Plaza District kitchen treats sticky rice, laab, crispy rice salad and house-made Lao sausage as a shared family meal.
Lao family-style cooking, sticky rice, nam khao, laab and Lao sausage.
A Plaza District Lao noodle and cocktail bar centered on house-made rice noodles, childhood chicken soup and Jeff Chanchaleune’s contemporary bar cooking.
Hand-cut rice noodles, Lao chicken soup, pork noodle soup, crudo and cocktails.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
- Ma Der Lao Kitchen: family, cooking and walk-in dining ↗ Primary source maderlaokitchen.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Ma Der Lao Kitchen: dishes, spice levels and weekly features ↗ Primary source maderlaokitchen.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Ma Der Lao Kitchen: hours and official contact ↗ Primary source maderlaokitchen.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Ma Der Lao Kitchen: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Bar Sen: concept, opening and hours ↗ Primary source www.barsenokc.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Bar Sen: food, cocktail and final-hour menus ↗ Primary source www.barsenokc.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Bar Sen: address and telephone on its official reservations listing ↗ Primary source www.opentable.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- James Beard Foundation: Jeff Chanchaleune’s 2026 Bar Sen nomination ↗ Primary source www.jamesbeard.org · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Bar Sen: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026