Lad Nah: Rice noodles fried with eggs and sweet soy sauce, topped with homemade sauce with your choice of protein, carrots, broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Photos by Sarah Mayo

Murfreesboro consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the food of Southeast Asia. A dozen or so restaurants scattered throughout town serve pad thai, pho, curries and the delicious, often very spicy, noodle and rice dishes from that region.

SaBaiDee Cafe, a small but inviting and bright eatery on Cason Lane (in the same center as OishiYa, near the AMC theater) wants to add its own unique flavors to the pot, and focuses on more of a Laotian style of cooking, according to owner Nit Chanthaboun, who opened the restaurant in 2016 with her mother-in-law, Noi.

The restaurant certainly has the expected spring rolls, egg rolls, pad thai, pad see ew, fried rice, pepper steak, sweet and sour chicken and pho, and adds some other tasty selections, such as a homemade lao sausage—sai oua. Get three large links of this cased sausage, minced pork belly flavored with lemongrass, peppers and more, for only $7, served with a spicy tomato dip, “kind of a Laoatian salsa,” Nit says.

The thom khem at SaBaiDee makes for something of an interesting take on bacon and eggs, featuring a sweet broth blend of cinnamon and star anise flavors covering braised pork belly and hard-boiled eggs.

Thom Khem

“Who doesn’t love pork belly?” Nit says. She calls this dish a staple in Laos.

Salina, a Murfreesboro diner and big fan of SaBaiDee said she found nearly everything at the restaurant to be delicious.

“The sukiyaki is amazing (and I’m pretty sure it’s the only restaurant in town who serves it), generous and balanced amounts of noodle, veggies and meat. Khao piek always hits the spot, especially with quail eggs added,” she continued. “They have the best lad nah [pictured at top] you’ll find. The gravy is perfect. The crab wontons are a must every time I visit. They’re more on the sweet side and the cream cheese is not overpowering at all. Mee ped is also so yummy and flavorful with plenty of duck and noodles. You can’t go wrong with their sausages and papaya salad either!”

Papaya Salad served with cabbage and crunchy pork rinds

Lao food is known by its bold flavors, Nit says, and the lad nah that Salina mentioned, with its gravy bursting with flavorful deliciousness, probably would not require any additional seasonings at all; but in case a diner wants to add even more to it, a condiment rack with chili oil, peanuts, sugar and jalapeños is served with the dish.

“I am a regular at this fantastic cafe. I love the staff and the food never disappoints. Everything is always fresh . . . no better pho in Murfreesboro!” a local Yelper named Danielle posted recently. “Everything we have ordered has been incredible. Sometimes the wait is long but it is always worth it!”

Another recent diner agreed that the pho at SaBaiDee is remarkably flavorful, while a soup fan, Saunton, stated “I had the duck soup and really hit the spot. Delicious!” the reviewer said. “Pro tip: add the bread and quail eggs to your soup.”

Khao Piek

Nit says that Noi makes the noodles every morning, using a blend of rice and tapioca flours for soups such as khao piek, which, aside from the large chunks of coagulated pork blood, is your standard chicken noodle soup. The aforementioned add-ons of quail eggs and bread—which are small, fried crullers—along with the cilantro, scallion and garlic garnish, really make this a special soup.

Carrie Morgan Ransom said that SaBaiDee offers “some of the best pad thai I’ve had. The drunken noodles are amazing too. [The food here] can be a bit spicy, so I have to order a spice level lower than I normally would,” she advises, “but the heat doesn’t take away from the flavor at all.”

If the spice heats your mouth up, maybe cool down with a little Thai tea. The cool, sweet, milky Thai tea tastes wonderful after a particularly peppery bite of something savory.

Thai Tea and Green Thai Tea

In addition to standard orange-colored Thai tea, SaBaiDee offers a green Thai tea variety, which includes flavors from pandan as well as matcha in addition to the tea and sweetened condensed milk in the drink.

“Great staff, and I loved the honeydew bubble tea. Will definitely go back,” Kenya Davis-Stewart said following a visit to SaBaiDee. “The food was hot and served quickly.”

However, numerous other reviews brought up a long wait time as one of the few drawbacks of the restaurant.

“But it’s always well worth the wait,” Karen Hale Clark said. “I really appreciate the freshness.”

Others have said that they waited much longer than expected on occasion for their food, and the SaBaiDee team heard the concerns—and responded by adopting the slogan: “We’re not fast food, we’re fresh food.”

SaBaiDee owns it proudly. The restaurant is going to take the time to prepare everything correctly and pay attention to every single dish that comes out of the kitchen.

Call ahead and allow ample time for a homemade dish if you are in a hurry.

“The service was great and everything is made to order. It’s worth the little wait,” another diner, Laura, said. “I cannot wait to come back. Everything is fresh and flavorful. We had general’s chicken, tom yum soup, egg rolls and pad kee mao [drunken noodles].”

The pineapple fried rice and Thai fried rice are also hits with many diners.

Lao Sausage

“Whatever was in that lao sausage was great! I’m not that familiar with Asian sausage but loved this. The grilled casing was snappy and added to the flavor. Inside the sausage was nicely flavored. It was not very dense,” said local diner Steven. “They gave me three links about the size of a knackwurst with a great hot and spicy dipping sauce.

“Hot and sour soup was great,” he continued. “I judge Asian restaurants by this dish and loved it. The broth was rich, and there were lots of tasty vegetables with tofu.”

He said he also appreciated the real chopsticks that SaBaiDee provided, “Not disposable ones, but nice, long plastic ones.”

Keep in mind, SaBaiDee is closed on Mondays, but often the staff is still there working hard, prepping for the rest of the week.

Look for some summer specialties like coconut rice with mango, when mangoes are in season.

Lao Chicken Wings

Whether you prefer soup or sausage, rice or noodles, tofu, seafood, papaya, pork or spring rolls, spicy or mild, sweet or savory, stop in this Murfreesboro cafe sometime and, as Nit says, “Try Laotian food.”
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SaBaiDee Cafe
505 Cason Ln. Suite E
Tues.–Thurs.: 11 a.m.–3 p.m., 5–8:30 p.m.; Fri.–Sat.: 11 a.m.–3 p.m., 5–9 p.m.; Sun.: 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
615-900-3777
Lao sausage (3 links) $7; pad thai, lad nah or pad see ew: $9; small tom yum soup with shrimp, chicken or tofu: $6.50; pad kra pao combo with beef, chicken and shrimp: $10.50; pineapple fried rice with shrimp: $10; cashew chicken or general chicken: $9
sabaideecafe.com
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