The national cuisine of Thailand is defined by balance and variety, blending spicy flavors with sweet and citrus elements, starches with delicate proteins, and fresh vegetables with a balance of aromas and textures. Thai Cuisine, in downtown Myrtle Beach, is one of a handful of eateries along the Grand Strand offering traditional fare from their homeland.
The menu is designed to be ordered in courses – start with a selection from the Appetizers, Soups, or Salads sections before moving on to something from the Thai Noodles, Thai Fried Rice, Entrees, or Thai Curry portions of the list.
Appetizers highlights include Fresh Rolls (shrimp, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, celery, cabbage, basil leaves, and rice noodles wrapped in rice paper) and Told Mun Pla (deep-fried ground fish mixed with red curry, Thai herbs served with a spicy cucumber sauce).
Some of the more famous Thai delicacies can be found in the Soups section of the menu, the most popular being Tom Yun Goong, a hot and sour concoction of shrimp, lemongrass, tomato, galangal, mushrooms, chili paste, and cilantro. Three other variations of the Tom variety are also available, and include Tom Yum Seafood, Tom Yum Chicken, and Tom Ka Kai.
For Salads, choose from delicacies like Yum Pla Murk (sliced squid accompanied by onion, tomato, cilantro, chili paste, and lime juice over lettuce) or the Papaya Salad, prepared much the same way as the squid salad, but with the addition of chopped peanuts and Thai sauce.
Pad Thai is perhaps the most popular dish from this Southeastern Asia country, and its available here on the Noodles menu. The preparation is traditional – stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, scallions, ground peanuts, and a light soy sauce. Other noodle dishes include Rard Nar (wide rice noodles topped with Asian broccoli and Thai sauce) and house-favorite Thai Cuisine Noodle Soup (rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, crab meat, wontons, bean sprouts, scallions, cilantro, and garlic).
There are several fried rice options, an ever-popular dish in mostly all Asian eateries. Thai Cuisine offers several choices of meats combined with regional fruits and vegetables like pineapple, basil, and chili peppers. This is definitely the part of the menu where picky eaters will find a suitable dinner.
The Entrée list is long and full of interesting choices like Pad Preow Wan (Sweet and Sour), which is a stir-fry of numerous vegetables with pineapple and Thai sauce. There are also unique dishes like Crispy Duck and Whole Snapper Curry, in addition to standards like Cashew-style stir fry and Crispy Chicken with Ginger.
Curry is also a ubiquitous part of Thai food, and the choices here include Red Curry, Green Curry, Yellow Curry, Panang Curry, and Mussamun Curry, each mixed with coconut milk and vegetables and served your choice of meat and steamed rice.
The entrance opens up right into the dining room, where tables line the walls and fill out the middle sections of the seating space. A variety of calming Asian music is usually playing at a comfortable volume, and the décor is distinctively Thai with all manner of paintings and sculptures from the region. Normally a very quiet and relaxing experience, the servers are not always in possession of much English, so the menu numbers may have to be used in order to effectively communicate your order. But that’s okay – it makes for an experience that is that much more authentic.
1210 N Kings Hwy, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
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