Lemongrass (Malabe)

Top notch curry place

Lemongrass is quite well known for the amazing Indian dishes they put out. The interiors of the restaurant were reminiscent of a Indian household dining room, and the wallpapers with intricate  detail only further heightened the classy look which carried through to the next floor of the restaurant. However, the elaborate furniture placed on the lower deck did hinder the dining experience, as a lot of excusing would have to be done in case you wanted walk around.

Appetisers

Ulundu Wadei – Rs.50

Vegetable Samosa – Rs.60

The samosa was served hot, and was quite flavourful. The spice wasn’t too over powering and the vegetables, which included peas, potatoes and carrots were not over cooked. A definite 10/10!

Deep Fried Veg. Spring Rolls – Rs.590 for 6pcs

Although the spring rolls were freshly made and crunchy on the outside, the filling was rather bland. The vegetables in the filling lacked salt, let alone pepper, and the whole thing just tasted like boiled vegetables with an amazing spring roll filling. However, once paired with the sweet chilli sauce, it did go down quite well. All in all- not a winner by itself.

Batter prawns –Rs.790

The batter lacked flavor, and was quite rigid and the prawns were chewy.  As a fan of second servings, this certainly didn’t have me running back for more.

Mains

Naan- Rs.130

The Naan was burnt crisp in certain areas, and were chewy in others. It was a little too greasy as well. It certainly wasn’t the best Naan experience.

Thai Yellow curry – Rs.890

The curry was flavored to perfection, but the fish was quite over cooked. The fish dissolved as soon as you wrapped it up with a piece of naan- so the real protein in the dish let us down. However the curry was of a nice consistency and seasoned well.

Chicken Curry- Rs. 590

The curry was well seasoned and the chicken wasn’t chewy and well done. The flavours went amazingly well with the biryani and naan. A definite winner!

Tandoori Chicken – Rs.700

This was, by far a great disappointment in terms of texture. The chicken was dry, chewy and just not what you would expect for the price you pay. However, it was very well flavored and infiltrated all the layers of meat, right to the bone!

Hyderbad Biriyani – Rs. 450

The biriyani was by far one of the best I’ve tasted! It was well seasoned, and not over cooked. You really have the opportunity enjoy the whole concept of the “fusion of the spices”- without choking on extra hot ingredients. I can safely say that it was the highlight of the entire meal!

Battered cuttlefish – Rs.890

This dish made me question my oral health- post eating. The batter was dry and made the whole cuttlefish rather rigid. It wasn’t seasoned well either and the cuttlefish was quite bland. All in all, I wouldn’t call the dish a winner.

Vegetable Chopseuy – Rs. 620

The chopseuy was more of a stir fry, due to lack of broth. Having said that, it was seasoned well and the vegetables were cooked to achieve the right texture.  The individual flavors of the veges complemented each other- a definite winner!

Dessert

Fruit salad

The fruit salad was made with fresh, ripe fruit and tasted quite nice. However, having to bite on watermelon seeds every now and then proved quite irritating and got in the way of everyone enjoying their dish. 

Caramel Pudding

The pudding was lumpy and there really was no caramel in sight. The top of the pudding which ideally should be of an orangish hue was more of a dark beige – due to the lack of caramel on what supposed to be a caramel pudding. That being said, it wasn’t too sweet and despite the lack of caramel, it tasted decent.

Overall, despite its reputation, the experience we had fell below our expectations.  The staff were quite lost and didn’t really know what was going on, and were quite ignorant.  

Tip :- Stick to the Indian dishes