Thai Pattaya

For dinner tonight, the Boro Bites crew and our special celebrity guest Mike went to what has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in Murfreesboro, Thai Pattaya. Located at 833 Memorial Blvd, Thai Pattaya’s dining area is not large but is open and welcoming. A television set on the back wall provides the music for the room, accompanied by music videos which are always enjoyable to watch.


Tonight we were entertained by a video of a live concert, complete with innumerous dancers, a crazy stage set up, and audience participation like we’ve never seen before. But this isn’t a music blog, so I’ll get on to the good stuff.

This is Ryan saying "cilantro" and enjoying his soup.

I am a huge fan of soup, so to start my dining experience tonight I had a cup of the Tom Yum with tofu. This soup is absolutely amazing; the broth is tangy but slightly sweet with a hint of spice and there are mushrooms and cilantro in the soup. I really enjoy the Tom Yum with tofu, but it is available with vegetables, chicken, or shrimp instead; all of the options are delicious. I could be content to eat bowl after bowl of it, however this time I decided to save some room for some other food. Our chicken egg rolls were quite tasty, perfectly crisp, and the sauce they are served with is not too sweet or overpowering. For my entrée I chose to get something I had never had before, Pad Kra Prao, a stir fry dish consisting of bamboo shoots, onions, peppers, carrots, mushrooms, baby corn, green beans, and Thai basil .

Pad Kra Prao

One of the great things about Thai Pattaya is that most of the entrees can be prepared with your choice of vegetables, tofu, or a meat (chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, scallop, or squid). I’m not a vegetarian, but I always seem to get the tofu at Thai Pattaya because, simply put, it’s awesome. Tofu can be a tricky thing to get right, and I have had my fair share of poorly prepared tofu in my time; this is not the case at Thai Pattaya. Their tofu is always perfectly cooked, and tonight was no exception. It was delicious with the Pad Kra Prao. The sauce was delightful, with flavors of basil and garlic and a hint of sweetness that I didn’t expect but thoroughly enjoyed. The vegetables were fresh as always and not overcooked, retaining a little bit of the crispness that I like in a stir-fried veggie. In addition to being able to choose your meats/not meats at Thai Pattaya, you are also able to choose what amount of spice/heat you would like in your dish: mild, medium, hot, very hot, or native Thai. I’m a fan of spicy food so I usually go with the very hot, occasionally dabbling in the native Thai. Tonight’s choice of very hot complimented the Pad Kra Prao perfectly.

Clockwise from top left: Pho ingredients, Drunken Noodles, Pad Phet, Pad Kra Prao.

Ryan chose to have my favorite dish (so far) at Thai Pattaya, the Drunken Noodles; stir-fried rice noodles, tomatoes, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, garlic, egg, and basil in a delicious sauce. Mike had the Pho with chicken, a lovely Vietnamese-style soup with noodles and vegetables served with bean sprouts, Thai basil, lettuce, and lime wedges on the side for you to add to the broth as well as a caddie containing hot peppers and hot sauces to mix in to your personal preference. Jesse’s Pad Phet looked great and judging by the speed at which he devoured it (before I could even steal a bite for myself) it seemed to be pretty delicious.

Drunken Noodles.

Thai Pattaya’s prices are reasonable, many of the dishes being priced according to your choice of meat/not meat. A very affordable lunch special is offered during weekdays that I take advantage of quite frequently, which includes some of the best soup I‘ve ever had (ever), an egg roll, and a choice of lunch entree. I have tried many of the dishes at Thai Pattaya and have never been disappointed. We didn't order them tonight, but I can't help but mention that the Spring Rolls are fantastic. The service is always great at Thai Pattaya and everyone there is always super friendly. I'm sure I'll be back there in a few days, maybe I'll see you there!