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Eclectic menu, restful ambience

The flavours at Lemon Grass are sure to appeal to the local clientele

PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO

TREAT TO TASTEBUDS At Lemon Grass

There's nothing quite like lemon grass. Fresh and tangy, if green had an aroma this is probably what it would smell like.

Raintree's newest restaurant, Lemon Grass, fits in beautifully with the character of the fragrant spice. Airy and restful, it is bathed in quiet light and seems more like an executive hangout rather than a ladies-who-lunch kind of place.

Nevertheless, on the day I checked it out, there was a gang of raucous, assiduously lipstick-ed women, hooting and squealing over lunch in true kitty-party fashion as they guzzled mocktails and picked on their deliciously deep-fried starters.

For Lemon Grass takes the popular route. Clearly not interested in the niche market, it stays authentic just as long as the food stays appealing to its local clientele. So there's plenty of the never-fail deep-fried, saucy and spicy stuff: golden fried prawns, crispy okra, chilli lamb and fried rice.

Nevertheless, the menu is eclectic, bringing together the ever-popular aromatic Thai curries and a selection of Oriental food, including dim sums, wontons and spring rolls. There's also a Korean section featuring `kan pungi' meaning, well, deep fried prawn, and the obligatory kimchi. We tried the crispy corn niblets, juicy bursts of batter fried sweet corn, fiery with pounded red chillies and covered with a generous sprinkling of chopped celery. An interestingly tangy Taipai chicken tossed in a tomato chilli sauce rich in caramelised onions, followed. The soup, staying true to the Lemon Grass theme, was a medley of sharp flavours with the kind of bite that makes your ears tingle. Clear with slices of mushroom, bright carrots, broccoli and prawn, it was one of the highlights of the meal.

The rest of the menu followed the usual Chinese restaurant route, although flavours were more distinct and the presentation was impeccable. There was a capsicum ginger fried rice teamed with prawn Szechwan and a juicy Jiang's style chicken showered in cheerfully coloured peppers. The noodles, however, were quite interesting: buttery and flavoured with garlic. The Chef seems to have a skilful hand on the whole, though the kitchen did blunder with the vegetable stir fry which turned out to be a limp mass of vegetables that hardly seemed to even be on talking terms with each other. Dessert too — a peach melba — was easily forgettable.

However, the service here is good and if you order right — sticking to the straight and narrow — it is more than likely you'll have a pleasant meal, even if it doesn't quite prompt you to shout from the rooftops. The restaurant now offers a `CEO' lunch where you get a soup, appetiser, non-vegetarian main course, rice or noodles and dessert for Rs. 300. Call Lemon Grass at 42252525 for details.

SHONALI MUTHALALY

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