Lemon Grass (Vashi)

Confused Cuisine

For starters, if there is one culinary specialty that puts Lemon Grass way ahead of competition in the city, it has to be the Thai fare. The green curry in both its Vegetable and Chicken avatars are exactly what Thai curry should be like - sweet from the coconut milk; exuding flavour from just the curry though not at the cost of the meat or the vegetables; and light on the system. You can have a hearty meal with just the curry and steamed rice, and will not be left poorer for it. Oh, and do not forget the Thai style Vegetable Spring Roll drizzled with Sweet Chilly Sauce - absolutely delicious, with the sauce just perfect in its sweet foretaste and tangy after-effect. The trouble starts when you want to venture a little into other territories as well, as Lemon Grass appears a little confused in terms of reconciling Chinese / Far-Eastern and Indian taste buds. For instance, the Chinese Greens in Burnt Chilly Sauce, although quite palatable, is far from authentic; and has too much sauce and far less greens, making it virtually a curry that you have to consume with rice in a manner more common to Indian cuisine. If, however, you try the Steamed Pomfret, Cantonese style with Chinese Greens, you will find the fish a trifle undercooked by Indian standards but eminently suited to the Chinese palate. It is possible, of course, that vegetarian dishes are deliberately prepared with some Indian touch, given the large number of pure vegetarians in the city. The Burnt Garlic and Spinach Rice though is an excellent option to try with any of the aforementioned Sino-Indian (or for that matter even Thai) dishes; and the size of one portion is inordinately large, to the extent that three adults would struggle to finish it. Lemon Grass does well to maintain an optimal combination of good service and efficient upselling - the stewards put you at your ease with elaborate on-plate service of each course, but do ensure eventually that you order at least one item recommended by them. Having clearly positioned itself as a haunt for South-East Asian cuisine, Lemon Grass has got its act right in the first place with excellent Thai food, but probably needs to work some more on the other Asian cuisines to compete with the Global Fusions and Asia Sevens of the city.  

Ambience                ★★★
Service                    ★★★★
Presentation            ★★★★
Taste                      ★★★


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