OBAO - NYC

Tonight I got to try out OBAO, Michael Huynh's restaurant in Midtown East, which was recently Michelin recommended as a "Favorite for Good Value" for 2011. I definitely agree that this is an excellent value! I was actually using a discount that I had gotten online, but even without it, they have amazing deals. For their early bird dinner special from 4-6:30pm, you get a choice of appetizer + entree + soda for only $10. Their "212" happy hour specials from Thurs-Saturday 4-7pm are even more of a bargain - $2 Chang beer, $1 shot, $2 appetizer! This would be an excellent place to go for an after-work drink, especially with all the office buildings in the area! While we were eating, I also noticed a number of people coming in to pick up take-out orders after they got off work.

We were seated in the front section, and I really liked the decor of the grass-covered walls. It was definitely a nice escape from all the office buildings - definitely an oasis in the chaos of midtown. We got there pretty early for dinner so it was still pretty empty.

For appetizers, we got the crispy pork belly and crispy fried tofu with sweet and sour fish sauce. The pork belly was amazing! It reminded me of the pork often found in over-rice dishes in Chinatown, but a lot more delicate and significantly less greasy. The crispiness of the bottom of the pork was a nice textural contrast to the fatty belly - and the side of pickled papaya was a nice refreshing contrast between the bites of pork belly.

CRISPY PORK BELLY ($9)

Caramel glazed and pickled green papaya

CRISPY FRIED TOFU ($5)

Scallion oil, spicy, sweet and sour fish sauce

— soy sauce option for vegetarian

The tofu paled a little in comparison to the pork belly - although it was still good. My minor complaints would be that it was probably fried for too long and was a little dry, and I also wish they had given the sauce on the side so that you could dip the tofu in it. Since the sauce was on the bottom, it was a little hard to get to for all the tofu. You really want to get to the sauce, it's really good!

The lemongrass kalbi short ribs were also yummy, they reminded me of the flavors in Korean barbeque. However, the meat was a little too tough for me (although I heard somewhere that Koreans actually like using tougher cuts of meat for short ribs?).

SPICY LEMONGRASS KALBI SHORT RIB ($16)

Sweet Onion and sesame soy sauce marinade

I decided to go with my favorite pad thai. I had read other reviews online raving about their pad thai and I would have to agree that their pad thai is pretty unique and easily one of my favorites now in the city. It stands out first of all by featuring a poached egg on top. While it was a nice touch, it would've been better if the yolk were still slightly runny so that I could mix it in with my noodles better. As it was, I pretty much ate the egg and noodles separate. One of my favorite parts of the pad thai were the peanuts. I think they may have been slightly caramelized or something because they added a lot of texture to the dish. While other Thai restaurants also add peanuts to their pad thai, the peanuts at OBAO added a lot more crunch. Even better than the peanuts, I loved the rice noodles that they used for the pad thai. They were so light, it reminded me of angel hair pasta or capellini in Italian cooking. While carb-heavy noodle dishes would typically weigh you down, I devoured the whole wok-shaped-plate of pad thai without being induced into a food coma!

PAD THAI ($11)

Fresh rice noodles, shrimp, salted red snapper with

peanuts, poached egg, and chives

With the discount that I had, we only ended up spending $21 on all this food (it would've been $41 without my discount)! But even without any discounts, coming by for an earlier dinner or the happy hour specials would definitely be worth it!

OBAO: 222 E 53rd St (btwn 2nd and 3rd Ave), New York, NY.

Spice Market - NYC

Spice Market is one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's many restaurants in New York City and currently his only Asian restaurant in the city (Matsugen, a Japanese restaurant specializing in soba noodles closed recently). [His new restaurant, ABC Kitchen, just won Best New Restaurant at the James Beard Awards - can't wait to try that one out someday! My friends and I have been trying to go to brunch there.] Given Spice Market's location in the Meatpacking District, the overstated decor - described on the website as "a casual, sexy atmosphere" - seems to make sense. I'm not sure if I would agree with "casual," but the interior definitely transports you to what feels like a Southeast Asian palace.

The food is supposed to amount to the "idealization of a Vietnamese street market or a Thai food stall" (per the restaurant's website), but I think this restaurant's exotic decor stands out more than its food, which seemed fairly middle of the road to me.

First off, was "Salmon Tartare, Soy Ginger Dressing, Avocado and Radish." I love tartares and especially enjoy it when a restaurant offers a fish tartare not made with the predictable tuna. While the salmon was fine, I did think the pairing with avocado didn't really mesh too well - and the dressing definitely did not complement the salmon (perhaps a touch of acidity would have helped).

We also got the Pork Vindaloo - I loved the plate that it came out on, it added to the authenticity of setting. This was perhaps my favorite dish because of its extreme spice factor. That being said, it still didn't match what I expected for a Jean-George's restaurant - although it does taste much better than what you would expect for average "Asian street vendor food." We also got an order of the "Chili-Garlic Egg Noodles with Seared Shrimp and Star Anise" because it was a favorite of my dining companion's and he had been craving it for a while. While this dish was pretty good, it almost tasted like house special lo-mein I could order from any generic Chinatown restaurant, and just adding some chili oil to it.

Inside the Kitchen

While Spice Market's food didn't necessarily meet my expectations, it definitely won me over for their atmosphere. For dessert, we ordered ginger ice cream and it was served in this adorable take-out box. I'm a sucker for packaging and interactive food! The ginger flavor wasn't too overpowering - if I didn't know it was ginger, I probably would never have guessed it. It was a refreshing end to the meal!