I thought the Lotus of Siam was good, but I wasn't blown away. My expectations were sky high because of it's reputation. Reviews are off the chart, and even the hotel bellman and the cab driver got excited at the mention of it. The cabbie yells "hell yeah, that place is the bomb!"
I ordered the Garlic Prawns and the Crispy Duck in Drunken Noodle. The prawns were huge. They are removed from their shells and butterflied, but still attached to their shells (at the tail). The prawns are then dredged in a seasoned batter and deep fried. The fried batter was similar to Japanese tempura and the flavor reminded me of the Chinese-style, deep fried salted shrimp. You can definitely eat both the shrimp and shell, and I like that they were separated. The garlic flavor is prominent. This is one of their most popular dishes, and it is a safe choice.
The duck dish was good, but I didn't think it was great. There was a generous amount of sliced duck. The dark duck meat was fatty and the skin was crispy. The drunken noodles are the flat wide noodles that are common in a lot of Asian dishes. The brown sauce was flavorful although I would have preferred it to be a bit more spicy. I ordered spice level of 6 out of 10 because I was expecting the Thai scale. Their heat scale is toned down for Westerners
Overall it was a good experience, and I'm glad we tried because of all the buzz. I have heard many people say it "the best Thai food in America". I didn't agree on this visit, but would give it another chance. I preferred the prawn dish over the duck, but would not recommend either. The menu is large so there are plenty of other interesting options.