When we were looking for a tasty place to eat near Hell’s Kitchen during the fall, I found this spot with enticing menu. OBAO Noodles & BBQ offers combinations of Thai and Vietnamese comfort foods with a twist. We love Thai food, we enjoyed visiting Thai Market, SUROSS Thai Bistro, and Thai Diner in NYC in the last few years.

I have been wanting to visit this place for a while, but we haven’t been around the area for a while. During the fall, we finally had the chance to visit and try out some of their tasty dishes. Yes, I am still behind on my blogs, doing my best to catch up!

After passing the bar up front, the dining area expands with cool lighting fixture and golden panels that shines and gives warmth to the place. It sure did look a bit more upscale than some other Asian spots. The dining are was not huge, but not small either. I liked the high ceiling that gives the feeling of more open and larger space.

I especially liked the big mural, the focal point of the restaurant. It is of an elephant with a young prince (?) with a vivid red balloon. I felt like that red symbolizes love between the two. Just mesmerizing somehow.

We were there for an early dinner, during their Happy Hour, so we started off with cocktails. Their Happy Hour is quite awesome, they have deals on oysters, beer, wine, and cocktails! We ordered Flunk Flink ($10/happy hour) and Obao Sunray ($10/happy hour). Flunk Flink is made with Lychee Infused Sake, Coconut Rum, Honey Syrup, and Lemon Juice. I love Lychee drinks, and this one was great! It had a strong flavor of sweet lychee, with some ripe pieces of strawberries in it. It was not too sweet, but just right. I could have it every day!

Obao Sunray is made with Vodka, Coconut Rum, Lime Juice, Thai Chili, and Ginger Purée. It had a great ginger flavor from the purée. Nice sweetness from the coconut without being overwhelming. Thai pepper added that punch, but not too strong. Very flavorful drink!

Their food menu looked really great, everything sounded and looked so enticing. And I really appreciate how many of the items had photos of the dishes (and drinks), so you know what they look like before you order them. The one appetizer item we were really interested in was their Spare Ribs with Honey Tamarind Glaze ($12). It is made with Pork Spare Ribs that was braised for six hours, tossed with Honey Tamarind Glaze. Served with Vietnamese Table Salad. The ribs were so tender and juicy, fell off the bone! Sweet and tangy, with fresh and crunchy veggie to balance it out. The glaze had the kind of sweet chili flavor, which I really enjoyed.

Another appetizer item we wanted to try was the Vietnamese Chicken Wings with Crispy Garlic. It is made with Deep Fried Chicken Wings, Palm Sugar, Fried Garlic, served with Pickled Carrot and Daikon. I was in a mood for wings that day, and I am happy that I was, because this dish was great! The wings had the super crunchy exterior, holding the super juicy meat! The sauce added extra layer of flavor, looked really spicy but it wasn’t spicy. Pickles added nice acidic flavor that went great with the sweet flavor of the wings from palm sugar. Addictive and finger licking good!!!

Then, off to the main dish. Now, my hubby was feeling super special, and wanted to go all out with his selection. So, of course, he went with Lobster Pad Thai (MP). It is made with Stir Fried Think Rice Noodles, Whole Lobster, Bean Sprouts, Chives, and Crushed Peanuts topped with Poached Egg. It was $40 that day…yes he is special all right! LOL.

It was really quite impressive, we were in awe when the dish was brought to our table. You just have to stop and look at it with appreciation for a minute… The egg was perfectly poached, giving us egg porn.

It was a nice large portion, with a big lobster protecting its delicious treasure. But he was no match against two hungry foodies. The rice noodle was plump and mochi-y, you can see me holding them up proudly… The only thing about this dish is that it is not easy to eat the lobster with just the fork and chopsticks provided to us. I wonder how people eat the whole lobster with fork and chopstick??? It would’ve been better for the patrons if the lobster meat was already separated from the shells, and placed it back into its place just for the presentation. Otherwise a nice dish, sure to make you feel extra special.

We decided on a rice dish for the other main dish. We love crab fried rice, we had an amazing one from Decoy, and a delicious one from Thai Diner. The Crab Fried Rice ($22) from OBAO is made with Jumbo Lump Crab Meat, Egg, Cucumber, and Cilantro, served with Spicy Green Sauce and Chili Fish Sause.

It sure did have jumbo pieces of crab meat in there. They were plump and flavorful. The two spicy sauces added another level of deep flavor. It was really tasty and addictive. The rice was cooked just right, and crunchy cucumber added that fresh and refreshing flavor. We enjoyed this dish a lot!

While we were enjoying our main dish, we put in our second cocktail orders. This time, we ordered Fig-A-Tini ($10/happy hour) and Buiseberry Mojito ($10/happy hour). The Fig-A-Tini came in a copper cup, like a Moscow Mule. It is made with Fig Infused Vodka, Triple Sec, Lime Juice, and Muddled Orange. It was fruity and gingery, the combination of fig, orange, and ginger went really well. It was very tasty!

Bruiseberry Mojito is made with Rum, Seasonal Berries, and Lime Juice. This one was a bit too sweet for me, but it balanced the spicy dishes nicely. Imagine having a spicy dish with sweet Thai Iced Tea. Regardless of the level of the sweetness, the cocktail was flavorful.

When we were finishing up with our food and drinks, our server came over with last call for happy hour drinks. I thought that was very considerate, as we are not always looking at our watch. We were full already, so we didn’t add any drink order.

Their bathroom is located near the bar, between the narrow entrance area with the bar and the main dining area. It is gender-neutral, and it had kind of golden yellow hue in the inside. It goes with the golden theme in the dining area. It was a nice size and kept clean.

We had a great dinner here. Good drinks, delicious food, and super friendly and polite staff. Our server took a very good care of us. We enjoyed every bite, and we were very happily full. The portion of the dishes were generous amount, so we did take some food home. I would love to go back and order more of their enticing menu items! If you a looking for a tasty Thai/Vietnamese dishes with modern twist, with a great happy hour deal, you know where to go!

OBAO Noodles & BBQ – 647 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036