Lemon Basil review
Back in the days when the old Kai Tak airport was operational that end of Kowloon City had been famous for a number of exceptionally good Thai restaurants. I got into the habit of always planning evening flights and then getting to the airport in plenty of time to have a good dinner before catching the plane. Since the airport moved I hadn’t been back there to what had become of the area so the other Saturday afternoon I set out to remedy the situation.
To my delight I discovered that, if anything, there are even more Thai restaurants in the area. Indeed there is a thriving Thai community. I also spotted kitchens specialising in Cambodian and Issan/Lao. I even a couple of Islamic restaurants which intrigued me a lot.
Bu I had come to reacquaint myself with the Thai food and so stopped into a place called Lemon Basil. It was still very early and there were only two other guests. The restaurant was simple but attractive. Orange and beige walls dotted with pictures of Thai kings old and new interspersed with small paintings of chillies and other familiar ingredients.
There is a menu which contains all the familiar items plus there is the paper place mat which add a range of snacks as well as drinks and desserts. I ordered myself a red chicken curry ($58) and some broccoli with mushrooms ($48). I was going to leave it at that but then I noticed chicken wings stuffed with shrimp meat ($60).
With that lot I decided rice wouldn’t be needed but I did order myself a mango slush ($30).
The curry was the first dish to show up. These curries are pretty much a standard item in all Thai restaurants. But both red and yellow curries carry the risk of becoming a little too sweet, a bit too coconutty. This one, I’m happy to say, got the balance between sweetness and spiciness just right. I relented an ordered some rice so I could mop up the last of the sauce.
The vegetables had arrived shortly after the curry. These were crisp and fresh but otherwise pretty straight forward.
The chicken was the last to arrive because it takes the longest to prepare. Funnily enough it would have made an excellent starter - and more sensibly for two people. The wings were deep fried in bread crumbs and served with the classic Thai sweet chilli dipping sauce.
I finished off with pandan flavoured layer dumplings ($28). Another dish that would more sensibly be shared between two people.
Kowloon City is well off the beaten track these days but if you are a fan of Thai cuisine it’s well worth the effort.
Lemon Basil
16 Nam Kok Road
Kowloon City
Posted: February 4th, 2010 under Reviews, southeast asian.
Comments
Comment from Acai Berry
Time February 10, 2010 at 18:18
I’m suddenly feeling very hungry. I really love thai food, looks good
Comment from admin
Time February 11, 2010 at 07:17
Hi Raymond, from Prince Edward MTR you can just continue east along Prince Edward Road. I walked but there are plenty of busses or you could ask a taxi to take you to Nga Tsin Wai Road
Comment from Raymond
Time February 4, 2010 at 17:53
Wow I never ever stopped on the way to or from Kai Tak! It was always taxi to/from Star Ferry. And it seems I’ve missed out quite a bit so I should take a look, but how does one get over there anyway? I do like Thai food and there is, strangely, a Indian pub here (on Cheung Chau) that does nice Thai food but that’s just because they hired a Thai cook.