Lemongrass, Fareham | Takeaway review

You know, ‘How was your weekend?’

‘OK, thanks, stayed in. Went for a walk.’ ‘Yeah, me too.’ ‘That’s nice.’

Of course there are much more pressing worries than this in the world, and goodness knows the Dish Detective admires those doing something that’s, like, useful at the moment. But the DD, a long-time inhabitant of Grub Street, is well aware of being merely a butterfly on life’s essential workings. It’s just that we are tired of it all. So in our limited way, we tried to find joy on a Saturday night that didn’t involve surfing iPlayer.

We decided to try a restaurant we’d walked past many times before, but had never entered. Our predecessors had experienced it, yes, but not under the strange world of lockdown, so what would Thai food at home be like?

Firstly, and this is obvious, but Saturday nights out are WEIRD at the moment, even rainy ones. The DD parked in one of the car parks off Trinity Street (less than a five-minute walk from Lemongrass) and was struck by how quiet everything was.

The next thing was pleasing. The DD was five minutes early to pick up the order. Satisfyingly, it wasn’t ready. Quite right too. We thoroughly approve. There was also a check of the bag before handing over - a move too many takeaways don’t do, and frankly should.

It smelled good, and after the short drive home the DD was about to pass out with anticipation. Here’s why.

We’d over-ordered, but only because (see above), what else is there to do? So out of the bag of joy popped four chicken satay skewers, with a tub of spicy peanut sauce (£5.95), a serving of jasmine rice (£3), a chicken gaeng kiaw wan, or green curry (£9.50), and a chicken pad kee mao (£7.95), a hot stir-fried noodle dish with lots of vegetables. And to finish off, Carol, one from the top, a chef’s special of a green phed ped curry (£10.95), a lovely duck dish that had a bit of chilli, and various fruit and vegetable balls of joy within it, cherry tomatoes and lychees. Even typing this makes us feel hungry again.

The thing about Thai food, the DD thinks, is that it’s hard not to lapse into cliche. And that cliche is the word ‘delicate’. Jasmine rice is, yes, just rice but it has that extra fragrance that is, well, delicate. The green curry is marked up on the menu with two chillies, meaning hot, but you don’t notice it at first. The heat comes at you sideways, after the taste of the coconut milk; it creeps up on you, and even then it’s not really hot, it’s... delicate. The noodle dish has a lot going on but the peppers and peas feel – and I’m sure they are – fresh. The taste isn’t blunt, it’s floral. And delicate.

We enjoyed it greatly. Yes, at a touch under £34 (with 10 per cent off for collection) it wasn’t cheap, although we could have ordered less. But we hope, that when all this ends, undiscovered (to us) treasures are still here. Lemongrass has been around for years and the steady flow of takeaway customers shows it’s held in high regard. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Lemongrass, West Street, Fareham:

Tel: 01329 312525

Food: 5/5

Value: 4/5