Modern Orchid Southeast Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Dartmouth

we went here on a Friday night a 7pm and we were the only ones here which should have been our first hint. we ordered shrimp tempura, ginger beef, chow main noodles, salt and pepper crispy squid.and steamed rice. The shrimp tempura came with a sirracha mayo dip, there was 10 of them they were ok but a bit greasy. The chowmein noodles were over cooked and a bit nasty, the veggies and meat on top were ok but also way over cooked, veggies should have a bit of crunch and not be mushy I got a feeling the veggies maybe have been cooked already and fried again for this dish. The salt and pepper crispy squid was soft and mushy, you could tell it was coated in way to.much corn starch before the batter was applied as it left a nasty raw starch taste in your mouth. This has some type of veggie salsa on top which was actually extremely good. The ginger beef made me cry as its my favorite dish this was like eating an old boot, tough and gross, it sat in my stomach like a rock. if you use cheap meat marinade it in some baking soda first so the meat will relax when cooked and nit tighten up. The steamed rice never came. The staff was nice enough, but they stood there watching us but never once asked if we wanted drink refills. my glass was empty for 15 mins till I asked for more water. again we were the only ones there so it should not have happen we did not take the leftovers and we both felt gross after we left. I...

Ordered pick up via Uber as I wanted to try some of their appetizers/dessert, and I was near the neighbourhood picking up pizza for dinner. Placed my order at 5:10pm, the app told me an estimated pick up time of 6:22pm.... When the app changed and said it was ready, I walked in, and other customers were being told to wait 15 mins as no food was ready yet, I was told the same, so I waited in the car for another 15 mins.. I go back in, and I'm told another 10 mins... Considering I had ordered more simple items so I figured my uber order may have been missed, I didn't think it would take this long. They seemed overwhelmed in the back, so they must've been super behind, and if I had know it would take almost 2 hrs to get my items, I probably wouldn't have ordered in the first place...

Finally got my food, and it was still warm once I got home, the egg roll does have some curry in it as others reviewers noted, but we enjoyed it.The spring roll was okay - not overly exciting, but the sesame balls and fried coconut milk was very tasty. Wasn't a huge fan of the mango salad, not a lot of seasoning, and the tomatoes kind of threw me off, I have tasted better mango salad at other places within HRM.

Overall, not my first choice, but haven't tried any main dishes yet so can't...

On days that I don’t have a packed lunch I usually go out for Pho. Delicious, wholesome and nutritious it checks all the boxes for me. Today, I tried the pho at the Modern Orchid location at Dartmouth crossing.

To start with the good, very much a pleasant environment, with kind and attentive staff!

Sadly, the pho was a disappointing miss with me

The broth: instead of anise and beef bone based, tasted suspiciously like Mr. noodle chicken stock soup base

The beef: obviously pre-cooked and dropped in- not raw slices cooked in the broth itself as it should be

The toppings: beansprouts and green onions were modestly present, basil absent

Portion size: What seem at first to be a generous helping turned out to be mostly broth. Here a picture of a full bowl of broth left over after I picked every edible morsel out of it

Verdict: Not to be unkind, as it is still a passable noodle soup, but it was definitely not Pho. Advertising it as such on the menu is very misleading (note...