Larb (Lao: ລາບ; Thai: ลาบ, rtgs: lap, pronounced [lâːp], also spelled laap, larp, lahb or laab) is a type of Lao meat salad that is regarded as the "unofficial" national dish of Laos. It is also eaten in the Isan region, an area of Thailand where the majority of the population is of the Lao ethnicity. The Hmong people, an ethnic minority group in Laos who migrated into the country in the nineteenth century, have adopted the Lao dish along with many other elements of Lao cuisine. Outside of Southeast Asia, larb is served in Lao, Thai, and Hmong communities in the U.S., France, and UK. Local variants of larb also feature in the cuisines of the Tai peoples of Shan State, Burma, and Yunnan province, China.