Sophia's Thai Cuisine Paradise and Chico

The time was 6:30, it was a blustery Thursday evening with a slight north-westerly wind. A mild wave of euphoria glazed my consciousness as my date and I dismounted our bicycles and approached the unassuming structure of Sophia's Authentic Thai Cuisine and Noodle House.


Photo/Illustration by Dan Doxater

As I opened the door, my senses were assaulted by an intoxicating blend of pungent exotic scents and an array of arresting decor. A small group of young men were just finishing up as we were promptly seated, and soon we were the sole customers. We sat at a small table for two underneath an imposing portrait of a Thai governmental or military somebody. In fact, many of the images adorning the walls seemed to be of royalty and other important political figures, sprinkled in among intricate works of art, which need to be viewed up close to be appreciated. A sophisticated color scheme of deep reds and bright golds encompassed the dining room - a stark contrast to the humble exterior, surely designed to arouse the appetite.

I browsed the menu and quickly came to my two selections, Thai egg rolls and pineapple fried rice with chicken. It was this easy not only because the two items sounded absolutely delicious but also because they were the only items written bold in English besides asparagus shrimp and salmon - and who would want to put that in their mouth? My date was a little more linguistically adventurous, ordering the Gaeng Dan or red curry with chicken. Once we ordered our waiter asked us how spicy we would like the food; mild, medium, or hot. Myself being a hot-sauce connoisseur and Sri-racha fiend, but also knowing that Thai spices are nothing to mess around with, I ask for the medium/hot in-between. Our waiter kindly responds "ah, medium-plus," and we smiled in agreement. We topped off the order with two Thai ice coffees.

The wait until the food arrived was short but expected, as we were the only customers. A dazzling assortment of plates and bowls began filling up our table until it had reached near capacity; and the feast began.

I started with an egg roll, bit into its crispy yet somehow soft fried shell and sunk my teeth into a bouquet of corn, carrot, and cabbage glory. This egg roll was stupendous; fried to perfection and so full of color that I had to squint when looking into the glorious hole my teeth had just made. This was very different from the bland and uninspired rolls I am used to receiving from most Asian establishments. I recommend this to everyone - you'll fall in love with the egg roll like you never thought possible.

Next I moved on to the pineapple fried rice; beautifully piled atop an oblong plate. The ingredients were as peculiar as they were delicious; I found cashew nuts, raisins, egg, onion and cilantro mixed in with my pineapple, chicken, rice and spice. I did notice after the first bite that the spice factor was not what I had hoped - probably should have ordered the "hot-minus." But besides this minor disappointment it tasted wonderful; the ingredients complemented each other magnificently and every time a pineapple chunk landed upon my palate a sweet explosion of orgasmic proportions would take hold of my body and throw my head back with an uncontrollable moan of enjoyment. Needless to say I ran out of pineapple quickly.

The Thai ice coffee caught my attention next. This concoction looked like a Guinness or black and tan with ice in it, with a layer of light cream-colored liquid and ice resting atop a darker, slightly less-opaque base. But it tasted nothing of the sort, a coffee and coconut rainbow just had entered my mouth, and I was again enthralled with a sense of culinary nirvana. Ol' Sophia was now three for three, and I started to think, "I love this place."

Last, but certainly not least, was the red curry with chicken. I could smell the swamp of chicken and assorted vegetables wafting over as my date had dug right in from the beginning. This stuff was pungent, but not in a bad way at all. It's just the best word I can muster to describe it. Once consumed, the robust flavor took a firm kung-fu grip on my tongue and wouldn't let any other taste shine through. I was so glad I had saved the curry for last or I wouldn't have been able to fully enjoy my pineapple fried rice. Ingesting the red curry was truly a multi-sense event, which needs to be experienced first-hand. You'll either love or hate its overpowering, sinus-invading nature, but nevertheless, it's memorable.

The bill came in at $32.00 including tip, not bad at all considering I had just been to food heaven and back four times. Just as my date and I were finishing up and preparing to leave, the restaurant finally started filling in. I say "finally" because such a fine culinary treasure couldn't possibly be that empty for so long. My father had always told me the best way to find good ethnic food was to look at the clientele; Mexicans at a taqueria, Italians at a ristorante, and there was definitely a good proportion of Asian people filing in as we left. I departed feeling full and satisfied. Sophia is most definitely my gastronomic hero.

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.