White Elephant Thai Fusion

OMG I have to give our waitress 10 stars for her amazing effort. We came in around 7:20 on a Wednesday night, it seemed like she was the only waitress working. She was taking calls, working the cash register, and waiting tables for the entire restaurant! She was dashing back and forth from the kitchen to each table, asking to see if everything is okay.
The décor inside is very ethic, kind of reminds me of a temple. Lots of Buddha statues and red walls.
Also, we got a free thai iced tea for checking in on Unilocal!Woohoo!

I just called the phone number and it’s not in service. My wife stopped by a few weeks ago and this place was closed.

This place is the best Thai in South OC. I’ve been to a really good one up near Stanton but for the area this is the spot! Curries are delish, soup is great, papaya salad is bomb but I haven’t tried noodles yet. That is next on the list. They uses traditional ingredients and the flavor is amazing! I hope this place sticks!

Had this food a few times & enjoyed it. Just went tonight & it looks like they’re out of business. Phone numbers for business disconnected, no lights on, but no sign on the door saying what happened. Confusing since I ate here about 2 weeks ago.

I really wished our experience here a a lot better, given the lofty Unilocal reviews. We came here for dinner one evening and immediately noticed it was hot as an oven inside.
As we were directed to seat ourselves further inside the restaurant, my insides quelled and I had to shove down the desire to flee the area. I could already envision the table strewn with multiple wet napkins from wiping my sweat and the over-​consumption of water. Fortunately, they jimmy-​rigged a portable a/​c closer inside and we did every once in a while get a cool breeze. Alas, it was still no match for the heat from the kitchen.
Food was hit or miss. We ordered a large coconut shrimp soup and had to clarify that what they brought us was indeed the large size. (It was.) Soup tasted ok, a little on the too sweet side. Come to think of it, my biggest gripe about their food is the fact that they put a lot of sugar in everything, relative to the same dishes we’ve had at other Thai restaurants.
The pumpkin curry was good as was the larb (with pork). The not so great dishes were the crying tiger (beef tasted like candy), the clay pot (noodles looked old and dried, tasted sweet) and the «brown» rice. The brown rice gave me the heebee jeebees not because it was purple (I love purple rice) but because it was so old. You grow up eating rice, you know old rice.
Service was very pleasant and nice. I just felt bad that we didn’t enjoy the food more. The prices were definitely on the high side especially considering the portion sizes (we got a lot of old brown rice though). Oh well, so much for that!

It’s hard to pass up on lunch specials for $ 6.99, $ 8.99, or $ 10.99 depending on how many items you get. Whichever special you pick, they all come with tom yum soup, salad, and your choice of white or fried rice. My favorite part? You get a free Thai iced tea if you check-​in on your smartphone. For something that’s free, I expected something mediocre but nope, not this one, I savored it to the very last drop.
I ordered the two-​item combo with chicken pad thai and hot basil beef. My plate was huge and everything was tasty. I rarely pick pad thai over pad see eew but I made an exception that day. Boy was I pleased. The pad thai was a little on the sweet side but shouldn’t it be? I enjoyed all the flavor and comfort this dish brought. The hot basil beef was delicious with a good amount of heat, however, I think it would’ve paired well with plain rice rather than the fried rice for the taste to really stand out. Not their fault. Again, with soup and salad which were pretty good as well, everything was $ 10.99. I only ate half of my plate and ate the rest the next day. Still good!
The restaurant itself is reminiscent of Thailand’s culture with dark mahogany furniture and artworks of elephants and their buddha all over the place. They seemed understaffed to me but much to my surprise, service was efficient and always with a smile.

UPDATE:
CLOSED!!! damn i finally find a thai place i like that delivers and they close down within 2 weeks.
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was feeling like crap, so i wanted some simple soup delivered and called here.
the lady on the phone was super sweet but said they didn’t have a driver tonight.
I told her I was sick and that’s why I wanted delivery, but thanks anyways.
5 mins later…
I conceded and got out of bed to pick it up.
ordered Duck noodle soup (this bitch would order duck soup for «simple» soup).
but they didn’t have duck tonight. semi-​fail 2.
so I got the chicken noodle soup. and some crab rangoon.
walked in– food was hot and ready– and the lady rushed over and apologized for not delivering, thanked me for coming there, and asked how I was feeling.
ummm so sweet?! she then gave me an ice-​water to-​go and I was on my merry way.
the chicken noodle soup is PHENOM dude. real chicken stock,
like chicken-​dinner-​jus-​soup.
crab rangoon– some of the best I’ve had. perfect wrapper to filling ratio, which NEVER happens.
if this place actually delivers, they will be seeing me again and again.
Unilocal check-​in gets u free Thai iced-​tea or Thai coffee.

Been here a few times and the food has been consistently excellent. Very friendly staff and solid lunch & chef specials.
For those that like and ask for your dishes spicy, they do adhere to a more traditional spice level. Excellent and you have been warned. ;)
This is quickly becoming a regular rotation in my dining routine.
Will bump to a 5 star if they stay consistent.

Just tried this place and it’s so so good! I got the panang curry lunch special and it was amazeballs! There aren’t very many good thai restaurants near irvine and this place is the best I’ve had for sure! Make sure you order the mango sticky rice it’s ridiculously good!

For $ 6.99 you get a great lunch deal. Amazing tom kha soup was included with salad, entrée and a choice of white or brown rice for .50 more. And as an added bonus if you Unilocal check in you get free thai iced tea. What a steal! This place is on my regular to do list now.

I took my sister to have lunch yesterday. It was great. We decided to come back today.
The food really authentic.
We will come back and refer friends to this place for sure.

Cheap lunch price. Free Thai ice tea with check-​in.
* Food tasted better than average, but Americanized. Panang curry was more sweet than spicy, and Tom Yum Gai soup missed a few herbs.
* Dinner entrees are pricey around $ 14. Lunch 1-​item $ 6.99 is better deal than 2-​item $ 10.99. Both include soup, salad, and white or fried rice. Add $ 1 for brown rice.
* Service is friendly, but a little slow. Only 2 staffs doubled as cashier and waitress, so they tried their best.

I’ve ordered take out several times and they’ve hit the mark EVERY TIME. They take their spicy dishes serious and don’t tone down the spice because of the area were in. In fact, one time they over spiced a dish for me. It was still delicious.
Tonight my family and I ate in. The service was impeccable. They realized it was warm and a aw that my husband was in a long sleeve. He drank a lot of water very quickly and they never let his cup go empty. They went as far as to get him more ice. They also pointed the air toward our table. Their attentiveness and care really impressed me.
I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that they don’t charge extra for white rice.

My favorite dishes here:
BBQ chicken
Panang curry
Combination fried rice
Crab lagoon
Garlic chicken
Crying tiger
Thai fried rice
Drunken noodles
The food is always fresh and delicious.
Music playing makes it feel alive. Friendly ambience. Got a free Thai ice tea for waiting on a pick up order. Lunch or dinner isn’t too crowded to dine in.

I ordered from White Elephant Thai for the first time yesterday and loved it. We ordered the garlic chicken and the pad Thai and both were great. The garlic chicken had great flavor! And there were huge chunks of garlic in the sauce which is great because I love garlic. It was served over broccoli and carrots that were cooked perfectly. The pad Thai was great too.
I ordered it for takeout so I didn’t get to experience dining there, however, the atmosphere was nice and all of the staff was friendly and professional. I am definitely coming back soon.

They are open later than most thai restaurants which was why we decided to order take out from here.
They offered us a complimentary thai iced tea which was delicious and refreshing! I’m so used to thai ice tea being too sweet or watered down but they made it just right.
Here’s what we ordered:
Chicken pad thai — the noodles were moist and packed with flavor. It was delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it.
Panang beef curry — the flavor was great but it was more on the watery and runny side. I prefer my curry thicker.

Visiting with family in the Irvine area and were drawn to this sushi places that a crap ton of people have raved about… and happened to have gotten really great Unilocal reviews. Well… said sushi place happened to also be tagged with an hour wait… and my mom… well… my mom gets… how can i say this nicely… HANGRY. An hour wait just would not have done for this evening.
Introduce White Elephant Thai Fusion… a happy skip across the shopping center from the one-​hour-​wait-​to-​be-​eaten-​another-​day sushi place… and a transformation from a Hangry mom to a manageable mom.
There looks like a cute little seating area outside, but we opted for the «romantic» ish setting inside. Mind you, I’m with my family… but if i was with a date, this inside décor is tasteful, jussst dark enough for some footie play, and has neat carvings of elephants and crap to get lost in.
The food ended up being really good, full of flavor. We got typical thai fare… sweet chili hot wings (which were crunch and sweet and chilie and all things promised), along with Pad Thai, yellow curry, etc. Everything we ordered was delicious and full of flavor and the service was absolutely fantastic. So if you’re stuck with a hangry family member who doesn’t want to wait an hour for that one sushi place, then trot down to this well deserving place.

First time here. I consider myself a very experienced thai foodie.
Start with the positives, great lunch specials and prices!
nice staff, nice manager
the pad thai and tom kah soup was very good!
Negatives, the bigger pieces of chicken were not cooked all the way. not a huge deal but can be bad if i get sick. (they got me something else for free which is nice)
also most people who are lactose intolerant like thai food because they dont use milk/​lactose. I was told after i started eating that the chicken is marinated in milk (not coconut milk) Thats stupid.
Id go back because it was good and to give them another chance but they use actual milk… we’ll see

Be careful. You might get hooked if you come here.
I’ve tried other Thai places and their quality is just not as good as here.
I like that they treat you like family. Probably better! They even know that I like to put cucumber in my water. So they being it for me and I don’t have to ask.
My family’s favorite dishes are: yellow curry, crying tiger, and drunken noodles. The jerky is a tasty appetizer.

OMG. Amazing. Fantabulous. Go there now… no really, if they’re open for business while you’re reading this, get over there.
Seriously, the food taste, presentation, portion quantity, servers, management, customer service, atmosphere, decorations, and prices are all deserving of your next choice for dining out. It’s located in a plaza that’s kind of slow, but it’s the absolute gem of the plaza. Just based on White Elephant, the parking lot should be packed. They’re new… just opened in the spot of a previous Thai place.
Aside from all the things I mentioned above, which I sincerely appreciated, I also personally delighted in the fact that several dishes can be made vegan, and they even have a vegan mock chicken/​duck that’s made from wheat, if I want something besides tofu! AND… I love Thai Iced Tea, and was sad to hear they don’t carry soy milk… but I asked if they could add coconut milk instead for me… they had never done it before, but they did it for me, and it was DELICIOUS!!! One of the best Thai Iced Teas that I’ve ever had, with a unique flavour, a little different from all the places I usually get it from.
I’m one of those people who loves to cook, and often make requests at restaurants to change a few things. So to share what I had today… I ordered the Paradise Fried Rice (basically a pineapple fried rice, with yellow curry, green onions, and raisins), and I asked for it with vegan chicken, and with no eggs, and then I asked them to add garlic and basil. As you can see from my picture, not only did it arrive as a work of art, it tasted as wonderful as it looked. My date had the yellow curry with vegan chicken, also delicious… asked for a 5 out of 10 on the spice meter, and it was perfect… just a mild kick that left plenty of room for flavour. We started with an appetizer… who knew that French fries dipped in yellow curry was such a great idea?
While you’re there, be sure to check out the amazing, near-​life sized blue statue perched in the upper back left corner :)
White Elephant Thai Fusion is the most charming, classy, personable restaurant I have walked into in a long time, and it has immediately secured itself a place at the top of my Thai food list in OC, whether for a pleasant sit down dinner, or some scrumptious take-​out. Oh, and they deliver. Somebody pinch me.
Phenomenal :)