Manaow Thai

Manaow is not Manaao. Bear that in mind if you’re looking for a Thai meal in Orange County (Manaao) rather than Long Beach, where Manaow – an atypically modern-looking yet beautiful Thai restaurant – has been open for a decade.

The only restaurant we’re aware of that offers a Thai drink flight, Manaow lets you try Thai iced tea, coffee, lemongrass iced tea, tamarind juice, and limeade with honey side-by-side. Individual drinks go for only $5 each, and the $10 sampler includes a full glass of whichever flavor you picked as your favorite.

Manaow also serves a nice mix of classic Thai restaurant and “street food selections,” doing far more than Siam Station to satisfy the latter promise. In addition to a good rendition of the sweet-tangy-crispy noodle dish mee krob, slow-roasted duck with jasmine rice, and southern-style curried noodles, which we tried on our first visit, we returned and tried betel leaf wraps (loaded with peanuts) and grilled tamarind ribs (tender and paired with sliced pineapple) on our second visit, both hugely compelling. On both visits, we ordered and loved pandan leaf-wrapped fried chicken, an item we haven’t found on U.S. menus before.