Yet another worthy entry among the Thai and Lao restaurants of Murfreesboro, Ginger Thai Bistro offers the flavors of Southeast Asia, carefully crafted and beautifully presented, at its Thompson Lane eatery.

The place smells very nice within—ginger and soy scents fill the air, mingling with gently thumping, energetic Asian-flavored music.

Ginger, which opened in 2018, has a variety of boba teas for those desiring something sweet to start their dining experience: mango, taro, coconut, lavender, banana, pomegranate and red guava, among other flavors.

“The best bubble tea in the area! My favorite is strawberry and taro,” said Ginger Thai Bistro diner Jin. “Their red curry seafood is so delicious. Their noodle soup is so good too.”

The Thai tea is not overly sweet, but tasty and herbal; on the other hand, Ginger’s honeydew bubble tea packs a sugary wallop.

Ginger Thai Bistro serves all of the Thai favorites: pad Thai along with a wide assortment of noodle, fried rice, curry and soup selections.

“The tom kha ki soup was rich, coconutty, lemongrassy, chock full of chicken goodness,” said another pleased local customer, Kendall, who posted a review following a positive experience at the spot.

Pad Thai with tofu

The menu can be a little overwhelming for those unfamiliar with Thai cuisine, but English descriptions accompany the Thai titles listed: Kao Pad Prik Pow (fried rice with Thai basil, bell peppers and onions in a mild spicy sauce), Lad Nah (flat noodles, broccoli, Chinese broccoli and carrots topped with brown gravy), Pad Himapane (snow peas, mushrooms, water chestnuts, onions and carrots topped with cashew nuts, served with steamed rice), Pad Se Ew (flat noodles, eggs, broccoli, Chinese broccoli and carrot with sweet seasoning soy sauce) and Priew Wan (cucumber, pineapple, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery and carrots with homemade priew wan sauce, served with steamed rice), among others.

The customer can choose their protein with any of these dishes, selecting from chicken, pork, tofu, beef, shrimp, squid or a combination of any of these.

“The pad kee mao, woon sen and pad Thai were all delicious,” said a diner from Georgia visiting the area. She did say that she would have liked more fish sauce flavor within the papaya salad; “I was missing that spicy and funky taste you normally get with papaya salads. I would definitely come back here though!”

Area Realtor and supporter of local restaurants Del Delbridge said he ordered the pad himapane to accompany some fresh rolls, which were served with a “detectable peanut sauce.”

“Ginger Thai Bistro provided generous portions and beautiful presentation. Cashews and water chestnuts make the dish!” he said of the himapane. “It really was gorgeous.”

Other house specialties include mussels & basil, a BBQ pork fried rice, and a dish of stir-fried Chinese broccoli with crispy pork belly known as kana moo krob. This Chinese broccoli dish contains “little bits of crispy, or at least pretty well done, pork belly. Yum,” said Mark K., an Elite Yelper. “A savory brown sauce, tender flavorful veggies, chunks of tasty pork belly. It wasn’t a small portion, but I still wished for more,” he said, also complimenting the establishment’s attractive and comfortable dining area.

Ginger fried rice

The ginger fried rice, with shrimp, tomato, small bits of pork sausage, ginger, carrots, onion and black fungus mushrooms, is not very spicy by way of peppers but is quite gingery, with some very thin slices of black fungus mushroom.

Ginger Thai doesn’t make most of its dishes very spicy, unless the diner requests it, but the dark red chili oil can crank up the heat very quickly.

What better to order at Ginger Thai than the ginger fried rice?

This customer found the creation excellent and beautifully presented, with all ingredients sliced in small, even, pleasing-to-eat pieces with some artistic carrot ornamentation designs arranged on top. A crown of carrot slices adorns the white rice served alongside a curry, and some lovely carrot butterflies (or a winged creature of some type) perch on top of the gingery dish.

Massaman curry with chicken

One local diner familiar with the local massaman curry scene said the richly flavored coconutty, peanutty dish at Ginger Thai ranks right up there with the best in town.

Also among the selections are pork or shrimp dumplings and larb dishes with chopped beef or minced chicken.

Pork dumplings

Ginger Thai Bistro owner Noy Phongsavan opened her first restaurant location in Nashville in 2010. In 2018 she brought Ginger Thai to Murfreesboro, opening the second location for the brand in the unit at the Oaks shopping center at Thompson Lane and Medical Center Parkway that once housed JoZoara Coffee Shop.

“I got the tofu pad Thai, which was cooked to perfection. It’s definitely on the sweeter side of the spectrum with a perfect kick to it,” said yet another pleased Ginger customer, Taylor. “The tofu was packed with flavor and the perfect texture. A lot of peanut taste in the best way with extra sauce and lime.”

Additionally, the large menu offers sukiyaki (a Japanese hot-pot dish with seafood, egg and bean sprouts), udon (a Lao chicken noodle soup), a “Three Flavor Wing” (fried chicken wings tossed in sauce containing sweet, sour and spicy elements) and two types of papaya salad (Thai and Lao).

“Try the beef jerky!” Ericka Sims-Hall reports. “Holy moly, I was so impressed and never had fresh Korean beef jerky before. The beef jerky here was killer! Beefy jerky, crab rangoons and egg rolls were great to start as appetizers. Their pad Thai and pork fried rice was delicious as well.”

In another special touch, Ginger Thai wraps its blanket shrimp (often wrapped in a wonton wrapper) within crunchy, fried noodles.

Even those not looking for a full dinner can swing in Ginger for some gelato or a bubble tea while out shopping.

Look for various special deals each month; in March, Ginger offered a $2 discount on all entrees during lunch on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Some local eaters say that, among the abundant Asian eateries in Murfreesboro, they don’t find the dishes at Ginger Thai Bistro to be the most flavorful or spicy. Some are very loyal to their preferred Thai or bubble tea spot. But while Ginger may not end up being the go-to for your particular tastebuds, its options are certainly worth exploring.

Pay Ginger a visit at its Murfreesboro location in the Oaks or in Nashville on Logan Street, near the Thompson Lane and Nolensville Pike intersection.

“This is easily one of our favorite Asian places in town,” said another recent customer, David. “Definitely get the pad Thai and tom ka kai soup!”

Ginger Thai Bistro
536 N. Thompson Ln., A., Murfreesboro
11 a.m.–8:30 p.m., 7 days a week
615-624-8881
Pad Thai, basil lo mein, lad nah or pad se-ew with chicken: $14.95; Pho with beef: $13.95; Fresh rolls with shrimp: $6.45; Green, red, massaman, panang or pineapple curry with shrimp: $16.95; Kang phet yang (roast duck with red curry sauce, pineapple, Thai eggplant, bell pepper and basil): $19.95
gingerthairestaurant.org