Lemongrass Kitchen — Restaurant in Hualien City

Credit is given, when credit is due as the saying goes, sadly in this case, no credit is to be giving out

The owner/chef was where helpful and welcoming, he guide me through the varries options of the menu

Order up Panang Beef: To call this panang is an insult to the Thai community to say the least. The curry was bland, there was no Kaffir lime leaves added, I doubt there was even used a curry paste to make this dish. It reminded of a slobby gravy sauce from my old highschool cantine. This is not panang.

Yellow Curry Beef: Again here, I don't know what the " chef " was aiming for here, but the curry was bitter, sweet, awfully to say the least. If this was served in Thailand, this dish would had been deported to another country, maybe India or Bangladesh

Tom Kha Gai or Lemongrass soup: This is one of my comfort go to, when I want some delicious thai soup. But in this case I was meet with a bland soup, no galangal was added, no Kaffir lime leaves. I had to ask the kitchen for some lime fruits and fishsauce for make it slightly edible

Steamed fish with herbs: This dish is also a comfort food for Thai people, the sour fish and the tender meat goes well hand in hand. And in this case, this was actually edible, this was the only dish that was actually yummy, thumps up on this one

The rice, semi hard old rice, my guess they was from yesterday's batch, semi hard, no fragrance, bland, not even when I drenched the rice in soup they become soft

Dear chef, I'm not sure what your restaurant is aiming for, but to call it Thai Cuisine is a swing and a miss.

You had a diploma from Blue Elefant culinary school, which is one of the best Thai culinary schools in the world. I'm sorry to say, but your teachers have failed greatly if this is what they have passed on to you.

I'm also shocked over the amount of reviews and stars people has given your restaurant, it just doesn't add up.

If you are looking for authentic Thai cusine, Lemongrass Kitchen is not the place to go to. Sorry but not sorry.

Maybe you have adjusted the " flavors " to taiwanese pallets, but don't you dare call it Thai food.

If you want to, I be more than happy to show you and make Thai food for you, so you can see the real deal. I been a chef for more than 10 years in the Thai kitchen.

• Response to owner *

I have 4 restaurants, Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, and Koh Samui, if you ever visit Thailand, send me a email or reach my phone, i will be more than happy if you come and visit and...

A decent thai meal but a few very strange things about this place. When I came in at 6pm and asked (I speak Chinese) for a seat for 1 the server kept saying I would need to finish my meal before 630. Asking him what time they close he said 8pm with a straight face. I don't know why all the rush? I was seated at a 2 person table, so it's not like I'm occupying 4 seats or more? Plus there were only two tables occupied at the time I came in. Looking forward to good food I read about in all the raving reviews I reluctantly agreed to the time limit. I ordered and got served some krupuk with sweet sour sauce as appetizer. Bit weird to find Indonesian snack in a thai place but whatever. When I dipped I found there were ants in the sauce. So much for an appetizer.. About one minute later my food was ready. It's great to have food served fast but this was fastfood speeds.. Too fast to be any good. The massaman curry was very peanutty and spicy for a massaman, not very Thai at all. By that time I just wanted to eat up and get out of there. I pointed out the ants to the server and was out of there in about 15 minutes. Not an enjoyable experience and I'll stay away from this place again, in search for a better Thai...

This is very much Thai flavored Taiwanese food, not authentic Thai food. BUT STILL VERY TASTY and a reasonable price.

With that said, the food is very good and the quality of the materials used ARE excellent. I would eat here again and cannot complain about anything.

Except the authenticity of the flavors and the way some dishes are made for the Taiwanese market rather than being prepared traditionally.

So, if you don't mind that the flavors are geared towards Taiwanese tastes then I would certainly recommend this place for a very tasty lunch or dinner set that has a Thai flare to it.

The set meal is the way to go as it comes with a Papaya salad, half a deep fried egg and veggies (typically broccoli). You also get a basic desert.

For reference I'm Canadian (speak Chinese and Vietnamese) have lived in Taiwan for over a decade and travelled in Thailand dozens of times with local Thai friends whom are migrant workers in TW.... we be eating that local grub, so I know...