Modern Orchid

I was very pleasantly surprised by this place. They were very willing to accommodate dietary modifications and have a decent number of vegetarian (able to be vegan easily) dishes.
The original plan was to have sushi a few doors down, but I was not pleased when I called to find out information about ingredients and they were unwilling to find out for certain. Yes, I realize that it is MY choice to no longer consume animal products, but there are people with legitimate allergies and there should be access to the ingredients of their products. But I digress, back to Modern Orchid!
The interior is clean and open, and décor is typical for Asian restaurants with limited space. There is no clutter added just to add flair. The washroom was clean and well-​stocked, although the ladies is a horrendous shade of pink (for my liking ;-)). The waitress was very pleasant and prompt, kept our water glasses full and asked about our meal experience at the end with specificity.
And on to the fooood…
I ordered the Thai Hot and Sour Soup with vegetables and tofu, a vegetable spring roll, and the Thai Golden Roll. E ordered a lunch special that included the Cashew Nut Vegetable stirfry, rice (which he upgraded to fried rice), spring roll, and a mango carrot salad. We both stuck to water.
The soup was super good. It was a tomato-​based broth with lemongrass, lime, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, carrots, shallot, and a good, but not overwhelming, does of heat. There was a decent amount of veg in the soup, which is pleasant considering some soups often are pretty scant on added bulk. It was served in a lovely homestyle handled bowl with a normal large spoon, rather than the one I expected, you know… the type you normally get for many Asian soups with the flat bottom. It was perfectly hot and sour with a fantastic swirl of liquids combining on the spoon. I was surprised, and later delighted, to see that after squeezing the lime for the juice they added the wedge to the bowl. Maybe it doesn’t add anything, but I couldn’t help but feel that it was contributing to the continued flavour merge. I could see myself craving a bowl of this soup — I’d highly recommend giving this one a shot!
The vegetable spring roll was also really good. They include vermicelli noodles which always makes me happy because so many places don’t bother with much besides cabbage. Don’t get me wrong, there was cabbage in the spring roll, but also carrot and noodle and possibly other things too, but the noodles kind of did it for me. It was served with an ordinary sweet and sour sauce, nothing super special about it.
The Thai Golden Roll is a raw spring roll, I got the veg, but there’s also chicken or shrimp you could go for. It was loaded up with fresh veg and some more rice vermicelli (hurray) and served with a mango dipping sauce. I was expecting the sauce to be a sugary concoction barely reminiscent of mangoes, instead, it was akin to pureed mango and was very fresh. The only thing I didn’t love about it was the way in which it was cut. Two rolls, cut into three pieces each meant that the middle piece did not have a rolled end to hold it in place if you were taking it in more than one bite, but let’s be real, that’s not really a big deal.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a normal meal if I didn’t try new food off E’s plate :-) I had a small bit of his cashew vegetable stirfry, and first of all, the vegetables were cooked perfectly. I am a terrible stirfry cook, something is always overcooked and something is always undercooked, but Modern Orchid has their stuff down. Now their menu says it’s a chili sauce, but I personally found that it tasted a bit teriyaki-​like with a kick. Either way, it was tasty and with a good helping of cashews. It also had the same extra veg in it that my soup came with. The fried rice, of which I am just not a fan of in general, came with extra veg in that as well, some bean sprouts, carrots, onion etc. and tasted like fried rice. If you enjoy fried rice then you’ll probably like it. The mango carrot salad was very plain, just some mango, carrot, and a very light dressing of sorts that I could not taste, but I could see the hint of red from maybe a chili powder or something. I ate the mango from it, but I was not over the moon for it. Bit boring, but ingredients were fresh and firm.
I will definitely be back, but I just know that I will be having hot and sour soup again. I am very excited to give one of the curries a try, they actually have a red, yellow, AND green option. I mean, talk about exciting choices!

The food is fantastic. …it was fresh and well made. The spring rolls were the best I have had. The salad rolls were wonderful. The pork dumplings were delicious and paired with a vinegar dip that really brought out the flavor. We can’t remember a wonton soup that was as well made, very flavorful. All the main dishes had more than ample serving sizes and all of them surpassed our expectations. Definitely worth stopping by for a meal.

Whether you’re staying in or going out this is hands down the best chinese food place in dartmouth. Not only can you get a quick meal of 10 bucks that is heaped full of food (anything on the combination menu) you can also get authentic asian dishes for a reasonable price. And take out orders are 10% off! Whenever i get a combination menu item to go i always get heaps of rice and great portions of meat. I recommend it to all my friends and family it is seriously the best. However if you want to go there new years eve book in advance i made the mistake of trying to go there last year and not booking it in advance it was packed!

The best little Chinese/​Asian cuisine place, extremely reasonable prices and excellent food. Very simple and elegant decorations, excellent atmosphere, great service and held to a high standard of cleanliness. One of my favourite places to grab a bite!

Probably one of the cleanest Chinese food places I’ve been too, no weird wall paper and nice chairs. this is the only place I’ll get this type of food from. I always get combination 9! it’s soo good! I order out all the time as well and it’s just as good home as it is to eat in!

A few co-​workers and I ordered take-​out from here today for lunch they ordered the combo plates and I had the shrimp pad thai. When I called to place the order the girl on the phone was very pleasant and the food was hot and ready on time. However non of it was particularly good my pad thai was oily and tasteless, the egg rolls were dry inside, and the chicken balls were over cooked. I have yet to try eating in but I don’t think I’ll be ordering the take out again. Like the 2 stars says «Meh I’ve experienced better.»

This place is zen Chinese cuisine and chabaa Thai happily married…
The food was remarkable, generous portions, full of bold flavors and just overall refreshing to the palat.
We ordered pan fried dumplings, 2 egg rolls and calamari to start. The starters were just a nice treat to start off the whole dining experience. Everything was fresh and you could just tell that it was prepped and cooked with all the freshness it could be.
Our mains we had general tao chicken and a combination plate which consisted of chicken balls, fried rice, egg roll and almond ghaiding. The egg rolls were some of the best I’ve had. General Tao chicken was spicy and sweet, crunchy vegetables, and a great portion to both… Enough to take home for the following day.
I would have no issues going back here… Although it is located in Dartmouth crossing (I’m from Halifax) it’s well worth the treck, the price, and the empty tummy

Been here 3 times now as it’s always been a great experience, service and food. The Thai combos are where it’s at!

Visited Modern Orchid for my wedding Anniversary dinner.
I have to admit when we entered that I thought that the environment seemed a bit bland, but that didn’t deter us.
We had a lovely server and our beverages came quickly, though we had to ask for water.
We both had the Thai dinner special. The spring rolls and sauce were fantastic. Our main orders (shrimp pad thai and Chicken cashew) were good. The Pad Thai was not hot (temperature-​wise) but not cold either. Serving sizes were average. Certainly not large. Overall, it was fine… EXCEPT…
It was FREEZING in the restaurant and I had to eat my meal while wearing my jacket. We joked that it was too bad that the owners hadn’t paid their heating bill.
AND…the piano riff that played over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over…(get the point) had us talking about where we could find a bat or gun so we could take out the speakers. I can’t imagine what it must be like to work there and listen to those same 2 minutes of piano over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

Modern Orchid was great! I headed over on the advice of my friend and I was not disappointed.
They had several eat-​in and take-​out lunch specials to choose from. I got chicken pad thai, which came with a spring roll as well. I also leaned that when you pick up your order you get 10% off– score!
The pad thai was great. Lots of veggies, and the chicken and tofu were well seasoned. It was a little spicer than I’m used to but once I was a few bites in, I didn’t even notice! It was just that good!!!
The service was excellent as well. I walked in and immediately was offered a table or takeout menu. The girls at the desk walked me through some lunch options and we’re very knowledgeable and courteous.
I’ll be back for lunch again and may even bring some colleagues!

Modern Orchid is along a strip of shops in Dartmouth Cross (close to the Sushi Nami and La Cucina). Inside is a pleasant but very simple décor. Clean, and the tables are not too close so that you feel that you are snuggled with your table neighbor.
We were seated with menus and left for a couple of minutes to give us time to view the offerings. It ranges from Chinese-​styled combos to curried items, Thai and Vietnamese. Vegetarian, seafood and meat items are all there.
I had the Vegetarian Roll (which is the rice wrapping surrounding crisp veggies) with a faintly sweet dipping sauce — excellent!!! My husband had the fried Won tons which were a pleasurable surprise! Nice pieces of pork in a crisp wrapper with a nice dipping sauce — and the portion was generous!!!
Our mains consisted of the Orchid Noodles (mine) and salt and pepper chicken with jasmine rice for the man! The rice noodles were excellent, with chicken, shrimp, green onions and other veggies in a lovely (albeit mild) sauce. I had enough for my meal and 2 meals at home… BIG Portion. I even ventured across the table for the salt and pepper chicken which was really tasty and again — plenty big.
I couldn’t manage dessert but his nibs did… And it was a coconut cream base (like a pudding consistency), topped with sweet rice and fruit (mango and strawberry). I did manage to try it and it was a pleasant, pleasant surprise!
The staff were lovely, helpful and quick. We received their takeout menu and a coupon for 10% off.
I’ll go back — make no mistake on that!

Soo yummy. This is the second time I’ve been here and it’s my new favourite place for chinese. Our waitress was friendly, our food came fast and the prices were really good! Love it