RESTAURANT CUISINE: Vietnamese/Thai Fusion

Owner/Founder: Terry Wei

HEAD CHEF: Duc Luong

HOMEBASE: Hong Kong

EDUCATION: Terry received her degree in Hotel Management while studying in London England.  

How long have you worked for this restaurant?

I opened the Bayview Lemongrass location with my business partner in 2000. It was the first Lemongrass location that we opened. Since we also have other Lemongrass locations as well as other restaurants I am always delegating my time to each of the businesses.  I am not consistently at this location, however I am constantly working on things for this restaurant, be it menu changes, promotions, etc.

Did you always want to work in the hospitality industry?

Yes, I really enjoy the business aspects of the hospitality industry. As an owner and founder of a restaurant chain I am working frontline taking care of various aspects of our cooperation. I take care of a broad range of things including menu changes, managing locations, marketing efforts and more. It’s a rewarding job because it allows me to utilize the skills and abilities gained through my degree in hospitality/hotel management.

What other areas of the hospitality industry have you worked in regarding hotels and restaurants?

Once I finished school in London I moved back to Hong Kong and began working for Hyatt Regency Hotels. I worked there for 5 years and then moved to Vancouver, Canada. In Vancouver is where I met my business partner and from there we moved to Toronto to begin opening our first restaurant. The first we opened in 1992 and the other in 1994. In 2000 is when the first Lemongrass location was opened and now there are 5 locations. So for the past 18 years I have working as an owner/operator both opening and managing my establishments.

Tell us an interesting fact about the Lemongrass Bayview location

 Though it is a Vietnamese/Thai fusion restaurant we have adapted the menu from the traditional recipes and methods of cooking. For example when using the wok, traditionally each recipe calls for a lot of oil; however we replace the oil with our signature sauces to make it a healthier and more flavorful option. Also in Thai and Vietnamese cooking, recipes often call for the use of pork and shrimp. However we have found that many of our guests prefer chicken as an alternative so we offer traditional things like spring rolls but made with all white meat chicken. Additionally because we prepare everything fresh we can accommodate changes and preferences with our dishes, someone that may be allergic to peanuts can still enjoy a delicious Thai meal because we can substitute ingredients for them. Also if someone were to request a certain dish but preferred it to not be overly spicy than we can prepare it accordingly. Our mission is create great tasting menu items that use both traditional and modern recipes and cooking methods that appeal to a broad range of guests.

What is your favorite menu item?

 My favorite menu item is the Dungeness crab; we offer it prepared 8 different ways with any one of our signature sauces. This is a great menu item as each of the 8 ways we prepare it give it a completely different taste.

If you were to recommend 3 menu items to someone that was trying your restaurant for the first time what would they be?

For an appetizer I would recommend the Lemongrass platter, it comes with chicken spring rolls, chicken cold rolls, chicken satays and shrimp on a sugarcane.

As a main course I would recommend the Lemongrass chicken stir-fry or the Drunken Garlic Shrimp with multigrain wild rice. 

For a dessert I would recommend the Deep Fried Banana a la mode, served with caramel, chocolate and strawberry sauces.

What menu items would you recommend for health conscious consumers? 

There are so many options from our menu that are great for those that are trying to eat healthy. We really strive to eliminate the excessive use of oils and fats in our cooking here at Lemongrass. That being said, if I was to offer a few of my personal favorites I would recommend the Lemongrass Vegetable Soup, the Fresh Salad rolls and the Pho.

This Lemongrass vegetable soup takes ten hours to prepare and is drained 5 times in the process. In the end it is completely clear like water and is infused with the flavors of the vegetables and ingredients used in it.

The fresh salad rolls with the non-oil dressing or the Pho are also very nutritious and taste great. 

 Do you have any upcoming promotions this summer that we should know about?

Yes, we have our upcoming ‘Best of Thai’ prix-fixe menu coming up. This option combines are most popular signature items into one great meal. It comes with the Lemongrass Vegetable Soup, the Thai Mango Salad, Chicken Satays, Drunken Garlic Shrimp with Pad Thai Noodles and Homemade Mango Ice cream for dessert. This entire prix-fixe menu is available for $16.99.