Chembur is dotted with small eateries but is not quite known for its fine dining options. So both the food and the service at Lemongrass Cafe, the new Thai and Oriental restaurant in the eastern suburbs, pleased us to no end. The dishes were not just good but smartly presented, too
Chembur has been crying out for fine dining options for some time now. There are just a handful of good restaurants in the area, which has been witnessing a real estate boom in recent times. That is why, when we spotted Lemongrass Café opposite the ever-popular K-Stars Mall (and just one flight above the popular Yoko’s restaurant) on a weekend, we decided to try out the fare there.
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Burmese Khowsuey at Lemongrass Café, Chembur
The Asian restaurant with a focus on Thai food, was a pleasant surprise, with standard no-frills interiors and a regular menu — but tasty, unpretentious food. We started with the Indonesian satay (Rs 250), a combination of mushrooms, babycorn and paneer and the lemon garlic chilly fish (Rs 425), with a summery lemongrass sauce. While the vegetarian fare was standard stuff, the fish was light, flaky and well-cooked.
We moved on to the Stir-fried Chicken in Ginger Oyster Sauce (Rs 295), a light, tasty dish and the Braised Broccoli and Baby Corn (Rs 275), the vegetables tossed in a Soy Garlic Chilli Sauce. The star dish however, was the Burmese Khowsuey (Rs 350 for veg), with an option of noodles or rice and the other ingredients arranged and served in small bowls.
It was flavourful, with the coconut milk sauce of just the right consistency. We loved the presentation as well. The Chicken Fried Rice (Rs 195) was slightly oily, but the accompanying Red Pepper Chicken (Rs 295) was a good foil — not too spicy, despite its name. The Braised Tofu with Black Mushroom (Rs 275) came with a soy garlic sauce — ‘Indianised’ Chinese to be sure, but tasty nonetheless.
We ended the meal with the Date Pancake with Ice-cream (Rs 195), a strictly standard presentation, though the ice cream felt wonderful on a hot afternoon.
Lemongrass Café should do well in Chembur, what with a neighbouring restaurant shutting shop recently and the crowd swelling on weekends at the mall opposite. It also has a limited car park that it shares with Yoko Sizzlers, which is located on the first floor of the same building. So, would we recommend Lemongrass? Yes, definitely, particularly if you stay in the neighbourhood.
sunday mid-day paid for the review anonymously
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