In Indonesia, this kind of nasi goreng is often called nasi goreng amplop (enveloped fried rice), since the nasi goreng is enveloped within a pocket of thin omelette. However, due to proximity and neighbouring influences, today this kind of fried rice is often also called as nasi goreng pattaya in Indonesia.[5][6] Today, the dish is popular throughout Southeast Asia, it is one of the fried rice variants favourite in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
The name is believed to be derived from Pattaya, a popular beach resort in Thailand.[1][6] However, despite its Thai connotations, the dish is actually more common in Malaysia than in Thailand. The omelette-covered pattaya fried rice is hardly found in Pattaya itself.[3] It is most likely that the dish did originate in Malaysia,[1][2][7] and that the "Pattaya" moniker was probably used for novelty or marketing purposes.
A similar dish exists in Japan, and is called omuraisu (from the English words omelette/omuretsu and rice).[1] It is a fried ketchup-flavoured rice sandwiched with a thinly spread beaten egg or covered with a plain egg omelette.
^ abFebi Anindyakirana (13 July 2017). "Resep Nasi Goreng Pattaya" (in Indonesian). Vemale.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.