Thailand is known for its amazing food, and for the foreign traveler, it’s certainly not hard to find cheap, healthy, good quality and endlessly delicious grub. But one place stands out for me even among the ubiquitous restaurants, shops, kiosks, carts, and stands in Thailand – Mr. Moo’s.
The Mr. Moo’s Restaurant Review
I was recently staying with several friends of mine in Jomtien– a quiet beachside suburb of crazy as hell Pattaya- for two weeks, and had a great time eating my way from one establishment to the next. But after a while, it can all become a little bit of a daze – even though it’s a good daze. There are your go-to foreign restaurants that you usually hit once or twice at the most per week (like Frazers, Kineree, and Talum), a few specialty places (Tsunami Sushi and Sky Walk), and plenty of others to fill the day.
In fact, the food is so good everywhere that I often just got a meal of Thai food at the little café in my condominium complex, or went to the night market to walk around and pick out roasted chicken, ribs, spicy papaya salad, and plenty of fruit for only a few dollars. Add in Indian restaurants and Middle Eastern joints, and you do have so many choices it can be overload.
So one night I was walking down a fun Soi (street) that runs up to the beach in Jomtien and I had just come back from the gym, so I was starving. The street had a ton of beer bars with pretty-ish girls yelling for you to come hang out, as well as several hotels, plenty of massage parlors, and a few eateries. As I walked up the length of the street looking for a place for dinner, I deflected each hostesses overtures by asking them where the best place on the street was for great food. I must have asked six girls independently, and EVERY ONE said that I should go to a place called Mr. Moo up the street! If local Thais recommend a place, then you know it’s got amazing food!
So I found Mr. Moo and took a seat. It’s a big place but flows really well because one whole side is open air so you can watch the street and still try to capture a breeze. The place is well-lit, clean, and has great energy. The pleasant young waitress came over immediately and took my drink order with a big smile and got my order correct the first time (I have a three-part specific beer order! Lol). I then asked what she recommended off of their huge menu, and she was very helpful pointing out a few things. I settled on the ginger squid and it was awesome! Big portions and super fresh and tasty.
As I was eating, the owner came out to greet me and talk. What a nice guy! Mr. Moo explained that he’s from Bangladesh originally about fifteen years ago for work. He started working at a restaurant (aside from a high-level technical job) and then opened his own restaurant in Pattaya. But when he met a nice Thai woman and they got married and had a child, they moved to quiet and family-friendly Jomtien and opened this bigger, nicer place.
I can’t say enough about how good the food was and how HUGE the menu is – you seriously can eat food from all around the world for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and coffee and cakes in between.
Related: The night market in Jomtien.
But the friendly and welcoming vibe from Mr. Moo and his family made it all that much more memorable! I’ll definitely be back every time I come to Pattaya!
About Norm Schriever
Norm Schriever is a blogger, Amazon best-sellling author, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. His work appears in the Huffington Post, Business.com, Good Morning America, The Anderson Cooper Show on CNN, NBC, MSN, Yahoo, Hotels.com, and media all around the world.
Norm grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut, where he was never accused of overstudying. After expatriating to Costa Rica in 2011, he started traveling the world and documenting what he saw. He now lives in Southeast Asia, writing his heart out and working with local charities.
