I was surprised and kind of disappointed the other day when I went to OBAO intending to order their delicious pad see iew with kalbi, only to find that their menu had changed from the last time I was there. If I had to guess, I’d say my last trip was about six months ago, so I’m unsure when the updated menu made its appearance, but the beef pad see iew on the new menu no longer has any mention of the short rib. Major bummer. But, the good news for Midtown Lunch’ers is that there are still plenty of items $10 and under on the lunch specials menu, and if you dine-in, you get a free, chef-selected starter with your entree.

Anyway, while selecting a new dish, I noticed the four Michelin recommended items (fancy!), one of which was the beef salad Anna enjoyed so much in December. I ordered the recommended Pho Bo.

Generally speaking, OBAO’s pho doesn’t have a good reputation on this blog. Most recently, Andrea panned hers from their downtown location. And, who can forget the controversy Zach uncovered when the Midtown store first opened in 2009.

I, on the other hand, had a surprisingly dynamite Pho Bo, which includes both thinly sliced rare beef and braised brisket, as well as rice noodles, in a ginger anise beef broth. First of all, it’s important to eat this dish at OBAO, because I can’t imagine the rare beef traveling well for takeout/delivery. While I do not consider myself a Pho connoisseur, I’ve definitely had a bowl or two lately, and this delicate ginger anise beef broth was unlike any other pho I’ve had. I also enjoyed the two preparations of beef very much, and there was plenty of each. The whole thing was simply delicious. The dish cost is only $8 at lunchtime, and if you’re craving something slightly left of traditional and have the time to eat at the restaurant, OBAO’s Pho Bo could be the soul-warming meal for which you’re searching.

Obao, 222 E. 53rd St. (btw. 3+2nd), (212) 308-5588

Obao, Midtown East’s branch of Michael Huynh’s Bao empire, has had its share of both cheerleaders and detractors on this site. With the majority of the menu items clocking in at $10 and over, the restaurant is firmly in “high-end to splurge” territory for Midtown Lunch’ers. However, there was an item that caught my eye one day recently when I was looking for a lighter, healthy-ish lunch: Obao’s Beef Salad.

My favorite thing about this salad is that it does not contain lettuce. It does contain flank steak, pineapple, mint, cucumber, and lime dressing. My version also contained carrots, which were not in the description, so they may throw in some extras (or substitute ingredients) if they have something else lying around. The meat is tender and plentiful, and the other quality ingredients come together in a way that makes this salad more than the sum of its parts. It is a little spicy, a little sweet, a little sour, and very refreshing.

The $10 price tag is a little steep for the amount of food that you get, but if you’re trying to make up for a little holiday overindulgence, this is a delicious and still-healthy alternative to your regular deli salad.

Obao, 222 E. 53rd St. (btw. 3+2nd), (212) 308-5588

We never really got to the bottom of the whole bun bo hue thing at OBAO (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd). Sure they offered free spring rolls for awhile to anybody who would return and try the soup, but they never quite explained what happened. Were they serving pho by accident? Or were they just serving a terrible version? (Disclaimer: It tasted great to me, it just bore no resemblance to bun bo hue.) Who knows, and we probably never will… but according to this report from Lunch’er “Monstermooch” there is one thing that is certain, they are serving a different soup than the one I was served on opening week.

“Not sure if u ever went back to check out the bun bo hue after hyunh said he revamped it, but see the attached for a picture of what I got when I got it delivered yesterday. Definitely not pho, definitely signs of pig’s feet and beef shin, and slightly spicy lemongrassy taste. Can’t vouch for authenticity, but I can vouch that it’s different from their pho!”

Check out her photo after the jump…

Related:
Does OBAO Have a Bun Bo Hue Controversy on Their Hands?
A Very Early Look at OBAO’s Lunch
Free Lemongrass Short Ribs Alert

Related:
Does OBAO Have a Bun Bo Hue Controversy on Their Hands?
A Very Early Look at OBAO’s Lunch

To further confuse the matter the soup comes with a hot chili paste, and other accoutrement that when added to the pho’ish dish make it more like a Bun Bo Hue (but not so much so that it settles the matter.)  So, was this the case of a deconstructed Bun Bo Hue, or a staff that is just suffering from some major Vietnamese soup confusion.  We weren’t the only ones who have tried the soup in the past week, and comments from other Midtown Lunch’ers have attempted to solve the riddle.

Numerous lunch’ers pointed out in the comments that the photo I posted looked nothing like Bun Bo Hue, including Lunch’er pamplemoo who posted a photo of the real deal:

that definitely looks like pho (i’m viet). bun bo hue is greasy and spicy and a flavor kaPOW. also should come with rounder thicker noodles and many different mints/toppings:   But it never ceases to amaze me how ny bastardizes and overcharges for viet food…so who knows.

Danny from the blog Food and Mouth had this to say:

ordered the Bun bo Hue for take-out. it looked and tasted like pho to me… although not sure what Bun bo Hue should taste like. The hot sauce was great!

And Lunch’er Neil made matters even more confusing with his comment:

It might be beating a dead horse, but the photo of the bun looks exactly like the pho I got there last friday and had the same thinly sliced meat cooked to a medium rare.

It’s not all about the soup, though. Lunch’er Monstermooch reports a rice mix up as well:

i was here 3 times for dinner last week (i live 3 blocks away), and ordered the viet fried rice but it looks nothing like the one you got. i’m thinking they gave me the thai fried rice considering mine had an egg on top of it (which thrilled me) and the chinese sausage looked more like bbq pork.

Finally Lunch’er Tzinkraze reports getting something more like a real Bun Bo Hue…

I actually just went to OBAO for lunch and got the Bun bo Hue. Though the soup had less lemongrass flavor than most others I’ve had, the meat inside it was definitely pig’s feet. I really think they may have given you the pho. Even the noodles I see in the picture are completely different from the pure white round ones I got and the soup was much oilier. So whatever the issue was they were having before, I think they figured it out. But again, this is not super authentic, don’t expect the same amount of grease or as much of a lemongrass taste. Definitely a bit tailored to an American audience.

So maybe they’ve fixed the issue? Maybe they had it entered wrong in the computer. Maybe Bun Bo Hue was being sent to the kitchen as pho, and the servers didn’t know the difference when the wrong dish came out? Who knows. I think I might have to hit up OBAO and order both soups side by side. I feel like it’s the only way to settle this once and for all. Has anybody else had an issue?

Related:
A Very Early Look at OBAO’s Lunch

It never quite reached a MomoMidtown fever pitch, but the opening of Michael Huynh’s OBAO (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd) last week was met with a bit of excitement.  And why not?  Midtown is not exactly a hotbed of great Vietnamese food- and even though nothing Chef Hyunh does is straight forward, his twisted Vietnamese/Pan Asian sit down restaurant is bound to be better than the options we have now.  There were a couple of pre-opening reports that sounded positive, but you can’t be truly sure about a place until a restaurant is open and has paying customers.  They opened for dinner a week ago, and Friday was their very first lunch service.

I don’t think it’s fair to be critical of a place based on a meal you had during the 2 busiest hours of their opening week.  And not everything we ate was perfect, but there was enough there for me to know this is a place I’ll want to go back to. What we tried is after the jump…

When the lunch menu was first released, I was excited to see that many of the dishes were $10 or less (we have strict rules here at Midtown Lunch!)  A lot of them aren’t under $10, but at least some of the more expensive dinnertime dishes are offered for less during lunch… so for those of you who are willing to splurge for the pricier dishes, it still won’t break the bank.

Of course with entrees in the $9-13 range, keeping lunch to under $10 per person meant forgoing the appetizer section entirely, but clearly you won’t be making a mistake if you order the crispy pork belly on a stick.  Instead we ordered four $10 and under entrees that we thought we make for a filling lunch by themselves.

Bun (Vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowls) is actually my favorite dish to order at a Vietnamese restaurant.  I love the variety of getting two meats (usually pork and shrimp) plus a fried spring roll over noodles covered in nuoc cham (the sweet and tangy fish sauce mixture that is a staple in Vietnamese food.)  It’s a full lunch in a bowl and I love it.  So I was pretty excited to see that this dish was only $10 on the lunch menu (it’s $12 at dinner.)  It’s not the best version of the dish I’ve ever had, and it should really include a spring roll, but all in all I was pleased… and it’s certainly the best version of the dish I’ve had in Midtown.  $10 is a bit on the pricey side, but like MomoMidtown I don’t mind paying a little extra for lunch if it’s quality ingredients (key words being “a little” extra.)

I’m a sucker for pig’s feet and beef shins, so in the soup category we opted for the Bun bo Hue instead of the pho.  I’ve never had bun bo hue, so I have no basis for comparison, but to me the broth tasted like a standard pho.  And there was no sign of a pig’s foot anywhere in the soup.  As for the thin slices of perfectly cooked borderline rare meat, they were delicious- but I’ll have to take their word for it that it was beef shin.  I didn’t really taste any lemongrass either, leading me to wonder if they had brought us the pho by accident (which from the description on the menu sounded exactly like what we were eating.)  In fact I’m not the only one…

Peter Chershes wrote about the same soup on his blog Word of Mouth, and came to the same conclusion. But he actually asked, and the waitstaff swore up and down that he got the right soup.  If that was the case, as far as he was concerned, this was the worst bun bo hue he’s ever had.  Apparently it’s supposed to be heavy on the lemongrass, with a slick of chili oil covering the top.  Instead it tasted like a regular pho broth, but I the soup’s defense it did come with a side dish of chili paste that took the soup from decent to really good.   Once we added the chili paste, I actually loved this soup as a stand alone dish, and would order it again.  But if you’re looking for an authentic bun bo hue (or want to see a pig’s foot in your bowl) it sounds like you will be extremely disappointed.

We wanted to try one of the wok fried noodle dishes, but sadly only the Singapore noodles were $10 (the rest were $11).  I don’t know what “authentic” Singapore noodles are supposed to taste like, but even taking this dish at face value it was just ok.  Not bad, just not great.  I just wish the pad see iew with kalbi was $10!  I might just have to suck it up and splurge.

Finally, we tried a rice dish (since all of them were $10 and under.)  I love chinese sausage, and Michael Huynh is Vietnamese so we went with the Viet Rice.  It was good, but also not spectacular, and is definitely meant to be a side dish- not a meal.  Next time I might have to try the duck confit Lao rice, or the Thai fried rice topped with a poached egg (hello!)

So… not everything was a winner, and you can definitely find things to complain about.  If you’re looking for “authenticity”, this Pan-Asian hodge podge is not going to cut it in some ways.  Huynh puts his spin on just about every dish, adding or subtracting something that you might be used to.  In some cases it works, and in some cases it doesn’t.  But if you have certain expectations, prepare to be surprised (or disappointed) in some way. Oh, and there are clearly “better versions” for “half the price” somewhere else in New York City.  But not in Midtown… and I welcome OBAO in much the same way I welcomed Ma Peche (aka MomoMidtown.)

Clearly I like finding the authentic dives, where food is cheap and doesn’t make you wish the train ride to Jackson Heights or Flushing was short enough for a one hour lunch break.  But sometimes you’re looking for something a little more classy.  And if there is one thing Michael Hyunh has proven over his long, and, frankly, strange cooking career here in New York City, it’s that the guy is a great chef.  Inconsistent?  Sure.  Off base sometimes?  Uh, yeah.  But, if you keep an open mind- and don’t mind spending a little extra money, you’ll end up finding some delicious gems at a place like OBAO.

Criticisms aside (and I am sure there will be more as more bloggers, and the real critics, descend) I’m psyched to have this new option in our wasteland.  (And I’m even more excited for the Baoguette we’re *supposedly* getting in Grand Central.)  But would it kill you to add a spring roll to the bun?!

OBAO, 222 E 53rd St (btw. 2+3rd)

As reported earlier OBAO is in fact open for lunch, and is already slammed. There’s eat in and take out (although there have been reports of 45 minute wait times) and a lunch menu that is slightly different than the dinner menu. Not everything is being offered at lunch, but the 3 meat dishes, 3 rice dishes and the vermicelli noodle dishes are all cheaper (although sadly most of the noodle dishes are now $11.)

Check it out after the jump…

Salads

GRILLED SHRIMP SALAD $9
Fennel | Jalapenos Dressing | Candy Tamarind

LAOS SPICY GRILLED BEEF SALAD $10
Cucumber | Shallot | Pineapples | Mint | Roasted Rice

PAPAYA SALAD $8
Herbs | Soy Dressing | Coconut | Crispy Shallots

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN SALAD $8
Cabbage Slaw | Rau Ram Herbs | Lime Dressing | Peanut

Appetizers

CRISPY SPRING ROLLS $7
Pork | Shrimp | Taro | Mushroom Dipping Sauce

GRILLED FRESH SHRIMP ROLLS $7
Vermicelli | Bean Spout Herbs

VEGETABLE SUMMER ROLLS $7
Tofu |Jicama | Mushroom | Mint

CRISPY PORK BELLY $9
Carmelized Glazed, Pickled Vegetable

SPARE RIB ON SUGAR CANE SKEWER $9
Spicy Honey Mustard Glazed

SHORT RIB LEMONGRASS $9
Spicy Honey Mustard Glaze

Wok noodles

SPICY RADISH NOODLES $11
Shrimp | Oyster | Egg | Chives | Bean Sprout

PAD SEE IEW $11
Kalbi Short Rib | Mustard Green | Egg | Green Mango Kimchi

PAD THAI $11
Shrimp | Salted Red Snapper| Poached Egg | Chives

SINGAPORE NOODLES $10
Chinese Sausage | Shrimp | Crispy Lard | Golden Chives

Soup Noodles

PHO BO $9
Rare Beef | Brisket | Rice Noodles | Ginger Anise Beef Broth

BUN BO HUE $9
Pig Feet | Beef Shin | Rice noodles | Spicy Lemongrass Broth

SINGAPORE LAKSA $12
Buckwheat Noodles | Prawn | Pork | Spicy Coconut Broth

Vermicelli noodles

HANGER STEAK $12
Pineapples | Bean Sprout | Herbs | Scallion Oil

GRILLED PORK & SHRIMP $10
Cucumber Salad | Herbs | Lime Dressing

TURMERIC & DILL FISH $10
Dill | Lettuce | Mint

VEGETABLE & TOFU $10
Mushroom | Soy Dressing | Cilantro

BBQ

SPICY BANGKOK CHICKEN $12
Spicy Salsa with Anchovies

VIETNAMESE PORK CHOP $11
Hot and Sweet dipping sauce

SPICY LEMONGRASS KALBI SHORT RIB $14
Sweet Onion

Rice

LAO YELLOW RICE $9
Duck Confit | Garlic | Golden Chives

VIET FRIED RICE $9
Shrimp, Dry Shrimp | Lotus Seed | Chinese Sausage | Lemongrass | Scallion

THAI FRIED RICE $10
Bbq Pork | Hot Chili | Poached Egg

Side

STICKY RICE $4
Chinese Sausage

SAUTE BEAN SPROUT & CHIVES $5