Roma Lake

Photo by Zhang Dongya

 

 

 

 

 

Taiwanese lemongrass hot pot

By Zhang Dongya

Lemon Grass differs from your regular Taiwanese restaurant by specializing in hot pot with lemongrass that is grown right inside the restaurant.

The owner, Taiwan native Allen Chen, grows lemongrass in pots inside the restaurant. He has Thai lemon grass and the plant’s mainland and Taiwanese varieties. In summer, he also grows them in front f and behind the building. Chen is only too happy to introduce his “treasures” to interested customers.

With the onset of winter, hot pot is again in vogue. The restaurant offers two choices of hot pot base: clear lemongrass (5 yuan) and Thai spicy (10 yuan), both with lemongrass as their main ingredient.

For the dip, there is lemongrass sauce, Thai sauce and sesame paste, each at five yuan a bowl.
 
Beef, mutton and cuttlefish balls (all 18 yuan) and mushroom meat balls (16 yuan) are popular hot pot orders.

Not to be forgotten are Lemon Grass’ Taiwanese dishes. Customer favorites include three-cup chicken, Taiwanese stewed chicken and satay with Beef, all at 42 yuan.

Lemon Grass has created spin-offs of three-cup chicken, a Taiwanese specialty prepared using a cup of oil, a cup of soy sauce and a cup of rice wine: it has developed three-cup shrimp (58 yuan), three-cup cuttlefish (52 yuan) and three-cup mushrooms (32 yuan).

The restaurant’s Taiwanese food uses seasoning imported from the island, notably sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine.

It also offers Taiwanese tea such as Taiwan Oolong Tea (48 yuan a pot). Green tea with lemon grass is 16 yuan a pot.

The restaurant can seat 70 and offers free Wi-Fi to customers. In its backyard are three tables for diners who come with their pets.

Lemon Grass
Where: 8 Luodong Lu, Luogezhuang Village, Houshayu Town, Shunyi District
Open: 11 am – 10 pm
Tel: 8049 2016