Born Thai - Brooklyn, NY

After a pre-game with the fiancée (yup, just got engaged!) and friend, we were still hungry. Walking along Flatbush on a rainy day isn't that pleasant. But, what stopped us in our tracks was the happy hour Born Thai still have. Plus, Thai food sounded quite promising and comforting on a rainy night.

There was still a lot of tables open (lucky us). The happy hour beverage menu was quite simple, nothing too extravagant and it was all around $4-6. The food here was what caught us by surprised. I honestly wasn't expecting much but each plate we ordered totally delivered. Also, service was on point and friendly.

We started off with the Curry Roti which came with Mussaman curry and not your average curry, it was delicious. The curry was slightly sweet and gave a bit of heat. Next was the Curry Puff, also excellent choice, the puff pastry was perfect and flaked off just how it was suppose to. At this point, I was looking forward to the noodle and rice dish we ordered. It all came out in a timely manner and tasted like it was made with love (yea, sounded quite cheesy there). The Curry Fried Rice was nice, I loved the basil in there which made it very flavorful and fragrant. The Drunken Noodles was a one of a kind, made with udon, the dish was slightly spicy and the intensity builds as you keep eating, also quite addicting.

The night was good. We ordered a couple of more drinks and the wait staff didn't bother us. I believe happy hour ends at 8pm but with good food, company, and drinks the night seemed endless. Definitely a hole in the wall. I plan on revisiting some time soon.

Gin Daisy

Old Fashioned & Cuba Libre

Curry Roti

Curry Puff

Drunken Noodles

Curry Fried Rice

Verdict:
Food ~ 5 out of 5
Price ~ 4 out of 5
Service ~ 4 out of 5

Born Thai
293 Flatbush Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Park Slope, NY - Spice

Thai Iced Tea

Steamed Dumplings

Tofu Pad Thai

Spice

61A 7th Ave 

Brooklyn, NY 11217 

(718) 622-6353

Obao - you're better off not staying

Obao is a hotspot in Midtown East for some southern Asian cuisine. Mainly run by Thai people, but make quite spot on dishes. I usually order takeout from them because it's faster and slightly cheaper (because I don't have to pay tip).

One odd summer day, my coworker and I stopped by for lunch. We were seated all the way in the back, in their garden, no worries because they have a roof for some shade. Service was extremely slow. I understand that it's the busy lunch hour but having just 3-4 staff waiting the entire restaurant is quite unacceptable.

We got our glass of water after the table next to us got their's and they came in after us. I asked for the beverage menu and a few minutes later they didn't come by again to ask me if I wanted anything. Is it me or am I expecting too much from a restaurant in midtown? Maybe I'm just too spoiled...

Obao has these lunch specials that are pretty good, they range anywhere from $8-15 and if you want an appetizer, just tag on another $3-5. If you ask me, that's one pricey lunch.

The salad was pretty standard. Nothing special or worth mentioning here.

For appetizer, I ordered the Spring Rolls. It was quite good and was already drizzled with some fish sauce over it, which I wished came separately. Nonetheless, it was crunchy and filled with a nice amount of meat and vegetables.

The Pork Belly with Chinese Broccoli is what the rave is about here. I had it once for takeout and it was amazingly good, so it just had to be better fresh out from the kitchen right? Well, to be honest it wasn't any better, it tasted just like the time I had it as takeout. Don't get me wrong, it was good but I guess I expected more. Very powerful and flavorful dish, you can really taste southern Asia in this dish, no lie.

My coworker ordered the Thin Cut Vietnamese Pork Chop and it tasted just like the ones you would get at the Vietnamese restaurants. Marinated and packed with flavor, the lime gave it a nice kick which I like.

Overall, I wouldn't dine here again. Even though the food was pretty darn good, the service was really poor. I would rather order takeout and not deal with the service and still get some kickass food.

Obao
222 E 53rd St
New York, NY 10022
(212) 308-5588

 

Nana Restaurant & Bar - Feeling famish with a climb so high

After a lesson of rock climbing, J, a friend and I were totally starving. For us to be able to continue and climb (since it was a one day pass) we needed food in our stomach. Being not so familiar with the area we were in, we asked a staff member at Brooklyn Boulders as to where all the restaurants were.

We came across Nana and knew it would be perfect. Once you enter, you were greeted by the bartender and to your left is where all the diners are.

We cut to the chase and ordered in no time.

Only J and I ordered drinks, the Nana Mai Tai ($9) was a bit too sweet for me, tasted like sweet syrup more than anything. The Whiskey Ginger ($9) tasted a bit off, kind of weird to my liking. It was like a poorly made mojito with whiskey, if you know what I mean.

The Roti Canai ($3) was small but for its price it wasn't bad. The curry could have been a bit hotter, temperature and spice-wise.

Our entree was delicious, beside the weird dish presentation, it was really good. Ok, maybe we were hungry but it was still good! The Tofu Pad Thai ($9) was quite amazing, had small tofu pieces along with some big fried tofu chunks. The friend's Pad Kra Pao Beef ($10) came with rice, beef was very tender and flavorful as well, had a nice kick to it. As for J's The "kueh" Tweo ($9), it was great also. Had the same kick as the Pad Kra Pai Beef but with noodles. The portions might look small but don't let that fool you, it'll definitely fill you up.

And as if we weren't completely satisfied yet, we ordered dessert.

These 3 were on our list when we were shown the dessert menu. Coconut Flan ($6), Chocolate Souffle ($7) and the Black Sesame Creme Brulee ($6) all looked very appetizing. But the best one was the souffle which wasn't even a souffle, it should be called a lava cake, even though we were disappointed in the name and appearance, the taste was a 2 thumbs up! The flan was plain which didn't stood out and the brulee lacked a lot of black sesame.

So, yes I would come again because the entree was that great and I would love to have that "souffle" again.

Nana Restaurant & Bar
155 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 230-3749

Talent Thai Kitchen

A not-so-quick bite before J had class. I was feeling for Thai since it's been quite a while and you know, gret minds think alike because J felt the same. We didn't want to try anything new new, so we decided to come back to Talent Thai. A place we been to before and couldn't forget because the ambience and food was memorable. The last time we were here I had a voucher and sometimes, I'm pretty glad that I made myself get them because without that, I wouldn't know there's a place like Talent Thai in midtown manhattan.

As usual, we were the first to be seated. Same thing happened the last time we were here, after we got seated and our orders were taken, people starting rolling in. Another reason that got me coming back is the music that Talent Thai played, very mellow and r&b which I didn't mind and J liked. Brings back memories since a lot of them were in the 90s.

Front of the restaurant.

Back of the restuarant.
We were pretty much situated in the middle.

Nothing better to start ourselves off with some wine. If you read my previous adventures, J and I are on the wine wagon now.

We ordered a bottle since last time we kept ordering glasses of the same thing. It saves us money and we don't have to keep telling the waitress to refill.

Peanut Dumplings.
Anything peanut and J would order it, it's like he got a peanut fetish...I was quite surprised that I liked it also. Crushed peanuts with onions and turnips was pretty delicious. The white wrap was perfect, slightly chewy but not to the point where it starts sticking to your teeth.

Fried Calamari.
I initially didn't want this but they didn't have mussels. To settle, I agree with the waitress and ordered calamari. I usually don't order this dish often because there's so much on the menu that would be interesting to try. But, I didn't regret ordering this. It was crispy and the calamri was tender, the spicy chili sauce was also spicy which is great.

Pad See Euw.
I wanted noodles but I didn't want Pad Thai, nor did I want anything spicy so I end up getting regular broad noodles in sweet soy sauce. It was delicious, even though it wasn't spicy it was hot because of the black pepper. For some odd reason, I really like vegetables and tofu with Thai noodle dishes. The vegetables and tofu are coated nicely with the sauce, maybe that's why.

Massaman Curry.
One of the milder curry on the menu. J loves his vegetarian duck.

I took too long to take the shot so my lense got fogged up. Dreamy much?

Sticky Rice.
I was curious as how they did the sticky rice here so I made J ordered it. He agreed since it'll be regular Jasmine rice or this. We eat Jasmine rice all the time at home so sticky rice it was. It was definitely sticky and tough but once it touched the curry, it was perfect because it gave a nice chewy texture.

Talent Thai Kitchen is one of my favorite Thai place to eat at. It's small but the food and service delivers. Something that I will definitely not pass on.

Funny story. First, there was a kid and an adult that came in and said there would be 6 people total so the waiter sat them next to J and I where there were tables free. Somehow the group got larger and we ended up offering a table that was connected to our table. The waiter later came by and gave us another table since the couple on our other side had left. We didn't really need the table because the small table perfectly held everything we had at that moment. Such lovely service, which is why I'm so raving about this restaurant.

Talent Thai Kitchen
210 E 34th St
New York, NY 10016
(212) 725-8888

Thai NY

I'm on a Thai binge these days. Been craving for Thai food, especially the Pad Thai. Maybe it's different to my taste buds, Chinese noodles just don't cut it half the time because I eat that so often. Thai NY is literally right next to Jaiya, a recent restaurant I visited twice and did a review about down below.

I've been to Thai NY before, but for some reason I don't remember much about it. It was actually for dinner the first time around and maybe it just didn't hit the spot because I wasn't hungry. So, I pay another visit to Thai NY for their lunch special.

Their lunch specials weren't bad at all. They had a complimentary appetizer along with your main entree. Prices ranges from $6.95-9.95, depending on your liking of vegetables or meat.

Tom Yum Soup

Edamame

Tofu Pad Thai

Vegetable Duck Pad Thai

First of all, the service was pretty fast. The waitress seated J and I at the same spot we sat at the first time we came here, sweet. The appetizers came out quick, then again how hard is it to make soup and edamame. First time trying Tom Yum Soup, it was spicy and sour but nothing that can't be handled. Although the specs of spice (red little chilis) can't really make a person choke. Maybe it's just me and I don't know how to eat spicy food but I keep choking, but it really tasted good.

The Pad Thai were tasty, it came out when I was in the middle of my appetizer. No complaints because I like my food coming out fast. If only their lemons were a bit juicier, I find myself really having to work the remaining juice out of it. The noodles were al dente, cooked perfectly. Taste-wise, it tasted like an authentic Pad Thai. I like how they used thinner noodles here, a lot of places use the traditional pad thai noodles that are slightly wider than this.

Thai NY is certainly quite a roomy place. They have endless amount of tables that extends all the way to the back (this restaurants probably takes up half the block). 

Thai NY

394 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10116

(212) 696-2888 

Jaiya Restaurant

I eat Thai food occasionally and never thought it had anything that was out of the ordinary or even surprising of that sort. I got introduced to this Thai place around Kips Bay in Manhattan. I wasn't much enthusiastic about it but my friend just loves her Thai food.

I was definitely struck by the decor of this simple Thai restaurant. It felt so retro and modern. Got seated right away which is always a good thing, and the staffs are so polite.

I came here during lunch on a weekday and they had lunch specials so why not go for that?
Their list was quite long for lunch specials and it also comes with a complimentary appetizer. Prices for the specials range from $7.95-9.95, which isn't a bad deal at all.

Papaya Salad

Jaiya Garden Salad

Fried Tofu Pad Thai

Pork Drunken Man Noodle

The food was quite amazing. The salad were indeed refreshing. Papaya salad had a nice crunchy texture while the garden salad was paired nicely with the peanut vinaigrette. I was blown away by the Pad Thai. My first thought was, it looked really bland and colorless. But, never judge a book by its cover. The dish was packed with flavor and definitely taste different than any other Pad Thai I had tasted in the past. Maybe it was the sweet and salted flavor that was combined ever so well.

This place definitely deserves multiple visits and with the Pad Thai being on the lunch special menu every day, it's affordable in my handbook.

Jaiya Restaurant
396 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10016
(212) 889-1330