Everytime I come to White Orchids it is better than the last time. Other than the one americanized dessert I ordered (mistake) everything has been fantastic. They’ve changed their menu a bit since opening – they no longer have lunch specials. They’re always busy for dining, reservations a couple days in advance is recomended for weekend dining. The service is always excellent, highly recommended!

I have dined here several times and find the menu items to be fantastically prepared and good value for the money. Having been to Thailand, the cuisine is close to authenitc with only a few substitutions for items hard to get seasonally here in the States.

However, I made the mistake of ordering what was totuted as a special – Kobe Steak. I have had Kobe Steak before. THIS WAS NOT KOBE STEAK or if it was it was the absolute dregs! Kobe Steak is fine grained and very tender, this piece was course, muscular, and very tough. The piece was supposed to be medium prepared and it came out well done and had about 40% blubbery FAT on it. It was not tasty but was the tecture of cardboard and tasted very bland. Hard to believe since it came with such a “generous” portion of fat still attached to it! I was not given a knife (as would be expected with a REAL piece of Kobe Steak, it can be cut with the edge of your fork or with your butter knife, no such luck with this piece! The waiter had to fumble into the kitchen to get me a kitchen knife). They rocked me for $35.00!!! I have had far better cuts of generic steak for half of that price! I was ripped off and I do not know why given the high quality and value prices of most other selections!

All I can say is to stay away from the specials, especially steak based ones! Very disappointing! Shame on trying to pump up profits by serving such inferior cuts of meat and trying to pass it off as Kobe Steak!

My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant here

I forgot to add that the the menu clearly states they will modify most dishes to accomidate vegan patrons. Some of the tofu is cooked in an egg batter so be sure to specify..

White Orchids is one of the new restaurants in the Promenade shopping center. After one visit, this has gone on my list of favorite restaurants. I’ve not found many Thai places in the Lehigh Valley (I’ve only heard of two others, one in Bethlehem and one in Allentown), so I’m very happy to find this one. The service was fantastic, most of the food was great. It is a bit pricey but they have lunch specials everyday from 11am-2pm. I had the Pad See’we noodles with tofu which tasted great but really needed more vegetables to be a satisfying dish. The tofu was really well done, perfectly textured firm and dry. My partner had the Panang Curry which he said didn’t taste anything like Panang curry he had elsewhere, but he liked it very much. He said it was even better upon reheating the next day. Chocolate lava cake is pretty much my all time favorite dessert, so I had to try it when I saw it on the menu. However it was barely edible. I have hopes that the more traditional Thai dessert offerings are much better. Total bill for two, with appetizer, 3 entrees (split fried rice with lots of leftovers), dessert, two drinks, and tip came to $62.