Sophia's Thai Cuisine

SOPHIA'S THAI CUISINE
Paradise and Chico

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7641 Skyway Paradise Open 7 days a week Lunch: 11:00am - 2:30pm Dinner: 4:30pm - 9:00pm ORDERS TO GO ACCEPTED (530) 877- 4296

305 Nord Avenue, Chico Open 7 days a week Lunch: 11:00am - 2:30pm Dinner: 4:30pm - 9:00pm ORDERS TO GO ACCEPTED (530) 342-8842

This article appeared in the ©Paradise Post July 5, 2005 - By Jeremy Walsh Staff Writer - Photos by Nick Baker

Those of us who regularly venture beyond the Ridge may have had the opportunity to sample Thai food, a flavorful cuisine drawing on such flavors as basil, peanut and coconut.

Some Chico residents may have tried such dishes, but that still meant a 20-minute drive to dinner.

That may not be an issue anymore.

Paradise now boasts its own Thai restaurant and it has an impressive pedigree. Sophia Thai Cuisine, located at 7641 Skyway in what used ,to be Chago's Tex-Mex and Manny's Chile Bowl, is the latest venture between partners who have operated successful restaurants in Woodland, Suisun and Davis.

Owners Sophia Patterson and James Sirivongsa were eager to move out of California's Central Valley area for several years.

"I wanted to move here because of the trees," Sirivongsa said. "It's more like my country. And this town didn't have Thai food yet."

Sirivongsa searched for two years for a place to open a restaurant in Paradise, finally signing the contracts to rent the building in April. Patterson and Sirivongsa then returned to Thailand for decorations and accessories needed to turn a sparsely-furnished Tex-Mex joint into a Thai restaurant. The transformation is now complete, with elegant wallpaper, rich tablecloths and framed photographs, including an image of Elvis Presley with the king and queen of Thailand.

Thai food has been Patterson's specialty since she came to California from her native Thailand in 1993. After earning her chops cooking for a school there, she teamed with a pair of Americans to open Sophia's Thai Kitchen in downtown Davis. That restaurant rapidly took off, and continues to be a hot spot for the college crowd in that town.

Since then she and Sirivongsa have opened pad Thai restaurants in Woodland and Suisun. Patterson sold her stake in the Davis restaurant in 1999 and has also sold the two subsequent restaurants for the sake of taking Thai food north.

Patterson said it was more difficult complying with all the requirements of. various agencies here than it was elsewhere in the state, but they have succeeded in opening the restaurant, which offers 89 appetizers, soups, salads and entrees..

For newcomers to Thai cuisine, Sirivongsa and Patterson suggest trying pad Thai, a popular rice noodle dish, torn kha gai, a sour soup with chicken, lemon grass and coconut milk, and pad chao taley, a seafood dish with crab, fish shrimp, mussels and scallop stir-fried in green curry paste.

"The people here, they don't like it spicy," Sirivongsa mused. "I cook more 'soft' than in Davis," Patterson added. "It's 'mild' from the beginning."

Of course, if you like your pra ram rong song with a little more kick, all you have to do is request "spicy" preparation when ordering.

Sirivongsa and Patterson hope to stay in Paradise a long time. They said they have experienced a warm welcome so far, and are eager to introduce their native cuisine to the palates of the community

"We are happy to be the first," Patterson said.