My sister was in town wanting something Asian for lunch. I recalled a friend raving about the new Thai restaurant, Sabai Thai on Park Avenue South. We decided to give it a try.

We began with the Tom Yum Soup ($17), even after learning that the menu described three tiger prawns were unavailable and that seven large shrimp would be served in their place. That seafood came with king mushroom chunks in a broth flavored with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. The nicely flavored soup came with a little spice kick. I liked that.

My least favorite was the Poh-Pia Sod, their fresh rice paper wrapped spring rolls filled with mostly greens, served with hoisin sauce. Ho-hum.

The only one of my friend’s favs that’s on the menu at lunch was the fried soft shell crab atop fried rice with crab meat, scallions and eggs. I’d recommend.

I also loved the flavor of the pad see ew, their flat rice noodles served with Chinese broccoli and scrambled eggs ($26) with the addition of the roast duck. The latter was a tad dry and overcooked. When I go back I’ll order it sans the pricey meat topping.

When I made the reservations, I had mentioned we were celebrating a birthday. We smiled as they served us — without ordering — two mochi, one strawberry and one passion fruit with a candle. Nice touch.

I’d recommend.

Sabai Thai
Gramercy-Flatiron
432 Park Ave S
New York, NY 10016
(646) 476-4521
sabaithai.nyc