Although Thai restaurants are easy to find in Shanghai, Lemongrass Thai Traditional Kitchen stands due to its elegant décor and exquisite dishes.
Hidden in a corner of Incenter, a mall opposite Shanghai Stadium, the restaurant is split into two levels with the ground floor serving as a café and upstairs as a restaurant.
As soon as you enter the restaurant, the décor will attraction your attention. It's nicely laid out and the artwork is interesting.
The Thai sweet chilli crackers are complimentary before food is served. They serve as a nice warm up for the more substantial part of the meal
Many Thai food lovers can't resist tom yum soup whenever they try a new Thai restaurant.
Lemongrass's signature king prawn tom yum soup has a strong aroma and rich broth.
It's seasoned with a home-made tom yum paste, lemongrass, chilli, coriander and single cream.
Like other Thai restaurants, Lemongrass has a wide selection of curries — king prawn, beef, chicken and vegetable with either a red, green or yellow curry. What makes the difference is that Lemongrass makes its own curry pastes.
The beef brisket curry dishes are highly recommended.
The beef is tender enough to absorb the flavors from the curry paste with a pleasant coconut fragrance noticeable before every bit. Don't forget to try the curry dish with steamed rice (at an extra charge though), which tastes even more brilliant. If you prefer more spice, opt for the green and red curries.
Appetizers at Lemongrass are another highlight, especially if you like crispy and spicy sensations. The Thai-style chicken feet salad burns the tongue.
The chicken feet are coated with a special sauce that challenges your endurance for spice.
The green papaya salad with seafood is another spicy dish worth trying. It's so fiery that it has the menu's spiciest rating of three chillies.
Thai-style fish with three-flavor sauce is one of the restaurant's signature dishes. The special three-flavor sauce features sweet, sour and mildly spicy flavors.
You can also choose a sweet-and-sour or mango sauce. Customers can select either bass or mandarin fish for the dish.
The fish is deep fried and coated in the aforementioned sauce of your choice. It's topped with chunky pineapples, peppers, and onions.
Desserts are a real treat at Lemongrass.
There are many traditional Thai desserts but Pandan tapioca pudding is among the most beloved.
Wrapped in reed leaves, the pudding is filled with sago (similar to pearl bubbles but not as chewy) and water chestnut chunks with coconut cream. It comes with a piece of sweet corn. The strong coconut flavor and light texture may just make you feel as if your heart is floating.
Although it opened at the beginning of the year, the restaurant has become popular.
Lemongrass also has two tatami seatings for up to six diners each and other private rooms for bigger groups. Groups of more than 10 people can be accommodated, but advance bookings are strongly recommended.
Lemongrass Thai Traditional Kitchen
Tel: 5419-8197
Address: 1/F-2/F, Incenter, 580 Tianyaoqiao Rd
Average check: 150 yuan
Opening hours: 11am to 10pm
